Five days after Arkansas Money & Politics broke the news that the Arkansas Times, a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, was considering altering its production to a monthly format, the publication confirmed today via e-mail that it will transition to a glossy monthly magazine on Dec. 31 and relaunch its website in February 2019.
The Arkansas Times will continue to publish a weekly tabloid newspaper through the end of the year.
“When the Times went weekly in 1992, the internet didn’t exist. At the time, the increase in frequency enabled us to better report news as well as cover upcoming cultural events,” Arkansas Times’ publisher and founder Alan Leveritt said in the message. “Since then, arktimes.com has become where readers go to for immediacy.”
The Arkansas Times’ website will continue to require a subscription of $9.99 per month or $110 per year, however, readers can see a limited number of articles without subscribing. The site draws more than 350,000 unique visitors and 1 million page views per month, and had 1,600 subscribers in October, according to the e-mail.
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“We also see an opportunity to fill a gap that’s existed since the Arkansas Times went weekly — the absence of a monthly general interest magazine about Arkansas that’s smart, lively, opinionated and willing to take risks,” Leveritt said. “There are a lot of magazines in the market, but they approach our state with a soft focus and are unwilling to risk a dime to take a stand on important issues that affect the health and prosperity of Arkansans.”
The new magazine will be distributed for free in Central Arkansas and Hot Springs.
Arkansas Times debuted as a monthly newsprint magazine in September 1974, and became a glossy magazine with paid circulation In February 1977. It switched to a tabloid-format weekly newspaper with free distribution in May 1992 after the Arkansas Democrat purchased assets of the shuttered Arkansas Gazette from Gannett, which resulted in the creation of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Billed as Arkansas’s weekly newspaper of politics and culture, the publication covers news, politics and entertainment and is known for its liberal-leaning commentary.
Arkansas Times produces several special and custom publications and guides, including El Latino, a Spanish-language weekly; Savvy Kids, a family magazine; Arkansas Wild and Arkansas Food and Farm, and publishes several blogs, including Arkansas Blog, with hourly news and comment; Rock Candy, covering music, art and eats; and Cannibiz, a guide on the state’s medical cannabis industry.
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