How Arkansas Media Collaboration Can Strengthen Civic Engagement

August 26, 2025August 27, 2025 General

This blog was submitted by Clint Schaff, general manager of KUAF Public Radio, University of Arkansas.

Walking into the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute’s Press and Community Convening, I figured we’d spend the day cataloging problems: news deserts, declining resources, and the usual litany of challenges facing local media. Instead, I found myself on a panel with 115-plus people who were genuinely excited about reimagining what community media could become in 2025.

Chris Bahn did a great job moderating our discussion, which brought together an impressive range of perspectives — joining me on the panel were I.C. Murrell from Pine Bluff Commercial, Warwick Sabin from Deep South Today, Ashley Wimberley from Arkansas Press Association, Andrew Bagley from Helena World, Eliza Gaines from WEHCO Media, and Roby Brock from Talk Business & Politics. What struck me wasn’t just the breadth of outlets we represented, but how all of us were thinking beyond preservation mode toward genuine innovation.

Show Up and Listen

The biggest takeaway for me was how simple — and potentially revolutionary — authentic community engagement actually is. Show up at farmers’ markets. Be present at city council meetings. Let community priorities drive your coverage instead of assuming you know what matters. Be transparent about how you make decisions.

It sounds obvious until you realize how easy it is to get caught up in other stuff and forget that the work is really about being genuinely useful to the people you serve. 

At KUAF, a listener-supported service of the University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, we cover many counties across northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas River Valley, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Missouri. This community-focused approach extends the university’s land-grant mission of education, research, and public service throughout our region. We see every day how commercial media pulling back has created opportunities for public media to step up differently — not just doing more of the same, but becoming the clear, independent signal that cuts through information static.

Beyond Competing for Scraps

What gives me the most hope is how Arkansas’s public radio stations are beginning to choose collaboration over competition. KUAF, KASU, and Little Rock Public Radio are exploring how to share resources and coordinate coverage in ways that could strengthen us all. Rather than fighting for scraps, we’re working toward building something sustainable together.

This collaborative spirit is emerging beyond public media, too. Our panel discussion showed me that newsrooms across Arkansas — legacy papers, nonprofit startups, and statewide outlets — are all grappling with the same fundamental question: How do we become essential civic infrastructure rather than just another voice in the noise?

Beyond Just Reporting

The question that stuck with me most during our conversation was whether just reporting the news is sufficient if you really care about informed communities and civic engagement. The answer seemed clear: probably not.

We can provide voter guides, candidate forums, and information about how local government works — giving people the facts they need to make their own decisions about civic participation. At KUAF, we’ve long fostered community through our local programming, including Community Spotlights. Now, we are exploring community notice segments that could provide information about civic processes for those who want to engage. Not telling people what to think, but ensuring access to civic information.

To be clear, this is not about abandoning journalism standards or about becoming activists. It’s about recognizing that in healthy communities, access to civic information is as important as breaking news.

The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. Arkansas media outlets are using this moment of disruption to explore the transformation from traditional operations into something more like essential community resources — connection points that could turn isolated residents into informed neighbors.

At KUAF, we’re working toward becoming an essential community resource and connection point that serves the tri-state region we call home. Through our signature daily news magazine Ozarks At Large and expanding community engagement efforts, we’re trying to prove it’s possible to adapt and grow rather than just hang on to what used to work. We want to help lead by example in this transformation.

Coming away from the convening, I’m convinced Arkansas has the potential to become a laboratory for sustainable community media. In a state where civic engagement has room to grow, the stakes for getting this right are high. We have smart people working on these challenges with a genuine commitment to serving communities well, and we’re choosing collaboration over competition.

The static is loud right now — misinformation, polarization, and information overload. But those of us on that panel, and media folks across Arkansas, are exploring how to be the clear signal that cuts through all that noise. We’re working toward building bridges that connect newcomers with longtime residents, help rural communities stay connected, and ensure everyone has access to the information they need to participate fully in civic life.

We’re working toward building something our communities actually need. Coming away from that convening, I’m convinced it could be something essential — and that potential alone makes it worth the effort.