Some of you in the Williamsburg area are getting a free News Journal this week. We mass mail every year to encourage you to become a subscriber. Another reason is to spread the word about Old Fashioned Trading Days. Enjoy our newspaper and take advantage of our special subscription offer.
We have a big readership in this area. Since my beginning as publisher of the Whitley Republican in 1987, we have concentrated on covering the news in Williamsburg, Corbin, and Whitley County plus items of interest in Knox and Laurel counties.
In 1987, my office was on S. 2nd St. in Williamsburg. Three months later, we began publishing a companion newspaper in Corbin called Corbin! This Week. Then in 1992 we combined the two newspapers under the title of the News Journal. We have the largest paid circulation in the area and we make this special offer as an invitation to join the others who enjoy reading our newspaper each week.
By having the largest paid circulation, we obtained the rights to legal advertising for the cities of Corbin and Williamsburg and Whitley County. It wasn’t easy. We had to prove in court that we had the largest paid circulation and that meant going all the way with our case to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
I learned a lot back then about Kentucky newspaper laws. One of my valuable resources was the Kentucky Press Association and its executive Director, David Thompson. I have called up on him many times for information and advice, and he has been a valuable asset.
Thompson became the Executive Director of the Kentucky Press Association 41 years ago. He has been inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and he received the Al Smith Award for public service through community journalism in 2019.
Since I have talked to him recently, I wanted to point out his value to Kentucky newspapers. He is our MVP, and I don’t know how Kentucky newspapers could exist without him. I’ve had to call upon him many times, and I have been received with a warm welcome every time.
Legal advertising is a great value to you, our readers. It keeps you in touch with the business of local officials. That is why I am grateful to KPA and others, because when I started as publisher of this newspaper, I knew very little about newspaper law.
We had to fight to prove that we had the largest circulation in the county. It was the biggest challenge that I’ve had, and it started at the very beginning. We were challenged by the newspaper in Corbin for legal advertising rights, which are based on paid circulation. It was my task to prove that ours was greater.
I did not leave any stone unturned. I went to every distributor to get the totals of our competitor’s sales. I contacted several carriers and got their totals. Then we had to battle through circuit court, which we lost, and we appealed that verdict to the Court of Appeals and lost again, but we were not to be denied. I had learned much of Kentucky newspaper law from inquiring to the KPA and others, so we moved on to the Kentucky Supreme Court, where we won the rights to publish the county’s legal advertising.
Now that our competitor in Corbin no longer has offices in the area, this newspaper has the rights to publish the legal advertising for Corbin, Williamsburg and Whitley County. By reading these, you will be better informed as to what is taking place.
Of course, we have a lot more to offer than legal advertising. This newspaper brings you the best coverage of the local news in the area. We are very proud of the many awards we have won for our efforts from the Kentucky Press Association.
Many thanks to our subscribers. Most of you have been with us for many, many years and we consider you our close friends. Enjoy this week’s edition of the News Journal.
