Donrey shakeup

You may have heard about the top-management changes at Donrey Media Group in Fort Smith. Three of the top executives on the newspaper side announced they were retiring while another vice president resigned to pursue other interests.

We hear it was a shakeup by Donrey’s owner, Stephens Group Inc., which is apparently gearing up for a full-fledged newspaper war with Walter Hussman and WEHCO Media Inc., owner of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Last year, the D-G launched a Northwest Arkansas edition to compete with Donrey’s second-largest Arkansas paper, The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, reportedly one of the chain’s most profitable papers.

“It’s about time,” says one source who’s very familiar with Donrey operations.

Our source says Warren Stephens, president of Stephens Group, is apparently behind the shakeup after learning about problems with the management. Those problems, the source says, including “trying to emulate ‘Old Man’ [Donald] Reynolds,” the chain’s founder, by refusing to spend money and focusing only on the bottom line, not the quality of its newspapers.

Stephens, which owns five Arkansas newspapers, is reportedly also trying to buy other papers in the state. Our source speculates that, too, is part of gearing up for competition.

“If you can’t whup ’em, surround ’em,” he says is Stephens’ strategy.

Out at Donrey are Emmett Jones, president of newspaper operations; Dave Osborn, vice president of Donrey’s western newspaper group; Don Schneider, vice president of the eastern newspaper group; and Lynn Mosier, vice president of the administrative support group in Fort Smith. Jones, Osborn and Schneider were said to be retiring, effective Feb. 1.

They’re replaced by Sherman Frederick as president and Ron Lamar as president of the outdoor advertising and television operations. Frederick will retain his current title as publisher of the Las Vegas Review Journal, Donrey’s largest newspaper.