in the 1980s and 1990s, the politically conservative "american spectator" magazine received donations from conservative benefactors. the arkansas project began shortly after richard mellon scaife, one of the largest donors to the magazine, directed that his donations be used for stories aimed at investigating potentially scandalous material regarding the clintons. according to r. emmett tyrrell jr., editor-in-chief of the "spectator", the idea for the arkansas project was hatched on a fishing trip on the chesapeake bay in the fall of 1993. the "arkansas project" name that later became famous was conceived as a joke; the actual name used within the "spectator" and the scaife foundation was the "editorial improvement project."