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A letter from our editor

What does it take to produce a product such as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette? A good-sized team of talented, hard-working journalists.

When you read the Democrat-Gazette, please notice how much content it contains. If you travel to other states, pick up the local paper and compare.

More than once, we’ve received letters and emails from readers who observed how much heft there is in our traditional newspaper product, whether in paper or electronic form:

  • A front page with five top stories, from the staff and the wire services. Many other newspapers have two or three stories on their front pages.
  • The inside of the Democrat-Gazette’s A section offers a selection of national and international stories, edited by staff for clarity and to remove biased language.
  • An Arkansas section with coverage from the Little Rock area and around the state. Sports has its own section, as does the business section.
  • Feature content — such as restaurant transitions, arts and entertainment calendar items, reviews, recipes and home and gardening — is found in the Style section.

Many other newspapers have cut back on all their wide-ranging coverage and boiled their sections down to two. Sports and business may be in the same section; local reporting might be in the A section; features are on a single page.

What it takes to produce the substantial Democrat-Gazette is a large staff — reporters and writers, editors, photographers, page designers, copy editors, graphic artists and an online team.

Because of dwindling advertising and circulation revenue, newspapers around the country have either closed or sharply cut their staffs.

When the iPad program was introduced in 2018, then Publisher Walter E. Hussman Jr. committed to keeping newsroom staff the same size — about 100 people — to continue providing content. That commitment has been kept.

In recent years, the Democrat-Gazette has relied heavily on circulation revenue for funding. But there’s a limit to how much people are willing to pay for a news product. And while our advertising department is always looking for more customers, another revenue source would offer some insurance from a future unforeseen economic disaster.

That is why I support this initiative to seek additional funding from philanthropy. Philanthropy is not new to journalism. Media outfits across the country and in Arkansas have done this for years. Philanthropy has enabled trained journalists to continue their work, such as reporting on how tax dollars are spent and when government officials don’t act in the public’s best interest.

The first question we anticipate is, why doesn’t the Democrat-Gazette simply get the money it needs from its owners, the Hussman family?

The answer is, they already contribute a great deal. And the proof is in the size of the newsroom and its product.

While other newspapers around the country have cut back their news staffs, this newspaper continues to have a Washington bureau, a multi-reporter state Capitol bureau, full-time wire news editors and separate sections for local news, sports, business and features.

What would philanthropic contributions allow us to do?

  • Recruit experienced reporters, editors, photographers and others. Nationwide, the pool of potential candidates has shrunk after years of contraction in the news business. But there are people out there who want to practice old-fashioned journalism and would like to land at a place where there’s stability.
  • Retain employees by providing job security, improved compensation, training and equipment.
  • Develop the next generation of newsroom leaders who will carry on our traditions of news coverage.
  • Do more reporting on the topics we’re already covering — education, government, sports, business and features — but also on topics that would appeal to potential subscribers.

A philanthropic contribution, depending on its size and economic conditions, in the very least helps us keep creating the very good news product you’ve come to expect.

Here’s a parallel: You visit a museum and enjoy the experience. You are inspired to contribute something beyond the price of admission to support what the museum does.

Some will note that the Democrat-Gazette is not a museum — it’s a business. Yes, much like a hospital is more like a business than a museum. Both the hospital and this news organization provide a service that’s vital to the community. When a newspaper dies, gone are stories about the community, government, schools, health care, the arts, upcoming events, restaurant reviews and gardening tips. Gone is the record of current events.

Both museums and hospitals receive support from contributors for the greater good of the community. Today, the opportunity has arrived to support the mission of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Sincerely,

Alyson Hoge
Managing Editor
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette