Objective: The students will compare and contrast the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
as it was in the past and as it is today.
Activities: First write the name Arkansas Gazette and the name Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on the board. Explain that the Arkansas Gazette and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are essentially the same newspaper. The reason being that the Arkansas Gazette was purchased by the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat, Walter Hussman, Jr. Draw a Venn diagram on the board. Tell the children that you are going to compare and contrast the newspapers characteristic from the past and present. Begin with the Arkansas Gazette. This paper was published and edited by William Woodruff. The newspaper was printed on every Saturday. The newspaper was only four pages long. People could subscribe to the paper for three dollars a year if they paid in advance. If people choose to wait until the end of the year to pay for their newspaper, they would pay four dollars.
Today the Arkansas Gazette is known as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The editor of the newspaper is Jack Schnedler and the publisher of the paper is Walter Hussman, Jr. The newspaper is printed daily. The cost of the newspaper is fifty cents per day (Monday-Saturday) and one dollar on Sundays. The paper is divided in to numerous sections and has more than four pages to each section.
The newspapers are the same because they both have the name Gazette in them. Both papers include an editor and publisher. The newspapers both contain news articles that consist of current events. Both newspapers also contain advertisements, although today’s paper includes advertisements with pictures.
Assessment: Students will write a paragraph explaining how they think William
Woodruff would feel about the Arkansas Gazette as it is today.
Williams, Nancy & Whayne, Jeannie (2000). Arkansas Biography, 314-315.