Reporter, editor in PB, Jonesboro

PINE BLUFF — Larry Fugate, a salty Arkansas journalism veteran who sought to preserve the integrity of the business by holding public officials accountable through the Freedom of Information Act, died Thursday at his White Hall home after a lengthy illness. He was 69. News of Fugate’s death broke late Thursday afternoon on the Arkansas Press Association’s Facebook page, with tributes coming in from across the state. On Friday morning, Tom Larimer, the association’s executive director, called Fugate “the consummate old-school journalist and crusty country editor. He was very helpful with his knowledge of the FOI act and was very active on the state coalition.”

Larimer said Fugate “will be greatly missed and remembered with great affection” for his life and journalism career.

Fugate began working at the Jonesboro Sun as a reporter in the mid-1960s and was later an editor there and at the Pine Bluff Commercial. In addition, after his retirement, he kept working: He wrote articles as a contributor to various publications in Arkansas and around the South and Midwest.

Fugate and his Jonesboro news team were runners-up for the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for their coverage of the Westside School shooting near Jonesboro, where two students shot and killed five people.

Bob Troutt, former assistant publisher at the Jonesboro Sun, credited Fugate for the recognition and praised his leadership at the newspaper.

“As a journalist, Larry was a tough, gruff, old-style editor who demanded that reporters work,” Trout said. “He sought good writing and reporting. … He made our newsroom an interesting place for sure. Larry was a great friend and employee who will certainly be missed by all who came in contact with him.”

Mike Marzelli, who worked as a reporter for Fugate at the Pine Bluff Commercial, offered this remembrance of Fugate on the Arkansas Press Association’s Facebook page:

“They don’t make newspaper men like Mr. Fugate anymore, and journalism suffers because of it. He took a chance on bringing a 22-year-old Yankee 1,500 miles to Pine Bluff and gave me my first job nine years ago, and even though I am no longer reporting, the best compliment I can give him is that working for him prepared me for a life and career in any profession.

“He was a bulldog with a kind soul and a big heart and he was a true Arkansan through and through. He will be missed greatly.”

Shea Wilson, former editor of the El Dorado NewsTimes, also commented on the association’s page. She called Fugate a “friend” and a “true journalist,” adding that she was “heartbroken” to learn of his passing.