History: March 2013 Archives

WEHCO Media, Inc.: How the Arkansas Democrat beat the Gazette

This article on the history of WEHCO Media, Inc., (owners of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and other newspapers) tells an impressive story: How a family-owned daily with half the reader base of its bigger, older rival shifted from afternoon to morning, built circulation, and wound up prevailing not only over Arkansas's oldest newspaper but the Gannett media chain as well. Bigger news staff, technological leadership, free classifieds. I read this and wonder if the Tulsa Tribune might have managed the same thing.

"In late 1978, the Democrat began an extensive effort to expand its news and classified advertising in order to become the state's largest newspaper. Included was a free want ad program that more than tripled the size of the paper's classified section. The Democrat became the only Arkansas newspaper ever to publish more than one million classified advertisements in a single year. Dozens of new reporters, editors and photographers were hired in an effort to ensure the most thorough local news coverage possible. In 1979, the Democrat switched to all-morning publication -- one of the first newspapers of its size to do so.

"As a result of these vigorous new policies, readership increased dramatically. Circulation totals showed that the Democrat was the fastest growing newspaper in the United States during 1980. The Democrat continued to make changes and in 1982 the newspaper inaugurated the use of color, using offset lithography printing presses; the Gazette followed in 1987."