Stephens News Bureau will eliminate five of the six jobs at its Little Rock operation, including bureau chief Dennis Byrd.

Monday is the last day for Byrd, news editor James Jefferson, sports columnist Harry King, reporter Rob Moritz and administrative assistant Katherine Satterfield, Byrd said.

John Lyon will remain as the bureau’s only reporter, Byrd said.

Asked how the bureau would manage to provide news to Stephens newspapers in the state, Byrd replied, “I don’t have a ready answer for that.”

But he said Lyon would do a “fine job … as best he can” in covering the Capitol and other aspects of state government.

He said the move by Stephens Media LLC, which is headquartered in Las Vegas but is owned by members of the Stephens family, was reflective of the trend in cuts made by many news organizations.

Byrd said he was speaking on behalf of Mark Hinueber, general counsel for Stephens Media.

Tom Larimer, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, said his first reaction to the austerity measures taken by Stephens is “sadness for those who have lost their jobs … It’s a decision made by so many in our industry because of the economic realities of our time.”

Byrd said he has been bureau chief for 18 years during a 48-year career that includes stints with The Associated Press and a number of newspapers. He said he already planned to retire this summer to work with his wife and their travel agency.

Jefferson likewise is a veteran journalist, having worked for the Arkansas Gazette and AP. King has written about Arkansas sports for more than 40 years.

Moritz said he has more than 30 years working for newspapers, including the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner, The Tennessean, the Arkansas Gazette and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He has been at the bureau for nearly 14 years, he said.

Stephens Media publishes 11 daily and 64 weekly newspapers in nine states, primarily in Arkansas and Nevada. Its flagship is the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Stephens formed a joint venture with WEHCO Media Inc., which owns the Democrat-Gazette.

The arrangement allows WEHCO and Stephens to run Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC.

Among the Stephens Media holdings in Arkansas are the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith and the Pine Bluff Commercial, both dailies, and 14 weeklies.

Those publications will not be affected directly by the cutbacks at the bureau, Byrd said.

Business, Pages 31 on 03/01/2014