We are thrilled to announce that intrepid blogger Matt Campbell, an attorney long recognized for exposing fraud and abuse of power via his unflinching Blue Hog Report, will soon be joining the newsroom of the Arkansas Times.
Campbell is a proven maestro at using the endangered Freedom of Information Act to pry loose government records that would otherwise likely never see the light of day. He made a name for himself by exposing the skulduggery of Arkansas elected officials including former Circuit Judge Mike Maggio (bribes), former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr (misuse of state credit cards) and former state Sen. Bob Ballinger (questionable ties to Ecclesia College).
Most recently, Campbell combined his government transparency law know-how with disciplined and determined digging to unearth a $19,029.25 invoice now at the center of Gov. Sarah Sanders’ “podiumgate” scandal.
Upon joining the Arkansas Times staff on Nov. 1, Campbell will turn his focus from full-time lawyering to full-time reporting. His Blue Hog brand will live on under the Arkansas Times umbrella.
Arkansas Times Publisher Alan Leveritt has become nearly insufferable over this hiring coup, which he touts as a win not only for himself, but for all Arkansas progressives suffering under a red state regime.
”Matt’s move to the Arkansas Times will give him an even larger platform for his important reporting,” Leveritt said. “We are proud to have him as part of the Arkansas Times editorial staff. In the past year we have more than doubled our editorial staff, from four to 10. Matt is an important addition as we continue to grow an aggressive, dogged and skilled reporting staff.”
As for us in the newsroom, we couldn’t be more excited. Adding Campbell to our staff means Arkansas Times readers will have even more lively news to parse every day and more in-depth investigative reporting to dive into online and in print. Plus, he’s a very nice guy. Welcome aboard, Matt!