Arkansas Times announces leadership changes

Austin Bailey, formerly editorial director of the Arkansas Times, has been promoted to editor-in-chief, replacing Lindsey Millar, who has been editor of the Times since 2011. Bailey is the first woman to lead the newsroom in the publication’s nearly 50-year history. 

Millar will continue as a contributing editor, but is leaving to pursue a career in woodworking. 

Bailey, 47, joined the Times in 2021. Previously she was editor of World Ark, Heifer International’s magazine, and a reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Pocono Record in Pennsylvania and the Rocky Mount Telegram in North Carolina. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and a native of Asheville, North Carolina.

Stephanie Smittle, previously managing editor, has been promoted to editorial director and will be the monthly magazine’s top editor while Bailey devotes much of her focus to arktimes.com. Smittle, 42, joined the Times in 2016 as the entertainment editor. She’s a native of Cave Springs and a graduate of Hendrix College. 

Benji Hardy will replace Smittle as managing editor. Previously an associate editor at the Arkansas Times, where his child welfare and health care reporting received national accolades, Hardy has also worked for ProPublica and served as editor for the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network. Hardy, 38, is a native of Ozark and a graduate of Hendrix College. 

The Arkansas Times will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024.