Alyson Hoge, a newspaper veteran of nearly 43 years, has been named managing editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Hoge, who has been supervising reporting for the newspaper's Washington and state Capitol bureaus as deputy managing editor of news since 2015, will fill a position vacated with the promotion of Eliza Gaines, who recently was named executive editor.
Hoge, 63, officially will move into the new position Feb. 28. Gaines, after taking maternity leave, will become executive editor in September.
"Her biggest strengths are her newsroom experience, her news judgment and the drive to find stories no one else has," Gaines said of Hoge. "She's also embraced our newspaper's digital capabilities, and I think she'll find great ways to move our product forward digitally. I'm excited to work more closely with her and can't wait to see how the newsroom thrives with Alyson as managing editor."
Hoge has worked for the Democrat-Gazette or its predecessor, the Arkansas Democrat, for nearly 43 years, starting as an obituary clerk in 1979. Within a year, she became a reporter based at the state Capitol. "I started at the Democrat at a time when you could start as a clerk and work your way up," Hoge said.
She has held numerous positions since, including city editor and state editor, and has supervised the design and copy desks. She also has been chief editor of the newspaper's daily reports on the coronavirus pandemic since its outbreak in early 2020.
"I appreciate the confidence Eliza and top management have in me," she said. "I am a big believer in news and a believer that the Democrat-Gazette needs to be one of the prime sources of news for people."
Lynn Hamilton, president and general manager of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., said: "I am so happy for Alyson and for the Democrat-Gazette. Alyson personifies what this newspaper is and what our newsroom is capable of. Alyson came to us when she was 20 years old. At that time we were hiring a lot of young people -- dozens, actually -- with little experience. She has held a number of jobs through the years and has excelled in everything she has done. She's incredibly bright, and she'll be aggressive at finding and reporting the news."
Hoge said she honed her news instincts during the newspaper war in the 1980s between the Arkansas Democrat and the Arkansas Gazette while working under John Robert Starr, the Democrat's managing editor. Both newspapers sustained tremendous financial losses. The Gannett Co., which bought the Gazette in 1986 from the Patterson family of Little Rock, closed the newspaper in 1991 and sold its assets to WEHCO Media, Inc., the parent company of the Democrat and, now, the Democrat-Gazette.
Hoge was instrumental during those times, Hamilton said. "The outcome of the war was very much in doubt," he said. "She learned an attitude and an aggressiveness to news coverage that we really needed at the time."
Hoge said an immediate challenge remains how the newsroom continues dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Most reporters and editors continue working from home, Hoge said.
"I really look forward to the point where we can return to the newsroom, and that point might be nearing, with the number of covid cases appearing to go down," she said. "I think there's value in in-person meetings, whether in the newsroom or at the boards and commissions and everything else that we cover."
Hoge was born in Hope and raised there for six weeks before her family moved to North Little Rock. She attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Hoge lives in southern Pulaski County.
"I have extensive experience in both news and production, so I am always interested in looking for ways to improve," Hoge said.