Walter E. Hussman Jr.

Walter Edward Hussman Jr. (born January 5, 1947), is an American newspaper publisher and chairman of WEHCO Media, Inc. He is the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, which is the largest newspaper in Arkansas. Hussman directs a chain of smaller newspapers, including the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Texarkana Gazette, and owns cable television companies in four states.

Walter E. Hussman Jr.
Born (1947-01-05) January 5, 1947
Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of North Carolina Chapel Hill, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Columbia University
OccupationChairman of WEHCO Media
SpouseRobena Kendrick Hussman
Children3
Parent(s)Walter E. Hussman Sr.
Betty Palmer Hussman

Early years and education

Hussman was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, but moved in 1949 to Camden, Arkansas, with his parents, Walter E. Hussman Sr. (1906–1988) and the former Betty Palmer (1911–1990), and two older sisters. Hussman Sr. published The Camden News, which he had purchased from his father-in-law, Clyde E. Palmer (1876–1957).[1]

Hussman graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1964.[2] He earned his bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and his master's of business administration from Columbia University. In 1970, Hussman worked as a reporter for Forbes magazine. Later he became his father's administrative assistant, then general manager of The Camden News. He moved to Hot Springs in 1973 to become vice president and general manager of the Palmer Newspapers, which became a division of WEHCO Media.[1]

In 1974, Hussman left Hot Springs for Little Rock when WEHCO purchased the Arkansas Democrat and he was named publisher.[1]

Newspaper work

Hussman moved the Arkansas Democrat to a morning paper in 1979 and began using color 1982.[3] He fought a newspaper "war" with the competing Arkansas Gazette. The two papers merged into the joint Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October 1991.[3] Hussman was opposed to newspapers providing free content online, writing in a 2007 Wall Street Journal op-ed column that newspapers should stop providing such free content, calling the posting of so much of the newspaper product a "self-inflicted wound."[4] He implemented a shift from delivering newspapers in print to delivering them on iPads in 2018.[5]

Hussman is a former chairman of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association (SNPA) and was the first recipient of SNPA's Frank W. Mayborn award,[6] given in honor of the late publisher of the Temple Daily Telegram in Temple, Texas.

Awards and honors
  • In 2008, Hussman was named Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher, a trade publication.[7]
  • In 2012, Hussman was inducted in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.[8]
  • In 2014, Hussman was inducted into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame.[9]

Hussman School of Journalism & Media at UNC

In 2019, Hussman wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "Journalism schools need to adopt similar statement of core journalistic values."[10]

Controversies

Hussman raised concerns with University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill leadership about hiring Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Black journalist who developed The 1619 Project.[11] After its initial delay in voting on her tenure, on June 30, 2021, the UNC board of trustees voted to grant tenure to Hannah-Jones.[12] Hannah-Jones subsequently announced she would join the faculty of Howard University as the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Reporting, having secured $15 million for the institution from foundations.[13]

Personal life

Hussman lives in Little Rock with his wife, the former Robena Kendrick (b. June 26, 1946). They have three children.

References
  1. "Walter E. Hussman Jr. (1947–)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  2. "Notable Alumni". The Lawrenceville School. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  3. "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  4. Hussman Jr., Walter E. (2007-05-07). "How to Sink a Newspaper". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  5. Monteith, David (2019-11-26). "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Nearing Completion Of Digital Rollout". www.ualrpublicradio.org. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  6. "Hussman wins first Mayborn Leadership Award". Plainview Daily Herald. 2004-10-13. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  7. E&P Staff. "Walter Hussman Jr. Named 'E&P' Publisher of the Year – Editor & Publisher Magazine". Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  8. "Walter E. Hussman, Jr". Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, Walton College, University of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  9. "Walter E. Hussman, Inducted 2014". NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  10. Hussman, Walter Jr. (2019-09-10). "Opinion | Impartiality Is the Source of a Newspaper's Credibility". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  11. Robertson, Katie (23 June 2021). "Nikole Hannah-Jones Says She Won't Join U.N.C. Faculty Without Tenure". New York Times. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  12. Ellis, Nicquel Terry (30 June 2021). "UNC board grants tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones amid outcry from Black faculty and students". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  13. "Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones declines UNC job after tenure controversy". www.cbsnews.com. 6 July 2021.
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