The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has promoted two newsroom employees.
Lisa Hammersly, a projects reporter, has been named projects team leader, and Hunter Field, a state Capitol Bureau reporter, has become assistant city editor.
Hammersly is a Fort Smith native who worked for more than 25 years at The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina.
Hammersly had several editor positions at the Observer and was an investigative reporter on a team of 10 that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2008.
"We discovered in Charlotte in 2006, 2007 there was an incredible spike in foreclosures on home mortgages," she said. "So we were the first news outlet to really discover the mortgage crisis and write about it. It was a series called 'Sold a Nightmare.'"
Hammersly earned journalism degrees from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Columbia University in New York City.
She began working for the Democrat-Gazette in 2011.
When asked about future projects, Hammersly said people are preoccupied with the covid-19 pandemic for now.
"It is probably the most important journalism any of us have done in our careers, and it's hard to look beyond it at this point," she said. "It is the most important story happening now and maybe in our time."
Hammersly said this is an opportunity for the Democrat-Gazette to provide a "huge service" to its readers who are trying to understand the pandemic and how it will affect their lives.
Hammersly replaces Sonny Albarado, who recently retired.
"This newspaper has a reputation for great investigative and enterprise reporting, and Lisa will do a fantastic job leading this impressive team of journalists," said Eliza Gaines, managing editor of the Democrat-Gazette.
Field is a native of Memphis and graduate of the University of Memphis.
He worked in sports at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis before taking a job as a news reporter at the Jonesboro Sun.
After a year in Jonesboro, Field came to work at the Democrat-Gazette in January 2016.
Field said it was his goal to work for a few years as a reporter, then move on to a job as an editor. He said he wants to help reporters develop their skills.
"The Democrat-Gazette is a great place to do that," he said. "We have so many great reporters that come here. Some stay. Some go on to national publications. It's really a hotbed for up-and-coming journalists and a great place to work for journalists."
Field said he hopes to be able to take some of the workload off other editors, who are under the strain at an unprecedented time.
"They're dedicated to this work," he said of the news staff. "They work hard and late to get out a newspaper that serves our readers. I'm really grateful to get to keep working here. It's a wonderful, family owned paper filled from the top down with people who care about journalism and the state, and serving our readers and the public."
"Hunter has proven himself to be a hard worker and valuable member of the newsroom," Gaines said.
Metro on 03/25/2020