In 1999, I was a partner in the Triple FM Radio Group. We owned what is now KDXY (The Fox), KEGI (The Eagle) and KJBX (Mix). We had met a fellow broadcaster from Salina, Kansas named Jerry Hinrikus. Hinrikus was traveling the country speaking at broadcaster conventions boasting of his successful new radio venture: an online internet newspaper he called EBCLink.com. Jerry’s strategy was to fill his website with local news and sports, and use his radio stations to direct listeners to log on and read it. The site had become successful, especially when he used the radio stations to point listeners to breaking news: accidents, crisis, severe weather, etc.

My partners, Bob and Bill Pressly, and I launched a project to try and duplicate what Hinrikus was doing. Using his EBCLink as motivation, we built NEALink. We hired some talented writers and reporters. Brad Bobo, Jeff Chastain and Paul Carter, among others. We hired Paxton Media publisher Dina Mason to help us build it.

Jerry Hinrikus, Eagle Broadcasting

We were competing with a historical newspaper monster: The Jonesboro Sun. At the time, The Sun boasted a daily circulation of over 27,000 and a Sunday circulation topping 30,000. The paper published and delivered every day. If I remember correctly, the paper didn’t have a website. Or, if it did, it was inactive. The other local competition was KAIT, which had started its web presence a couple of years earlier and, like so many broadcasters, was still navigating the internet world testing various operational and advertising strategies.

By late 2002, we had grown the NEALink operation to about “breakeven’ as it related to profit and loss. My partners and I sold our radio station group to a fine broadcast company, Saga Communications, led by a man who I personally connected with as a true broadcaster “geek” like me, the late Ed Christian. When Ed bought us, like any new owner, he looked for ways to trim fat from the operation. In 2002, in the climate of a very young internet, Ed decided our NEALink internet newspaper had to go. In November 2002, NEALink ceased operation.

Fast forward some 22 years later. The Jonesboro Sun, like all newspapers in the country, has shrunk to a small fraction of its former self. Now the newspaper publishes only five days a week. No longer do delivery drivers bring the paper to your door, it is mailed through the US Postal Service, meaning news has to be written two to three days ahead. Most importantly, the number of people reading the newspaper continues to dwindle. Paid circulation in 2023 was down to 5,268. A far cry from the 30,000 plus at the turn of the century. Once occupying one of the largest buildings and operations in Downtown Jonesboro, The Sun now operates out of a strip building on Stone Street.

You would think the operator of a competitor group of radio stations would “brag” and “gloat” over the demise of The Sun, the newspaper. Actually it’s quite the opposite. I truly believe newspapers have historically served as the vigilant eyes and eloquent voice of a community, weaving together the fabric of its past, present, and future. Beyond merely reporting events, newspapers have immortalized the essence of a town, inscribing its triumphs, trials, and transformative moments onto the pages of history. Preserving its stories for generations to come. There is something to be said about the ability to go to a library and thumb through the historical pages of a newspaper to read about the people and events of a community’s past. I don’t see the current trend of the newspaper changing. Like it or not, the days of the printed newspaper are, in a word, history.

What isn’t changing is a community’s need for journalism. Journalism that empowers citizens with knowledge, fosters accountability, and cultivates an informed and engaged populace essential for the vitality of democracy.

Since launching its digital and website presence in the late 90s, KAIT has grown its digital footprint exponentially. KAIT plays a strong journalistic role in our communities. Our company is proud to have partnered with KAIT years ago to combine our forces to super serve our communities in ways other cities admire. KAIT General Manager Hatton Weeks and I are not only business partners, we are personal friends, as we are with many members of the KAIT staff. Our two companies will continue to combine our medias, our staffs, and our forces to deliver the kind of community service we have together for over 20 years.

I believe, though, with the continued demise of the newspaper, our community deserves more than one journalistic effort. More than one voice. More than one vigilant eye on the good, the bad, and the needy. That’s why I believe. It’s time for JonesboroRightNow.com.

Our mission with JonesboroRightNow is to provide timely, accurate, and unbiased news coverage for our community, highlighting the people, events, and issues that matter most. We strive to be a trusted source of information and a platform for community engagement and dialogue. By partnering with our six radio stations, we can provide accurate information immediately to our communities making us a valuable resource.

We have hired Jonesboro native Rachel Anderson as our Editor-In-Chief. Rachel has a passion for our community. She brings a wealth of knowledge and skills she’s honed over the last 15 years in the technology, marketing, and communications industries. Rachel attended and graduated from Nettleton High School and Arkansas State University College of Communications with Honors a decade ago. She has learned much about our community since then and is passionate about serving Northeast Arkansas. Rachel has been a leader during the creation and development of the JonesboroRightNow product you see. Her leadership is going to help us grow JonesboroRightNow into the product we dream it can be. She is married to Blake. They have a daughter, Stevie Ruth.

We have hired Joe Schratz as our Chief Reporter. Joe is an Arkansas native. He began his journalism career at the Arkansas Democrat in 1985. He was editor of the North Little Rock Times, did two stents in Pennsylvania, and has been an editor at the Jonesboro Sun since 2007. “I’m stoked to have a part in building the new JonesboroRightNow product,” Schratz said.

In the days to come, you will see articles and content written and produced by other names you will recognize. Today we are but an infant, but in the weeks and days to come, I believe JonesboroRightNow will mature and grow into a product that my Jonesboro Radio Group colleagues and I will be very, very proud to be a part of.

If you have questions, if you have comments, if you have news or information you would like us to know about or follow up on, I hope you will send us an email to news@JonesboroRightNow.com. If you have specific questions or comments for me, feel free to reach out to me at trey@jradiogroup.com or (870) 933-8800 ext. 112.

May God bless our new product and our team. And may God bless our community.

Trey Stafford
President/General Manager
Jonesboro Radio Group
JonesboroRightNow.com