Old News

It was with a small measure of dread the editors of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal researched, then reported, a story about the merger of operations between Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Inc. and Stephens Media LLC and their respective publications.

Not to be scooped, the papers themselves broke the news that the merger had been approved by the Justice Department on Oct. 27.

Fortunately, the Business Journal had been working on a story about the merger so we were ready when the news broke. Ironically, that story likely will never appear on a printed page. Instead our coverage was distributed online and we moved on to newer news for our print product. That’s how things are done these days.

We knew the minute the proposed merger was announced on Sept. 3 – as did all staffers at all the publications – that jobs would be immediate casualties once the deal was approved. If our anonymous source’s estimate of a 40 percent staff cut is true, that could mean 200 or so additional Northwest Arkansans will be jobless the first week of November. 

Cuts won’t just be in the newsroom, of course. Production, sales, circulation and a myriad of support staff will likely be affected as two teams become one. Many talented, intelligent and dedicated people, some of them our friends and former co-workers, will be sidelined.

Economic empathy aside, we mourn what is essentially the loss of another newspaper. There will now be one less watchdog to keep an eye on minute discrepancies and less coverage to help celebrate achievements in government, education, sports, law, and yes, in business. There are now fewer people to call for justice and demand accountability.

Perhaps the most frightening thought of all was mentioned by one source in our coverage: Less competition lowers the bar.

We understand, perhaps better than our brethren, the stresses that  businesses deal with today. In the face of declining revenues, expenses have to be cut. The gray areas are a little more black and white these days.

The announcement of the merger also reminded us of a brighter time, the evening when a ballroom full of people gathered to celebrate the official opening of the Democrat-Gazette’s Northwest Arkansas bureau. Sports editor Wally Hall reflected the mood of the time when he delivered a short-but-sweet speech that promised more of everything – more news, more features, more scoops. Glasses were raised in agreement.

Now, sadly, the only thing there seems to be more of is editors and middle managers, while too many reporters – the eyes, ears and voices of the community – are left to hit the streets. Instead of more, the gut feeling now is readers will be given less.

In this business, great pains are taken every day to make sure what is written and reported is right. Here’s hoping, just this once, we’re wrong.