Wehco and Stephens marry as Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. is formed Friday | Ink By the Byte

I don’t have independent confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice, but one has to presume that the formation of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC on Friday means the media merger between Wehco Media and Stephens Media was given the federal nod to go forward.

From the Arkansas Secretary of State's Web site

Readers will note the new limited liability company has one named officer, Little Rock attorney and certified public accountant Jackson Farrow Jr. of Stephens Inc. The company’s Web site says Farrow “now supervises all legal work in connection with the investments of Stephens Capital Partners.”

Jackson Farrow Jr.

I still hear that Nov. 1 is the day when staff is supposed to be in place in the new company. Northwest Arkansas Newspapers will presumably merge the Wehco Media properties of the Northwest Arkansas Times, the Benton County Daily Record and the northwest Arkansas newsroom of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with Stephens Media’s The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas and other properties.

Staff had to interview for the new company last week and supposedly Greg Harton of the Northwest Arkansas Times joined Rusty Turner and Lisa Thompson, editors for The Morning News during some of the interviews.

I was employed by The Morning News until April 2009 and I previously worked for seven years with Wehco Media properties, including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. I wish everyone at those two companies good luck this week as those hiring decisions are likely to be announced.

This may sound cliche and offer cold comfort, but there are ways to continue to do what we love – report on the news in a professional manner – even if it doesn’t appear in print daily.

SIMILAR POSTS

• NWA newspaper merger accelerates as employees apply for their old jobs | Ink By the Byte at 8:14 pm on October 19, 2009
• NWA newspaper merger becomes “officially” official as papers drop simultaneous press releases | Ink By the Byte at 6:30 pm on October 26, 2009
• Democrat-Gazette joins Stephens Media’s copyright shark, Righthaven | CF at 10:42 am on August 26, 2010
• Elephant in the room: Arkansas Week dodges media merger issue | Clipped Fresh at 3:47 pm on September 6, 2009
• Warren Stephens: The heavy hand of publishing | CF at 1:36 pm on September 21, 2009