Carlton Wing, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 70th district, sits down with April and Glen to talk about his career in sports media, his role as a host several years for a worldwide fishing tournament, and as a legislator since 2016. Carlton traces his early influences on his views and then describes his current work in government as “servant leadership.” He strongly believes that his role in the legislature is to serve the people by focusing on principle before policies, and he believes the majority of Arkansans see things from somewhere in the middle, between extremes on both the left and right. Carlton feels all in government should work together, something he promotes by seeking to lower the temperature politically and to build bridges. After describing friendships he has made with Democrats, he outlines several key laws and issues that have been passed recently or that he feels must be addressed soon. Carlton focuses in particular on the need for addressing taxation policy that ensures all programs seen as important are able to be funded. He also praises recent work to promote the natural resources of Arkansas, given research showing the value to mental health of time spent in nature.

In part 2 of April and Glen’s conversation with Jonathan Seaborn, general manager of Little Rock Public Radio, Jonathan addresses criticisms from some listeners who complain of excessive coverage of some right-leaning figures such as Steve Bannon and President Trump. We also discuss the challenges of dealing with misinformation and disinformation in media, and how KUAR is working to meet that challenge. In discussing the past and current pushes to defund public media (e.g., NPR & PBS), Jonathan cites the relative contributions by public and private sources for KUAR’s operations and what recent threats to disable public funding of public media could mean in terms of what is likely to be lost within the community should that threat come to fruition. We also learn how the public radio stations in Arkansas are collaborating to serve the entire state of Arkansas, including more rural areas that may lack any alternative media options.

April and Glen talk with Jonathan Seaborn, general manager of Little Rock Public Radio & KUAR/KLRE radio stations. In this first part of our chat with Jonathan, we learn about his impressive credentials that brought him to Little Rock, as well as the extensive work he now does for Little Rock Public Radio to ensure that the many regulations and compliance requirements for public media are met. While this accountability is welcome, it reflects the station’s primary purpose of meeting needs of the community that may not always be met by more commercially viable media, where the emphasis tends to lean toward income from popular content or issues. Jonathan gives examples in both central Arkansas and in other states where local needs are met by public media that play critical roles in such areas as how citizens can secure resources and assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters. Jonathan mentions recent and existing concerns about aging infrastructure and technology, needing to relocate to a new space, and other challenges that are currently or have recently been addressed via community donations. Also discussed is the common perception that public radio tends to be a liberal voice, a perception that Jonathan asserts is, in large part, a misunderstanding of the products of National Public Radio vs other non-NPR products that may be part of programming for some NPR-affiliated stations.