Times Receives Laurel For UA Press Coverage

The Northwest Arkansas Times received a “laurel” from Columbia Journalism Review in its Sept./Oct. issue for the Fayetteville newspaper’s coverage of the University of Arkansas Press closure.

CJR regularly recognizes newspapers around the country, giving them “laurels” for good work and “darts” for bad. The Times laurel was awarded for the newspaper’s May 25 scoop that John White, chancellor of the UA’s Fayetteville campus, planned to close the UA Press, which publishes scholarly books.

In giving the laurel, the CJR stated: “After 16 days of intense coverage of what the loss of the UA Press would mean to the university, the state and the region … after its embarrassing disclosures about the enormous sums being spent on the new chancellor’s home and office and investiture ceremonies; after its shaming editorials, scathing cartoons and outraged letters from alumni, Chancellor White turned back the page. His expensive investiture ceremonies were canceled.”

The Times has received three laurels from the CJR in the past three years. In 1996, the Times received a laurel for apologizing to Dan Coody, a former mayoral candidate who had been maligned in a column by David Stokes, the previous publisher. In 1997, the Times received a laurel for its coverage of an embezzlement case involving the Springdale Police Department.

Mike Masterson, editor of the Times, admits sending the information for the 1996 and 1997 awards to CJR, but he says he didn’t send them the UA Press info.