East Arkansas Broadcasters is expanding into newspapers with the acquisition of the Stuttgart Daily Leader from Gatehouse Media.
The newspaper had ceased operations on September 6 and will be integrated into the operations of the company’s six station cluster in the area. The company will announce plans for the relaunch of the newspaper in the coming weeks.
EAB owns stations across the state of Arkansas and two statewide networks focusing on Agricultural News and Sports.
Arkansas County Broadcasters, Inc., operating under the East Arkansas Broadcasters (EAB) company umbrella, has purchased the Stuttgart Daily Leader from GateHouse Media.
The Stuttgart Daily Leader has served Stuttgart and the surrounding communities since 1885.
Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc. operates six radio stations in the area: KWAK AM 1240 (Oldies 1240 AM/102.7 FM), KWAK FM (The Duck 105.5 FM), KDEW FM (Country 97.3 FM), KVLO (101.7 Jack FM), KXFE (Country 106.9 FM) and KOTN 102.5 FM.KWAK AM 1240 was Stuttgart’s first radio station, signing on in 1948.
Scott Siler, Chief Operating Officer for EAB, commented about the future of the local paper:
“Our company is excited to purchase the Stuttgart Daily Leader. We feel like adding the Daily Leader to our group of 6 radio stations in South Central Arkansas will be a great outlet to help us continue to provide great local news and information to the area. We will be making plans over the next several weeks to bring the paper back in some fashion as soon as possible.”
Bobby Caldwell, Owner and President of EAB also added, “We are committed to strong local news, information and community involvement in all of our markets.We have operated this group of local radio stations for Stuttgart and the surrounding region since 1986 and look forward to continuing to provide the area with entertainment, news, information and great advertising outlets for many years to come. The purchase of the Stuttgart Daily Leader further solidifies this commitment.”
East Arkansas Broadcasters is a family-owned media company that has grown to be the largest radio group in the state.EAB operates 51 radio signals in markets that include Jonesboro, Wynne, Stuttgart, Dumas, Walnut Ridge, Pocahontas, Morrilton, Russellville and Clarksville. In addition to their radio stations, EAB also operates the EAB Ag Network and the EAB Sports Network, which is the official radio partner of Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech University.
