I’m very proud and excited to share that I’m one of 53 public broadcasting newsroom leaders selected to take part in an intensive 100-day training program paid for entirely by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative is being held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
It will be a great opportunity to hone my skills. I’ll fly out to Arizona as part of the second group in August, spending a week there, then work remotely each day with a coach before returning to ASU for a wrap up in January. From the description: “It is 8 total days of customized intensive training at Cronkite and 3 months working 1:1 with a personal coach (industry leader). The goal is to take strong journalists and make them great leaders who can guide public media into the future.” You can read more on this CPB press release.
It took two votes, but the Arkansas Senate approved Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s tax proposal which now moves to the House where it’s expected to face a bigger challenge. Meanwhile there was a lot of anticipation about the governor’s highway plan, which has been a key issue that has kept even some Republicans from backing the tax cut. We also gave an update on the implementation of state’s medical marijuana program. I joined fellow journalists Wes Brown and Andrew DeMillo for the roundtable discussion following two state lawmakers who offered their thoughts.
I joined the panel on AETN’s Arkansas Week today with the key topic being the proposed budget from Gov. Asa Hutchinson which will be considered by legislators in the session that begins in January. In includes tax cuts that will largely benefit the state’s top earners, but Hutchinson said would also help the state as a whole by drawing more businesses, residents and investments. We also discussed the rising number of people being dropped from the state’s Medicaid expansion program for not meeting the recently-enacted work requirement.
This is the online home of Michael Hibblen, managing editor of Newsroom Ventures, which publishes six Arkansas newspapers. I've worked as a reporter, editor and manager for newspapers, radio and TV stations for more than three decades, with this website telling the story of my career. Also featured are outside interests I've researched. The views expressed here are my own and might not reflect those of my employers.
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. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE ABOUT MY BOOK.
Preserving Rock Island Depot at Perry
Since 2017, I've been part of a group working to preserve the former Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas. To keep it from being demolished, we raised money to move the depot to an adjacent lot, still alongside the tracks, which is now owned by the city. The building has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and our group has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. LEARN 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.
I’m very proud and excited to share that I’m one of 53 public broadcasting newsroom leaders selected to take part in an intensive 100-day training program paid for entirely by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative is being held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
