A letter from our editor

Producing a quality newspaper takes more than dedication.

It takes a team of reporters, editors, photographers, designers and a digital staff who work day in and day out to deliver accurate, relevant and timely news. It takes commitment to truth, clarity and accountability. And more than anything, it takes the trust and support of the community we serve.

At the El Dorado News-Times, we consider it a privilege to tell the stories that matter. Not just the breaking news, but the updates on local government, the profiles of people doing good work in our neighborhoods and all of the kids putting in the hard work to keep their high school teams competitive. That privilege, though, comes with a cost.

Newspapers across the country face real financial challenges. The advertising market that once funded the majority of operations has shifted dramatically. The media landscape continues to evolve, and traditional business models no longer provide the stability they once did.

Despite those headwinds, the News-Times has remained committed to local journalism. But doing so isn’t easy. In communities just like ours, newsrooms have shrunk, or shuttered altogether. Fewer reporters means fewer eyes on public meetings, fewer voices lifted from underserved communities, and fewer watchdogs holding the powerful accountable.

We have no intention of letting our efforts in this space lapse.

That’s why we are launching the El Dorado News-Times Community Journalism Project, a philanthropic initiative that will help sustain our mission and protect the future of local news.

Donations to the Community Journalism Project, administered through the Union County Community Foundation, will help maintain and strengthen our newsroom. With added resources, we can expand our coverage of vital issues like education, infrastructure, the environment, health care and local governance in South Arkansas. We can retain talented journalists, invest in training and technology, and even potentially recruit new voices who reflect and understand the communities we cover.

Philanthropy is not new to journalism. Across the country, it has helped preserve local news in cities and towns where traditional revenues fell short. These efforts are not charity, but investments in the civic health of a region. They ensure citizens remain informed, engaged and empowered.

We’re asking for your support not because we’re giving up, but because we’re doubling down. Because we believe our community deserves more than reduced coverage and thinner editions. Because we believe a strong local newspaper is essential — not optional — to the wellbeing of any city, or town.

We know many of you already support us by subscribing, reading and sharing our work. This new effort offers another way to stand with us. It would ensure the stories that define our community continue to be told with depth, integrity and care.

Our employees live in El Dorado and its surrounding area. We’re your neighbors. We cover your schools, your city councils, your Friday night football, and your courtroom hearings. We’re not flying in from somewhere else to tell your stories. We’re already here.

This paper has stood through good years and hard ones, but always with the same goal, which is to keep the people of El Dorado and South Arkansas informed, connected and heard.

Several generous members of our community have already donated $18,325 toward the Community Journalism Project and we are asking you to help match these gifts to reach our initial goal of $40,000. Thank you to: Claiborne P. Deming, Jean Reynolds Hadley, Andrea and Don Hale, Greg and Kelli Harrison, and Richard and Vertis Mason.

We don’t take your trust for granted. And we wouldn’t ask for your help unless we needed it. With your donation in any amount, we can raise our initial goal of $40,000 and much more. Our hope is to continue to build on this foundation so that annual contributions from our readers reach $80,000 over the next few years. We need your support; not just today but continuing as long as we meet your need for news and information.

If you believe Union County deserves a real newsroom that still picks up the phone when you call, still reads through your emails and letters that you send, and still publishes the facts even when it’s hard, then we ask you to stand with us.

Jason Hopkins
Regional Managing Editor
El Dorado News-Times