Lindsey Millar, formerly the lifestyle editor of the Arkansas Times, has been promoted to editor, taking the place of Max Brantley. Brantley, who has been editor for nearly 20 years, will take senior status; he’ll continue to write a column and be the editor of the Arkansas Blog, the Times’ daily online source for news and commentary.
Millar, 31, joined the Times staff in 2007. He previously worked at the Localist, Little Rock Monthly, the Oxford American and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University in Virginia and is a native of Searcy.
Brantley became editor of the Times in December 1991, after the closure of the Arkansas Gazette, where he’d worked for 19 years. He oversaw the Times‘ change from monthly magazine to weekly newspaper in April 1992.
“There’s no one in Arkansas journalism with the institutional wisdom of Max Brantley,” Millar said. “I don’t think anyone could hope to truly replace him. Luckily, I won’t have to. I’m counting on reporting on the Arkansas Blog and daily counsel from him for years to come.”
Millar said that despite the challenges that media now face, he’s confident the Times will continue to grow because of its “creative and tenacious staff,” the publisher’s “spirit of innovation” and because the Times is committed to covering important stories that are often ignored elsewhere.
Brantley, 61, said he decided last year that “it would be good for the paper if I stepped aside.” He pointed to Millar’s development of the Times‘ new website and other technological advances, including podcasts and online databases, and his design changes. Millar is also “a contributor of sharp writing and smart and collegial editing, and he’s also brought a number of new free-lance voices to our pages.”
“The Arkansas Times has been an important voice in this community for almost 37 years. I couldn’t feel better about the future,” Brantley said.