Civic Arkansas is the Institute’s collaborative initiative to improve Arkansas’s civic health by building pathways for connectedness and strengthening local communities. The program thrives through a dynamic network of civic leaders known as Civic Activators, who unite communities statewide to address local challenges through collaborative problem solving.
Ashley Wimberley and the Arkansas Press Association
For Ashley Kemp Wimberley, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, strengthening communities starts with ensuring people can access trusted local information. Through her work in community journalism and her role as a Civic Arkansas Activator, she helps create pathways for Arkansans to stay informed, engaged, and connected to their communities.
“It is remarkable how closely the concepts and goals of Civic Arkansas relate to the mission of the Arkansas Press Association and my role as executive director,” Wimberley said. “I am hopeful and confident that civic-minded Arkansans can indeed collaborate to help strengthen our communities and open up pathways of connection for our citizens.”
That alignment between civic health and local journalism is what drew her to Civic Arkansas. She sees tremendous value in the initiative’s commitment to listening first and bringing together diverse voices from across the state.
“I was impressed with the level of organization and engagement that Civic Arkansas developed in seeking input from a variety of sources,” she said. “The number of listening sessions was particularly noteworthy, as was the personal contact with university leaders and young people across the state. This level of commitment to listening will continue to bring positive results as the organization seeks to understand what truly is needed to serve the diverse communities of Arkansas best.”
The Role of Local Journalism in Civic Health
Wimberley’s connection to community journalism runs deep.
“I grew up in a family that spent a lifetime devoted to community journalism,” she said. “
The importance of a newspaper in a thriving community is ingrained in me. I understand how a newspaper can inform, serve as a watchdog, and help create a sense of unity in a community.”
Since 1873, the Arkansas Press Association has served as the voice of newspapers across the state, and Wimberley views her role as both a privilege and a responsibility.
“I consider it an honor to carry on that tradition,” she said.
The connection between local news and civic engagement is central to her work every day. She believes strong community newspapers play a critical role in helping residents understand the issues affecting their communities, participate in civic life, and hold institutions accountable.
“My day-to-day duties are all about the elevation of newspapers and, in turn, the promotion of civic health in our communities,” Wimberley said.
One initiative she is particularly proud of is helping ensure Arkansas communities maintain access to local news.
“I have been heavily involved in the past two years successfully brokering buyer-seller agreements to help ensure that each county in Arkansas retains a viable community newspaper,” she said.
Expanding Access to Trusted Information
As conversations continue around the future of local information and news, Wimberley believes community journalism remains one of the strongest tools for civic engagement.
“Many local communities express a concern that access to local information has been curtailed in recent years,” Wimberley said. “The local newspaper traditionally has been a key player in fostering civic engagement.”
While newspapers continue to navigate economic challenges, she remains optimistic and believes investment in local journalism can strengthen communities statewide.
“Not all ‘news’ is inherently healthy or accurate in our social media age,” she said.
“Professional journalists and strong newspapers can indeed help provide information that leads to sound and active civic engagement.”
That mission closely mirrors Civic Arkansas’s goals.
“On the one hand, I am working with my newspaper friends and colleagues to help create a stronger community journalism presence in Arkansas,” Wimberley said.
“In my role as a Civic Arkansas Activator, I am engaged in a broader network, but with many of the same goals: promote electoral and political participation, broaden volunteerism and community involvement, expand access to information and build civic trust.”
Building Solutions Together
Wimberley has also been actively involved in Institute convenings focused on increasing access to local information and news. She believes bringing people together across sectors helps communities better understand challenges and identify practical solutions.
“The Institute convening I attended was educational and uplifting,” she said. “Bringing people together to address issues facing Arkansas and to sharpen our focus on solutions is always helpful.”
For Wimberley, one of the greatest benefits of serving as a Civic Arkansas Activator is the opportunity to collaborate with leaders who share a commitment to strengthening Arkansas communities.
“It is exciting to be involved with like-minded leaders from across the state who see the value of an Arkansas that is civically healthy,” she said.
Wimberly agrees with the founding purpose of the Institute as it underscores the words of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller: “Every citizen has the duty to be informed, to be thoughtfully concerned, and to participate in the search for solutions.”
“That resonates for me as both a personal and professional principle,” Wimberley said.
She also noted that hearing how people outside the journalism profession view the role of local media was valuable.
“It was enlightening to hear what leaders in other fields of endeavor believe or understand about the role of journalism in our society and specifically in Arkansas,” she said.
She hopes those conversations continue, and she sees opportunities for newspapers to facilitate similar discussions in their own communities.
“I could see how similar newspapers could sponsor convenings within their own communities to identify local issues and find unique ways to increase access to information and promote civic engagement,” she said.
Looking Ahead
Wimberley believes Arkansas has tremendous strengths, but she also recognizes opportunities to improve the state’s civic health.
“Arkansas is a wonderful state full of friendly, helpful, and talented individuals,” she said. “It is a great place to live and work. But we always need to be mindful of ways in which we can enhance the quality of life for our citizens.”
Among the challenges she hopes Arkansas can address is voter participation, an issue closely linked to many of Civic Arkansas’s focus areas.
Looking 10 years ahead, Wimberley hopes to see a state that is more informed, more engaged, and more connected.
“I would like to see a better-informed and healthier Arkansas,” she said. “We are a small state, which in a sense makes it possible to address some of our issues more effectively, and I am confident we will.”
She believes the relationship between community journalism and civic health will remain an important part of that progress.
“I believe healthy community newspapers will play a key role in a healthier civic environment, and the reverse also is true,” she said. “That makes my involvement in both the Arkansas Press Association and Civic Arkansas so exciting.”
For Wimberley, Civic Arkansas and community journalism ultimately share the same goal: empowering Arkansans with the information, trust, and connections needed to build stronger communities and a healthier future for the state.
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