March 31, 1830

The appearance of the second Little Rock (Pulaski County) newspaper, the Arkansas Advocate, kicked off the first newspaper war in the state, according to historian Michael Dougan. The conflict between the Arkansas Gazette and the Advocate was as much a printers’ war as a newspaper war, since newspapers were so wrapped up in legal and official printing. The newspapers tried nearly anything to be named the official printer, including bribes and aggressive bidding. A third newspaper, the Political Intelligencer (later changed to the Times), compounded the competition when it appeared in Little Rock in 1834.