After 22 years, local magazine signs off

Entertainment Fort Smith has kept the presses rolling for 22 years. The popular entertainment magazine that has kept residents informed about music, art and happenings has printed the last issue this month.

The July 2022 edition is the end of the run, said editor and publisher Lynn Wasson, a longtime Fort Smith resident. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for 22 years together," reads the headline on page 4 of the latest and last edition.

"This is the final issue of Entertainment Fort Smith," Wasson writes. "The entire issue is our farewell, and it's one more love note to our hometown and to you readers and supporters who have been with us since August 2000.

Brandon Chase Goldsmith, executive director of the Fort Smith International Film Festival, said the magazine supported the arts over the years, and was a "a driving force for the River Valley’s creative economy," Goldsmith said.

"Lynn Wasson and her team not only highlighted major events but promoted up and coming artists," Goldsmith said.

He said when he first moved to Fort Smith five years ago the magazine was an integral component in launching his play “The Western District.”

"Later they supported the inaugural Fort Smith International Film Festival, donating space and transforming the magazine into our movie program. E Fort Smith wasn’t simply a passive news source, they actively championed every form of art, community organizations, and creative mind throughout our area. Their loss will leave huge hole in the heart of our arts world," Goldsmith said.

In her farewell column, Wasson said her company eFortSmith.com Media, Inc. may publish various titles or products in the future, although no immediate plans are announced.

"We don't feel like a failure. Changes in our industry, which is based on revenue from print advertising sales, have caused us to make this decision. It is not particular to Fort Smith," Wasson said.

Wasson majored in journalism at the University of Arkansas. She was hired by the Southwest Times Record in 1981 as a general assignment reporter. With the late Linda Seubold, a popular columnist at the paper, Wasson founded and co-owned the monthly city/regional magazine. For 22 years, she relied on senior editor Donna Carter Payne, staff and freelance contributors. Wasson said she encourages readers to support locally owned merchants, restaurants and services.

"Engage with your own local culture. After two decades of chronicling it, we attest that this region has outstanding, enjoyable, significant and unique forms of art to enrich you," Wasson writes in her column. "Enjoy live music, local theater and film-making, local authors, artists, art museums and galleries."

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Entertainment Fort Smith stops the presses