The history of how four daily newspapers in Northwest Arkansas made their way to Monday's announcement reads a lot like the Tudor family tree or a sweeping, epic drama -- one begat another, some intermarried, some divorced, there were conflicts, and eventually, a new baby was born.
Todd Nelson, president of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, said he knew the time for that birth was right shortly after he came to Northwest Arkansas in February. With the population of the area officially hitting half a million, "Northwest Arkansas had become a true metropolitan community with people working, living and playing in every city," he said.
"If you have any doubt, just drive I-49 in the morning!"
Instead of packaging the news separately for Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville, Nelson said it was time for a truly regional newspaper, and Hoyt Purvis, a journalism professor since 1982 at the University of Arkansas, agreed it suits the changing identity of the region.
"We're all proud of our own communities, but the reality is that kind of separate identity is fading, and that's reflected in what's happening from a business standpoint, including the newspapers," he said. "It's consistent with the pattern of consolidation occurring across the country. That's just the way it is.
"But each of these newspapers has a rich legacy, and I would hope to see that retained as much as possible."
Nelson said while the newspaper may look different beginning Monday, "the decisions will still be made by people who live here and work here -- that's part of becoming truly Northwest Arkansas' newspaper."
What matters, said Jim Morriss, longtime editor of The Springdale News, is that local viewpoint.
"To me, the local newspaper is still the backbone of information, the primary source of information, about what's going on in the community," he said.
Morriss, who went to work for the Springdale paper in 1949 -- when he was 13 years old -- has seen all the changes in all four daily papers since then. He was there when The Springdale News went from hot type to offset printing, there when the Springdale paper was acquired by Donrey Media, there when the first word processors arrived on reporters' desks, there for the merger with the Northwest Arkansas Morning News in Rogers and there when designers started to build pages on computers instead of by hand.
"I don't feel like we really got to where we were keeping up with the community needs and progress going on in Northwest Arkansas until the Stephens family bought (Donrey Media in 1993). That was when we took the big leap that made us a competitive newspaper," he said.
The newspaper remains competitive with other news sources because its stories are researched, reported, fact checked and factual, Morriss said.
"I don't care how much you read on Internet blogs, No. 1, you're not going to get complete information, and No. 2, you don't have any guarantee it's accurate. People gripe about newspapers being prejudiced, but 99.9 percent of the time, the local information on local events is accurate."
His advice for the future?
"Keep it local."
Rusty Turner's promise as editor of the new Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:
"Readers will receive more news about and from Northwest Arkansas."
The Evolution
Benton County Daily Record
• Jan. 1, 1886 -- A small newspaper was started in Bentonville under the ownership of D.W. Hamon and John W. Corley. The paper has continuously published since then -- in spite of frequent name and ownership changes -- making it the oldest continuously operated business in Benton County.
• 1890: The Bentonville Democrat merged with The Benton County Sun.
• 1916: The Benton County Democrat merged with the Benton County Record, publishing under the name The Bentonville Daily Sun.
• 1923: The paper's name became The Benton County Democrat.
• 1926: The paper merged with The Benton County Herald.
• 1951: Wesley Hunnicut purchased the weekly Benton County Democrat.
• 1972: The paper was sold to Billy Moore and Sam Walton.
• 1978: The paper began publishing Monday-Friday and took the name The Benton County Daily Democrat.
• 1980: A Sunday edition was added.
• 1982: The paper was purchased by Community Publishers Inc., a company formed by Walton's son, Jim Walton, and Steve Trolinger.
• 1988: The paper's name changed to The Benton County Daily Record.
• 1993: The Daily Record converted from a six-day-a-week evening paper to a seven-day morning paper.
• 2000: The Daily Record created an alliance with the Northwest Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
• Nov. 1, 2009: The Daily Record was part of the merger of the Stephens Media properties and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette properties in Northwest Arkansas.
Springdale Morning News
• May 7, 1887: The Springdale News debuted as a weekly with an 18-year-old editor, John P. Stafford, a former printer at the Fayetteville Democrat.
• 1946: R.R. Bob Sanders came to Arkansas and joined The Springdale News.
• 1948: Edward Stafford, his brother Ellis and Sanders purchased the newspaper from the Stafford estate and began publishing three times a week.
• 1949: The News became a daily, publishing Monday through Friday.
• 1964: The News switched to offset printing, becoming only the second paper in the region to do so.
• 1972: The News started a Sunday edition.
• 1973: The News is sold to the Donrey Media Group on July 1.
• 1988: The Rogers and Springdale papers began sharing news.
• 1990: The papers combined production and composing staffs under one roof in a new building just a few hundred yards south of the Benton-Washington County line on Lowell Road.
• 1990: The Springdale News changed its name to The Morning News and joined the Rogers paper in morning publication. It also opened an office in Fayetteville.
• 1992: Both papers added Saturday editions.
• 1993: The Stephens family of Little Rock purchased the newspaper operations from the estate of Donrey founder Donald W. Reynolds and eventually changed the name of the company to Stephens Media.
• November 1994: The two papers merged into The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, creating the state's third largest daily newspaper.
• February 2001: The newspaper's name was shortened to The Morning News, and it began publishing zoned editions for the four largest cities in the market: Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and Fayetteville.
• Nov. 1, 2009: The Morning News was part of the merger of the Stephens Media properties and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette properties in Northwest Arkansas.
Rogers Morning News
• Jan. 1, 1910: John W. Nance and Ernest W. Vinson started The Rogers Daily Post.
• 1910: Nance and Vinson sold the newspaper to Ed Kruse and Emil Audigier.
• 1912: P.M. Kokanour of Siloam Springs bought The Daily Post in 1912.
• 1919: Kokanour sold The Daily Post to his son, Ray, and Bill McGehee, a Linotype operator, the first of many owners and lessees of The Post in the next decade.
• 1923: C.E. Palmer of Texarkana bought the paper and owned it for four years.
• 1927: Palmer sold The Post to James R Shofner, who renamed it The Rogers Daily News.
• 1929: Shofner sold the paper to E.W. Pate.
• 1955: Charles Nutter of New Orleans bought the paper and sold it to Donrey Media Group on Dec. 1.
• 1962: The Daily News converted to offset printing, the first newspaper in Arkansas to do so.
• 1978: The Rogers Daily News started a morning edition named The Northwest Arkansas Morning News. The Morning News and the afternoon Daily News printed in the same plant until October 1981, when the Daily News ceased publication.
• 1988: The Rogers and Springdale papers began sharing news.
• 1990: The papers combined production and composing staffs under one roof in a new building just a few hundred yards south of the Benton-Washington County line on Lowell Road.
• 1990: The Springdale News changed its name to The Morning News and joined the Rogers paper in morning publication. It also opened an office in Fayetteville.
• 1992: Both papers added Saturday editions.
• 1993: The Stephens family of Little Rock purchased the newspaper operations from the Reynolds estate and eventually changed the name of the company to Stephens Media.
• November 1994: The two papers merged into The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, creating the state's third largest daily newspaper.
• February 2001: The newspaper's name was shortened to The Morning News, and it began publishing zoned editions for the four largest cities in the market: Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and Fayetteville.
• Nov. 1, 2009: The Morning News was part of the merger of the Stephens Media properties and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette properties in Northwest Arkansas.
Northwest Arkansas Times
• Summer 1860: William Ward Moore, a merchant and politician from North Carolina who had become the postmaster of Fayetteville, founded The Fayetteville Democrat.
• July 4, 1868: The newspaper resumed publication after the ravages of the Civil War, operating under the ownership of Moore's sons, W.B. and E.B. Moore.
• 1884: The Moores sold the paper to Sam E. Marrs and John N. Tillman, who later became president of the University of Arkansas and still later a member of the U.S. Congress.
• 1893: Louise Payne began to publish a daily edition of The Democrat. The two co-existed for several years.
• 1913: Jay Fulbright bought The Democrat for $11,000.
• 1926: Roberta Fulbright, his widow, consolidated the family interest in the newspaper and acquired full control.
• July 8, 1937: Fulbright changed the name of the paper to The Northwest Arkansas Times.
• 1940: The newspaper moved to 25 N. East Ave. in Fayetteville.
• Jan. 11, 1953: Roberta Fulbright died. Hal Douglas, Fulbright's son-in-law, became publisher.
• 1967: The Times moved two blocks north, to its current location.
• 1969: The Times was sold to Thomson Newspaper Publishing Co.
• 1973: Floyd Carl Jr. became editor of The Times, serving until his retirement in 1983.
• 1977: The Times converted to offset printing.
• 1993: The Times announced a joint operating agreement with The Benton County Daily Record.
• 1995: The Times was sold back to Thomson Newspapers, then to American Publishing Co. of West Frankfurt, Ill.
• 1999: Community Publishers, owners of the Benton County Daily Record, bought The Times.
• 2000: Community Publishers entered into an "alliance" with WEHCO Media, with the newspapers being delivered together with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
• 2005: WEHCO Media bought the entirety of the "alliance."
• Nov. 1, 2009: The Northwest Arkansas Times was part of the merger of the Stephens Media properties and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette properties in Northwest Arkansas.
NW News on 01/11/2015