Welcome to The Source, home to NWA Media’s blog for politics, business, entertainment, community and opinion. We provide breaking news, both big and small, and connect you to information you need. The Source will also provide information collected by NWA Media’s network of more than 60 full-time professional journalists in the region. If you want to know what’s really happening in Northwest Arkansas, come to The Source.
NWA Media is a print and online publishing company that connects readers to the information they need to know.
Our Contributors
Doug Thompson
Doug Thompson, a veteran Arkansas journalist, is the enterprise and political editor for NWA Media. He worked as a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat and then the Democrat-Gazette from 1984 to 2002, covering several beats, including business and politics. In 2002, he joined Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau and the Morning News as the Northwest Arkansas political reporter and columnist. When Stephens Media and Wehco Media merged Northwest Arkansas operations to create NWA Media in November 2009, Thompson became editorial page editor.
Christie Swanson
Christie Swanson covers business for NWA Media’s local daily newspapers and NWAonline.com. In her nearly 20-year career, she’s covered everything from local sports to international retailing giant Wal-Mart. Christie also spent six years as managing editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville. She is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and a loyal fan of her home state Iowa Hawkeyes.
Read Articles by Christie | Follow Christie on Twitter | Send Christie an Email
Becca Bacon Martin
Becca Bacon Martin is Features editor at NWA Media, a lifelong journalist, actor, director, artist, flea marketer and mom.
Read Articles by Becca | Follow Becca on Twitter | Send Becca an Email
Kevin Kinder
Kevin Kinder covers the Northwest Arkansas music scene and other entertainment-related topics. Kevin started a career in journalism as a general assignment reporter and photographer, but moved to Arkansas in 2006 to pursue a beat he continues to love — music. A graduate of Wichita State University, he spends his free time traveling to concerts, writing fiction, cooking and performing with a local improv comedy troupe.
Carin Schoppmeyer
Carin Schoppmeyer covers social events, fundraisers and nonprofit organizations. In doing so, she gets to catch Northwest Arkansans at their best.
Read Articles by Carin | Follow Carin on Twitter | Send Carin an Email
Mike Masterson
Mike Masterson began his journalism career in 1971 and has gone on to be the editor of three Arkansas daily papers, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Sun-Times as well as the investigative team leader at The Arizona Republic. He is a regular staff columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and its opinion editor for Northwest Arkansas. Mike’s writing and reporting have received more than two dozen national honors, including twice being a finalist for The Pulitzer Prize and a four-time award recipient in the annual Robert F. Kennedy Awards.