Robert Medley named editor of the Times Record

In 1992, Robert Medley interviewed his grandfather Harmon Asa Durden about his life in Fort Smith.

“He was a wealth of stories and legends of this area and region and could tell stories all day,” Medley said.

Little did Medley know that 30 years later, he would become editor of the Times Record, swtimes.com and affiliated newspapers.

“To be reporting in the newspaper that my grandfather read is very humbling," Medley said.

Medley, 57, started his career as a reporter at the Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News in 1987.

He moved to The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City in 1989 where he would work for the next three decades.

At The Oklahoman, Medley had a variety of jobs, starting on the metro desk, reporting on cities within the Oklahoma City area. Much of his work focused on features writing, which is where he says his strengths lie.

“(I have) a lot of experience with community news and what makes people read and tick," he said.

Medley holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma and earned a master's degree from Oklahoma City University in 2001 while working nights as a cops reporter.

“But that would open up my opportunities to teach journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma,” Medley said. He taught as an adjunct instructor at the school from 2007 to 2011.

Most recently, Medley was managing editor at the Yukon Progress, Piedmont-Surrey Gazette and Okarche Warrior, all weekly papers in Oklahoma.

“I couldn’t think of any other newspaper I'd like to be at," Medley said of the Times Record.

“We are excited to have someone with the credentials that Robert brings as the next editor of the Times Record,” said Dann Miller, Arkansas state editor for the USA TODAY NETWORK. “His decades of experience in Oklahoma City gives him a unique understanding of the issues that impact the region and I am confident he will help elevate the journalism in Fort Smith and continue the strong digital subscription growth we have experienced during the past year.”

As editor, Medley wants to continue the Times Record's mission of delivering local content to its readers.

“Our medium of storytelling is not going away while the technology changes and how we deliver it continues to evolve, life is about stories because we have nothing else when it’s over," he said.

Medley said that amid the pandemic, newspapers are more important than ever.

“There was a downturn in the newspaper industry. We all know that but a pandemic came along, and people have needed news more than ever: news about the schools, the school district, do we wear masks today? I hope to have a source for the people of Fort Smith to go to to find out what the biggest story of the day is that affects them," Medley said.

Medley is married to Michi Medley and the couple has three children Rob, 15, Ruthie, 13, and Sam, 7.

Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Robert Medley named editor of the Times Record