The Bentonville Bulletin to center on local news coverage
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Some historical iterations of NWA local news sources via coffee cups. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
Nearly a decade after NWA cities lost individualized local newspaper coverage, online site The Bentonville Bulletin promises to focus on one town.
- Well, plus Centerton and Bella Vista.
Why it matters: Local journalism not only holds an area's officials accountable, it binds communities together through shared experiences.
State of play: The nascent Bentonville Bulletin will be "newsletter first," founder and Bentonville native Sam Hoisington told Axios. There's not yet been a regular cadence for email sends to its 4,300-plus subscribers, but he hopes to change that soon.
- The site has been publishing stories since about mid-April.
- The organization is seeking an editor to lead its coverage.
Flashback: Hoisington co-founded the Wisconsin newsletter Madison Minutes in 2021. He sold it to City Cast before moving back to NWA.
The big picture: About 1,800 U.S. newspapers closed between 2004 and 2021, leaving pockets around the country without local watchdogs.
- During 2023, local newspapers closed at an average of 2.5 per week, leaving nearly half the counties in the U.S. with little or no access to local news, according to Northwestern Medill's annual review of local journalism.
What they're saying: "I've been talking to people and what our North Star is, is producing interesting, useful local news," Hoisington said.
- "The real story [in Bentonville] is the story of growth … who's getting pushed out, who's being brought in, what new businesses are opening…" along with city council meetings, board of education meetings and infrastructure needs.
- "Unfortunately, boring stuff matters," he Caid.
Between the lines: The Bulletin's initial backer is Mitch Bettis, president and owner of Arkansas Business Publishing Group (ABPG) in Little Rock. The investment is personal and not a part of ABPG, Bettis said. Hoisington interned at the company in 2017.
- "I admire Sam, and I think he has a real heart for doing what we value with community news," Bettis said.
"What interests me on a bigger picture is — is there a new model that can be built that supports communities and local journalism?" Bettis said, though he doesn't think he'll be the one to lead the charge long term.
The bottom line: Hoisington said he likely won't see a profit for a while, so has a day job working for Indigraf, a tech startup makes news sites for independent publishers.
What we're watching: "The main thing we're watching is how many people are opting in to [Sam's newsletter] … because it really is a bit of a bellwether of, is there an appetite for local community news? Are they responding to the type of information his team is putting forward? Is there a desire to sort of connect with the community this way?" Bettis said.
- "So that's ... been the most encouraging growth metric, and that's the one I'm perpetually the most interested in."