MORE NEWS from Pine Bluff.
PINE BLUFF — Beginning today, the Pine Bluff Commercial will return to seven-day-a-week publication as a part of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette digital replica edition, following the acquisition of the Commercial by WEHCO Newspapers, the parent company of the Democrat-Gazette.
Walter Hussman Jr., publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Nat Lea, president and CEO of WEHCO Media Inc.; Mark Lane, president of WEHCO Newspaper Division; and other representatives from Arkansas’ statewide newspaper made the announcement Monday in Pine Bluff during a news conference at Simmons Bank.
Under the terms of an agreement reached with Gannett, the transfer of all rights, title and interest in the Pine Bluff Commercial was finalized on Monday, and Gannett ceased publication of the Commercial. Under Gannett’s ownership, the newspaper had been printed five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday, and was distributed to subscribers by mail.
The Pine Bluff Commercial building, located at 300 S. Beech St. in Pine Bluff, which was not included in the acquisition, closed Monday. The new Pine Bluff Commercial office is located at 211 W. Third Ave, St. 105, in the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Building.
Under terms of the agreement, a new company, Pine Bluff Commercial Inc., is being established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of WEHCO Newspapers, which will pay for and collect all the existing advertising accounts receivable, receive all pre-paid subscriptions and honor those subscriptions until expiration.
Subscribers in Jefferson County will receive a letter explaining the conversion to the digital replica, including oneon-one, in-person training with each subscriber along with the free use of an iPad to receive the digital replica every day. As a temporary measure until iPad distribution to all subscribers is complete, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will include in its print edition the pages of the Pine Bluff Commercial and deliver those to Pine Bluff Commercial subscribers seven days a week until the conversion is completed. It is estimated it could take six to eight weeks to complete this conversion.
Byron Tate, previously editor and publisher of the Pine Bluff Commercial, will re
turn as editor, and will lead a local staff of reporters covering Jefferson County news including City Council, School Board, Quorum Court and other meetings as well as other local news of general interest. Also, the Commercial will have its own editorial page.
Tate said he is looking forward to the challenge of providing a full range of news coverage to readers in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County, and said he is excited to be a part of this venture.
“I appreciate Mr. Hussman’s commitment to local journalism and to the Pine Bluff community,” Tate said. “The people here need and deserve a quality daily newspaper.”
Eliza Gaines, managing editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, echoed Tate’s sentiments, and added that a community the size of Pine Bluff should have a daily newspaper with the ability to keep readers informed of important news in their community.
“It’s important for Pine Bluff, and every community, to have a quality local newspaper,” Gaines said. “We are committed to providing readers reliable news coverage they can depend on every day of the week.”
Hussman said the acquistion of the Pine Bluff Commercial came about because of the commitment of WEHCO Newspapers to finding an economically viable way to maintain quality community journalism, which he said is necessary to keep people informed of news and events in their community and to hold local government accountable to the public.
“We think the digital replica, as well as the core values of serious and objective journalism, is the answer for Pine Bluff,” Hussman said. “While many newspapers are eliminating some days of publication, we are adding back two days in Pine Bluff so we can cover the news every day.”
As a way to reduce the cost of production while maintaining the quality of news coverage, Hussman developed the digital replica newspaper, which provides the same look and layout of the print edition without the associated expense of production and delivery. In early test markets, the idea proved viable, and as the digital replica edition was rolled out in more and more counties, feedback from Democrat-Gazette subscribers indicates that the format is gaining popularity.
“We believe delivering to subscribers the exact same format they enjoyed in print in a digital replica on an iPad is not only a substitute, but a better user experience, confirmed by what our readers tell us,” he said. “They not only get the exact same information in the same place they found it in print, but even more information in a more readable format by being able to enlarge type, as well as additional features like expanded photos, videos and the ability to receive the paper earlier and anywhere.”
On Monday, Edmond Freeman III, whose family owned the Pine Bluff Commercial from its founding in 1881 until it was sold to Donrey Media in 1986, said he was pleased to hear of the acquistion of the newspaper he oversaw as publisher from about 1960 until 1986.
“A community needs its newspaper. Local news is extremely important,” Freeman said. “Without it, people don’t know what they need to know about the things that affect them the most. Mr. Hussman has done a great job with the Democrat-Gazette and I’m so glad he’s got the Commercial and to hear what he plans to do with it. I wish him all the luck in the world.”
The new Pine Bluff Commercial can be viewed online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/pinebluffcommercial/.