News company object to political use of logo & content

By Dale Gathright, Jr., 05/13/22 9:21 PM

MAGNOLIA – Magnolia Reporter LLC, and publisher and editor of magnoliareporter.com, a regional news provider, has taken exception to the use of its logo and a headline photo and photo caption from an October 26, 2021 article being used in a political campaign mailer paid for by a group called Truth in Politics 2 IEC. The mailer is on behalf of State Senator Charles Beckham of McNeil in Columbia County.

While part of the mailer shows an image of Beckham and some of his endorsements, the rest alleges candidate Steve Crowell, a member of the Magnolia City Council, got a “sweetheart” deal when his wife purchased city-owned property formerly used as the Magnolia Regional Medical Center Home Health Clinic. She purchased the house for future use by her financial investment adviser company.

Magnolia Reporter LLC in a statement said, “The Beckham mailer mischaracterizes the sale as a “sweetheart real estate deal from the city council.” Unquote.

The statement went on to say, “magnoliareporter.com has covered the details of the sale at length, including actions that the Magnolia City Council took to avoid any appearance of impropriety in the sale. The city gave any interested party three weeks to make bids on it but ultimately, there were only two. The Crowell bid of $70,000 was $40,000 higher than the second-place bid.”

Beckham and Crowell are both Republicans, and the only candidates for the District 3 seat in the Arkansas Senate. The Tuesday, May 24 primary will determine which man will serve a four-year term in the State Senate. Part of the District 3 seat includes Hempstead County.