[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO THE JONESBORO SUN

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                           HON. MARION BERRY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 26, 2000

  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to a great Arkansas 
institution, and I am proud to recognize the Jonesboro Sun in the 
Congress for its invaluable contributions and service to our nation.
  Family-owned, independent newspapers are part of a great, albeit 
vanishing, tradition that goes back to our nation's earliest days.
  According to one recent study, independents' share of the daily 
newspaper circulation dropped from 90 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 
1998. Last year, it was projected that half of America's family-owned 
dailies--which number less than 300--will be sold within the next five 
years.
  On the morning of Saturday, September 2nd, Northeast Arkansas learned 
that the Troutt family, owners of the Jonesboro Sun for 99 of its 117 
years, decided to sell the newspaper to the Paxton Media Group of 
Paducah, Kentucky. The Sun is the regional newspaper serving a dozen 
counties in the First Congressional District of Arkansas.
  The Jonesboro Sun is a mainstream newspaper that has always 
emphasized fair and thorough coverage of the day-to-day news that 
affects the lives of eastern Arkansas residents. A great newspaper 
should always serve as the conscience of the area and the readers it 
serves. The Sun has played that vital role in the lives of many of our 
citizens.
  The Sun is a great newspaper, not an entertainment-driven publication 
that feeds on this nation's cult of celebrity. The Troutt family 
operated the Sun more as a legacy than a business. It has been a 
profitable business, but also an understated, integral part of the 
community.
  ``Independent'' means many things to many people. The dictionary 
definition is ``free from the control of others,'' but that is just 
part of its meaning when applied to an independent newspaper like the 
Jonesboro Sun. In the first place, it is free from the control of a 
distant corporate headquarters when it comes to a sensitive or 
controversial story that an influential person might seek to suppress. 
The Sun's corporate headquarters has been contiguous to the newsroom, 
where management and ownership is only a few steps away to make sure 
the facts are presented fairly.
  Independent also means freedom from the influence of advertisers. An 
independent paper can choose to publish or not publish an article based 
on an objective evaluation of its newsworthiness. This decision is made 
in the newsroom--not in the advertising department.
  John Troutt, Jr. the Sun's editor and publisher, did not worry about 
the bottom line when he was filing more Freedom of Information Act 
lawsuits than any other publisher in Arkansas. He did not worry about 
the bottom line or journalism awards while directing the newspaper's 
coverage of the Westside Middle School shooting tragedy in March 1998. 
He made the tough calls without regard to overtime and newsprint costs. 
He made these decisions because he is a newspaperman.
  Still, the Sun was the first runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for its 
coverage of the Westside shootings.
  Due to technology, as well as the economic and estate tax conditions 
that exist today, it has become increasingly difficult for independent 
newspapers to survive. Yet the independent local paper is most often 
the conscience, face, and voice of the community. The conglomerates 
that now dominate the newspaper industry must now rise to the challenge 
to fill the void left by these disappearing institutions.
  With this in mind, I was very pleased to read the words of Fred 
Paxton, the chairman of the Paxton Media Group, which is assuming 
responsibility for the Sun.
  ``As is the case with the Troutts, ours is a family-owned newspaper 
company,'' Paxton noted. ``As we have grown, we have sought to combine 
the best elements of local family ownership with the advantages and 
operating efficiencies of a larger organization.''
  ``We have a philosophy about the role a newspaper should play in its 
community, but we rely on local managers to adapt that philosophy to 
each community in which we operate. We believe a newspaper should be a 
reflection of the community it serves,'' Paxton emphasized. 
``Publishers and editors make the final decisions about news and 
editorial content, and virtually every key business decision is made at 
the local level.''
  John Troutt, Jr., representing the third-generation of the family 
directing the operations of the Jonesboro Sun, observed that the Paxton 
Media Group is a fourth-generation family-owned media company with more 
than a century of history in the newspaper industry.
  It is important that family newspapers survive, because I believe 
family ownership can make a difference. But most importantly, I hope we 
will always have newspapers like the Jonesboro Sun, with an independent 
spirit and the courage to report the truth with fairness. Our democracy 
depends on it.

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