Papers Repackage Business Coverage

Both the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Morning News recently announced changes to their business coverage and to their Sunday editions. Both papers also announced changes that would directly affect newsroom staff.

On Aug. 12, a memo written by Paul Smith, the Democrat-Gazette’s president, revealed the paper would implement a hiring and salary freeze for the rest of the year. Smith cited increased costs in newsprint and gasoline and alluded to reduced income from advertising.

Then on Aug. 21, the D-G said it would quit printing its Sunday Northwest Arkansas Business Matters, which was a separate business section inserted into the northwest edition of the paper. It was last published on Aug. 31.

Jeff Jeffus, general manager of the D-G could not be reached for comment.

On Aug. 27, the Morning News announced it would combine its Business section with the Nation and World section beginning on Sept. 3 and omit its listing of stocks that were not of local interest. The paper will also will combine two Sunday feature sections, Living and Our Town.

The MN also said it had “eliminated two positions in the newsroom and reassigned some members of the editorial staff.”

Tom Stallbaumer, publisher, did not return a call for comment.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the D-G’s Northwest Arkansas Monday-Friday circulation grew by 2.32 percent from 2007 to 2008 and its Sunday circulation was up about 0.88 percent.

The MN’s Monday-Friday circulation was up 1.75 percent but its Sunday circulation was down nearly 1 percent.