GREG HARTON: The news is news in NWA

For all but about four years of my professional life, I've worked for newspapers owned or associated with Walter Hussman, the publisher of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and its sister publication, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Hussman has earned a national reputation as a publisher who views newspapers as not just as a business, but a civic responsibility.

Lately, he's been making news by changing the way news is delivered.

Last week, the bosses called us all together in our Fayetteville office to tell us of the decision to, in the coming weeks and months, move from print delivery of news in Northwest Arkansas six days a week to delivery through electronic means. On Sundays, newspapers will still be printed, but the Sunday paper will also be available for digital delivery.

That this happened last week was certainly newsworthy. But the fact that it was going to happen at some point was hardly in doubt.

The Democrat-Gazette in 63 of Arkansas' 75 counties had already made the transition. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette serves the other 12 counties in the state. It was clear to me readers of our region had come to expect the shift. I've gotten more calls about a crossword puzzle being left out of the paper than I did in the wake of last week's announcement.

One customer dropped in and I overheard him commenting something along the lines of it being the end of the newspaper. I couldn't disagree with him more.

I understand the love of newsprint. Heck, I remember spreading out sections of the paper with my dad when I was a kid just gaining an appreciation for the vast amount of news, information and entertainment newspapers delivered every single day. I'm still awed by the fact we can pack so much in 365 days a year.

But if someone delivered a rolled-up collection of blank newsprint pages to my driveway, I doubt very much I'd find it useful, unless I dug out some crayons and got busy doodling. My longtime devotion to the newspaper is due to the information those pages contain, not the pages themselves.

Hussman developed this idea of providing iPads to subscribers who want them as a way to transition readers to electronic delivery. But many readers have been using the digital replica edition of the newspaper for a long time already. And replica isn't overstating things at all. It's the newspaper we've all grown quite accustomed to, but with some added features for readers.

If you haven't seen it yet, you'll be impressed by the clarity of the words and images, the ability to go deeper with more photos and videos. Just last week I wanted to get a head start on a story as I was shaving at home. The application read me the story, out loud, as I got ready for work.

For puzzle lovers, the electronic delivery allows for more, and you can work them right on the screen.

Naturally, such a change brings uncertainties and even doubts. Walter Hussman's explanation of the circumstances leading to this change appeared in Thursday's paper, and I don't think there is a better exploration of the contributing factors. (By the way, if you were using the digital replica app today, you could easily flip back to Thursday's paper to find it.)

I think the people willing to give this a try will discover it's an effective way to receive local, state and national news in a familiar format (no confusing web pages!) that won't get wet on rainy days and avoids anyone trudging out in the cold to retrieve. And in the process, perhaps Hussman has discovered a way to support delivering quality news coverage for Northwest Arkansas and the entire state for years to come.

I'll take that any day.

Commentary on 02/02/2020

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