Paul Greenberg, a Pulitzer Prize winner who has been editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more than 23 years, will step down from that role at the end of the month.
David Barham, an editorial writer at the Democrat-Gazette for 13 years, will succeed Greenberg in the position, effective Aug. 1. The moves were announced Friday morning.
"Paul, obviously, has been a tremendous asset to our newspaper -- not only to our newspaper, also to our readers, our state and, indeed, our democracy," said Nat Lea, president and chief operating officer of WEHCO Media, Inc., the parent company of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. "He has created a very distinct voice."
Greenberg's writings will not disappear from the pages of the newspaper. The 78-year-old, who won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1969 at the Pine Bluff Commercial, will continue to write columns and contribute to the editorial page as an editorial writer.
"Paul has been courageous -- as we all know -- in taking positions," Lea said. "He fought for civil rights when it was unpopular and indeed unsafe to do so. Paul makes a habit of going head to head with power in the arena of ideas and public policy, elevating the quality of public discourse."
Barham, 47, is a Baton Rouge native who graduated from Southern Arkansas University in 1990. He arrived at the Democrat-Gazette from The News Star in Monroe, La., where he was the editorial page editor for five years.
Previously, he covered politics and education and held a bureau position at the Monroe newspaper, which he joined in 1992.
Barham said writing editorials for Greenberg has been his "dream job."
"Thank goodness Paul is going to continue to write columns and editorials," Barham said. "The voice of the [editorial] page shouldn't change all that much. If everything goes like I hope it goes, our readers won't notice much of a change at all."
Barham won the American Society of News Editors' distinguished writing award for editorial writing for the third time in 2009. He also won the award for his work in 2003 and 2005.
In 2009, Barham also won the Walker Stone Award for editorial writing from the Scripps Howard Foundation.
"David is remarkably talented," said Walter E. Hussman Jr., publisher of the Democrat-Gazette and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media. "David has a great attitude and takes his job very seriously. I think he will do an excellent job for us."
Barham is married to Stephanie Barham, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Sylvan Hills Elementary School in Sherwood. They have four children.
A native of Shreveport, Greenberg is a graduate of the University of Missouri, earning a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1958 and a master's degree in history in 1959.
He started as an editorial writer with the Pine Bluff Commercial in 1962 and worked there until 1992, except for a year beginning in 1966, when he wrote editorials at the Chicago Daily News.
His 1969 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing was awarded for his 1968 editorials about civil rights while he was writing for the Pine Bluff Commercial. Greenberg was a finalist for the same award in 1978 and 1986.
"Wish me luck" were the first three words appearing under Greenberg's byline as editorial page editor of the Democrat-Gazette. In that May 3, 1992, debut column, Greenberg also wrote that "you can't have a great newspaper without a great editorial page."
"A good editorial page, like good conversation, has to be a mutual endeavor," Greenberg wrote.
Under Greenberg's leadership, the editorial page of the Democrat-Gazette won several awards on the state and national levels, including a first place win in 2013 for editorial writing in the 79th National Headliner Awards. Greenberg and Barham shared the award.
"I feel really fortunate to have been a publisher of a newspaper where we had someone as talented as Paul Greenberg," Hussman said. "I think rarely do you get to work with somebody as unique as Paul."
The announcement of Greenberg relinquishing his role brought forth several tributes from Arkansas politicians, including Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
"I've been the subject of Paul's editorial pages many times," Hutchinson said in a statement. "While I don't always agree with what he writes, I have always appreciated his personal civility and courtesy.
"Paul, it has been 'wholly a pleasure.'"