Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Lays Off 74, About 30% of Workforce

Wehco Media will lay off 74 people at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. The cuts equal about 30 percent of the newspaper’s workforce. Wehco Media Inc. of Little Rock announced the cuts Tuesday. Managing Editor Stacy Hawkins issued the announcement in a news release. Wehco owns the newspaper.

The newsroom keeps about 100 jobs. Most reductions fall in production, circulation and advertising. The company cited declines in print circulation and advertising.

It cited the shift to digital alongside those declines. Wehco seeks a return to profitability.

Mark Lane is president of Wehco’s newspaper division. Lane said the Little Rock cuts targeted positions with no impact on the product.

“We’re very purposeful about having a newsroom that we feel Arkansans deserve to have a great statewide newspaper,” Lane said. “We chose to make cuts in departments that had … no impact on the reader. So the eliminations were in production, circulation, and some in advertising.”

A newspaper earns revenue from print circulation and advertising. Digital readership has grown as print circulation has declined. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette serves readers statewide from Little Rock.

Separately, Wehco plans cuts at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The cuts equal about 25 percent of that workforce, or 28 employees. Its newsroom has more than 40 employees. Thirteen newsroom jobs will be lost there.