With just over two weeks before Arkansas takes part in Super Tuesday on March 3, presidential politics, including race, dominated most of the conversation on this weekend’s episode of Arkansas Week. We also discussed Little Rock getting its first medical marijuana dispensary, nine months after they began opening elsewhere in the state. I joined state Rep. Fred Allen (D-Little Rock) and Hendrix College political science professor Jay Barth to talk about the issues with host Steve Barnes.
This show was aired just as AETN (Arkansas Educational Television Network) announced it will be adopting a new name, Arkansas PBS, which Barnes discusses at the end of the program. The rebranding reflects the growth of digital platforms to watch programming beyond the six broadcast television signals that make up the network. The new name officially goes into effect on Feb. 28.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
A highlight of every concert I’ve seen by Willie Nelson has been hearing him sing “Me and Paul,” written about his experiences with longtime drummer Paul English. English officially joined “the family,” which Nelson called his band, in 1966, though they had met a decade earlier. So I was sad to see that English died on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020 after suffering from pneumonia. He was 87.
Paul English brushes the snare drum during a performance of “Me and Paul” with Willie Nelson on Oct. 5, 2012 in Jonesboro, Arkansas during the annual Johnny Cash Heritage Festival. Photos: Michael Hibblen/ KUAR News.
Only once did I cover a Willie Nelson concert as a reporter. That was on Oct. 5, 2012 during the annual Johnny Cash Heritage Festival, which raises money to restore and maintain Cash’s boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas. Cash and Nelson had long been friends, performed together in the supergroup the Highwaymen, and released a live album together in 1998, the incredible VH1 Storytellers, in which they alternated stories and songs. So it seemed a natural having Nelson play to help support the project for his late friend’s home, which had its roots in a New Deal program during the Great Depression.
Willie Nelson at the Oct. 5, 2012 concert in Jonesboro, Ark.
I was in the pit at the front of the stage shooting photos at the 2012 show and was happy, as I heard Nelson introduce “Me and Paul,” to see a spotlight shine on the drummer, with me taking the photo above of English in signature hat, black outfit and cape. I interviewed Willie Nelson once in 2005, with audio and photos of that, as well as photos from the 2012 concert at this link.
English had a colorful history, not only playing rhythm for Nelson, but also serving as a protector of the singer. The Oxford American (which is based in Arkansas) detailed that history in a 2015 article titled “Watching Willie’s Back,” which delved into the many roles English held over the years. That included being road manager of the show and, in the early days, being the strong-armed collector of payments from club owners for the band. Armed with a pistol in his boot, he was prepared to protect anyone that threatened Nelson or the band. RIP Paul English.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
This weekend I was among the panelists on AETN’s “Arkansas Week” discussing the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump in the U.S. Senate. I also talked about covering presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s visit to Little Rock on Monday, Jan. 20. He entered the race too late to take part in the first four states holding primary elections and is focusing efforts on Super Tuesday states like Arkansas.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
In 1922, the first radio station in Arkansas was put on the air by Harvey Couch, creator of Arkansas Power & Light. The call letters for WOK stood for “Workers of Kilowatts.” Couch made his first broadcast using a tower at his home in Pine Bluff, with a group listening at the nearby Hotel Pines.
I was among those interviewed about this for the AETN documentary “Music in Arkansas: Origins 200 BC-1941 AD.” As I explained, the arrival of radio would have a tremendous impact on the state, especially by connecting those living in rural areas with the rest of the country. You can watch that segment of the program below.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
I’m proud to have been asked by the Encyclopedia of Arkansas to write an entry on KBTM, which was one of the state’s early radio stations, while its FM frequency with the same call letters is believed to have been the first licensed FM in the state. The online encyclopedia is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System.
I had extensively researched the Jonesboro radio station in 2011, even interviewing many people who worked there, as well as members of the Patteson family, which owned the AM/FM combo for 35 years. My research was spurred by eventual corporate owner Clear Channel Communications killing off the powerful FM frequency to put a lower power station on the air in Memphis, which would make more money being in a larger market. It was a joy to revisit my research as I prepared the entry for the encyclopedia, following its style. The entry was published Nov. 23, 2019 and can be read here. If you’d like to read what I originally wrote for my website, which includes audio of my interviews, you can find it here.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
On the web since 2002, this is the online home of broadcasting news veteran Michael Hibblen. I've worked for newspapers, radio and TV stations around the country, with this website telling the story of my career, including audio, photos and videos. Also featured are various interests I've researched, primarily about radio and railroads. Today I'm Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, overseeing production of the program "Arkansas Week" and the streaming of events on the Arkansas Citizens Access Network. The posts on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arkansas PBS or my former employers.
My Book
Released by Arcadia Publishing in 2017, Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas delves into the history of the railroad which once had a huge footprint in Arkansas, as well as other states in the middle of the U.S. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE
For 13 years, from May 2009 to December 2022, I worked for NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That included 10 years as News Director while continuing to anchor and report. You can read and hear reports from that time on Little Rock Public Radio's website.
