Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Publisher Eliza Gaines drew a large, mature and friendly audience to the Little Rock Rotary Club’s lunchtime meeting Tuesday. During the question-and-answer session after her remarks, she learned they truly love their iPads.
That was gratifying, since Gaines and her father, Wehco Media Inc. Chairman Walter Hussman Jr., spent millions of dollars to supply newspaper subscribers with thousands of iPads beginning in 2018. The program was key to allowing the paper to step away from home delivery of printed newspapers, which threatened to make the Democrat-Gazette a money loser in a digital news age that has decimated local newsrooms.
But when it comes to the newspaper’s future in a business environment she described as “beyond challenging,” Gaines said today’s young consumers are far more connected to their smartphones.
“I’ll tell you what they don’t want, and that is an iPad,” Gaines said. “They have no interest in an iPad. They have no interest in the actual printed newspaper. They want us to meet them where they are, which is TikTok, which is Instagram. It’s not really Facebook as much anymore. Sometimes in newsletters.
“It’s not that they don’t care about things going on in their world or their state or community. This is a very socially active generation, which is wonderful,” she continued. “But they don’t always know where to turn [for news], and they do not want to have to pay for it. So how can we kind of train them to understand why this is so important?”
Exploring New Models
Gaines, who took over as Wehco’s publisher when her father stepped down in 2022, said young consumers need to be taught that professionally reported, trusted news is worth paying for — just as they pay for a Hulu subscription.
“We have 100 people in our newsroom, so we’ve talked about following a reporter around for the day, kind of doing a day in the life of this reporter,” she said. “This is who they had to talk to, the hoops they had to jump through, where they were stonewalled — everything that goes into creating a story, the time and the effort.
“To really understand that this is not something that comes easily. It takes work, and you have to pay for it.”
One possible solution, Gaines said, is letting users pay for only the topics they want — such as sports, local news or politics.
“They can pay based on what they choose,” she said. “I’m not sure what the model looks like right now. We’re experimenting with it, but it really comes down to the value they place in local news, because if they don’t value that, then we’ll be toast.”
Trusted but Endangered
Gaines noted that local general-interest newspapers face a paradox: They are the public’s most trusted news outlets, yet they are more endangered than ever. About 40% of local newspapers have folded in the past two decades, leaving roughly 50 million Americans without a reliable local news source, she said.
“A recent trust-in-media survey showed that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe losing their local paper would harm their community, and the reasons are concrete, not theoretical,” Gaines said. “Taxes often go up, corruption and crime increase, and civic engagement goes down.
“The same research shows that Americans overwhelmingly agree that local newspapers are essential to democracy. They provide the shared set of facts that allow communities to function. We’re not just a business — we’re part of the civic infrastructure.”
She summarized the industry’s collapse in stark terms.
“In the past year alone, we lost two newspapers every week,” Gaines said. “Many of these papers didn’t disappear because people stopped caring. They disappeared because there was no viable path forward.”
Print advertising revenue collapsed by more than 80% beginning around 2005 as consumers shifted to online platforms dominated by giants such as Meta and Google. Digital advertising, she said, was so cheap that even newspapers with strong online readership could not make up the difference.
“Online advertising pays only a fraction of what print once did, so we’re competing against global tech companies for pennies,” Gaines said. “And those same tech giants scrape our reporting — our original reporting — and repurpose it for their own audiences, often never sending readers back to the original source.”
Media consolidation also took a heavy toll on local journalism as chains slashed newsroom staffing to generate short-term profits.
“Many of today’s chains were created through massive mergers financed by debt,” Gaines said. “Whatever profits they made went to paying off that debt rather than reinvesting in community journalism.”
Sustaining Efforts
Gaines pointed to several strategic decisions the Democrat-Gazette made to protect reporting capacity while adapting to changing reader habits and business realities.
First, the paper resisted the impulse to make online content free, noting that many newspapers that did so contributed to their own undoing. The iPad program, she said, allowed the paper to shift from print delivery to digital, cut printing and distribution costs, and preserve newsroom jobs.
Gaines also highlighted the paper’s community journalism campaign, which has raised significant funds since late 2023 through charitable contributions made via a nonprofit.
“So far at the ADG, we’ve raised about $340,000 and have been able to fund roles like our Learns Act reporter and a new investigative editor who will work across the newsroom,” she said. “We also hope to launch a healthcare lab in the near future.
“That number is meaningful, but it’s only a fraction of what it costs to operate a statewide newsroom,” she added. “Local newspapers often struggle to attract national funders because they tend to favor new digital startups or nonprofits. But we believe the most effective way to rebuild local news is to strengthen what already exists.
“We’re already embedded in Arkansas communities. We already have the infrastructure, and most importantly, we already have the trust — and that cannot be built overnight.”
Looking Ahead
Gaines also discussed efforts to expand the paper’s formats, including an online revival of Arkansas Life, which was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other ideas for reaching younger audiences include curated newsletters, social video and partnerships with community influencers skilled at meeting users on their smartphones.
She acknowledged that the newspaper will likely introduce more sponsored content in 2026, with clear labeling and guardrails to preserve trust. Because Arkansas law requires public notices to be printed, the Sunday print edition will continue, she said. Publishing experts note that public notices remain an important revenue stream.
“Our hands are tied,” Gaines said.
“I’ll close with this,” she said. “People stop me all the time — in the grocery store or at parties — and tell me how grateful they are for the Democrat-Gazette. But most of them do not realize the headwinds we’re facing or how pivotal this moment is for our industry.
“So I’m asking everybody in this room to see the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as not just something you buy, but something you protect. Whether that support comes through your business in advertising, a subscription or a donation, it directly supports the future of local journalism in Arkansas.”
Sign up for Daily E-news
