Newspapers

The way that people consume information is changing rapidly, and I hear frequently that the death of newspapers is imminent. I think that people feel this way because they aren’t regular newspaper readers or they just don’t think that other people read newspapers as much as they did 10 years ago. If they’re referring to the printed newspaper, they are usually correct. We’ve seen printed newspaper circulation declines for more than 10 years. However, many of us in the industry are, slowly but surely, realizing that we’re not in the printed paper business, but in the information business.

Once upon a time... There was a lad among a crowd of impassioned onlookers, all caught up in a fervor over the beauty of the Emperor's other-worldly garments. The lad blew the lid off that nonsense simply by pointing his finger and telling the truth, “The Emperor has no clothes,” he said. He said what he saw and, suddenly, others saw, too. That kid, no doubt, was a natural-born journalist.There used to be a good deal of debate about the role of the journalist in societies but that seems to be quiet just now. With the explosion in recent years of social and other media and everyman's access to instant publishing, we seem to be leaning toward an “everything, all the time” model of news that has all but declared newspapers dead.

Thomas Jefferson is often quoted as saying that “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Editors and reporters love this quote because they think it justifies their sense of self-importance. But Jefferson didn’t say it because he liked journalists or newspapers. On the contrary, they often infuriated him. The idea that newspapers are supposed to be independent, fair and balanced didn’t take hold until the 20th century.

As many newspaper companies try to turn themselves around in a brutal economy, under huge debt loads and against a backdrop of increasingly funereal media coverage, it's worth looking at the behavior and motives of some of the industry's harshest critics. Earlier this month, Time magazine, struggling for its own survival in the hemorrhaging newsweekly marketplace, published a column on its Web site entitled "The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America," which hundreds of news outlets around the world ran under the headline "What Newspapers Will Die in 2009?"

Dear Editor, I never gave my community newspaper much thought until about a week ago when I read a little article by motivational speaker Jim Davidson. He is so right. The people who work for the local newspaper are our eyes and ears and give us the heartbeat of the community. The letters to the editor are very revealing about local issues. We have a lot of graft, corruption and shady deals in government, but without the press shining a spotlight on it, there would be more.

This February, Denver's Rocky Mountain News died. In March, The Tucson Citizen followed. Meanwhile hundreds of other American newspapers reduced staff and declared themselves in significant economic trouble. Many commentators have lamented the passage of local newspapers; others foretell a not-yet-arrived golden age of electronic news reportage. But few have mentioned one of the biggest potential losers in the demise of print publishing: our local environment - the clean air, water, land, forests, beaches, wetlands and wildlife that enrich our communities.

Mary Schurz, editor and publisher of The Advocate-Messenger and The Kentucky Advocate since July 1, 1978, has been named chairman and editor emeritus, effective today. She hands the reins of day-to-day operation of the Danville newspapers, along with weeklies in Stanford and Nicholasville, to Scott C. Schurz Jr., her nephew, who has been assistant publisher since January 2005. He assumes the title of editor and publisher. Ms. Schurz, 67, also is vice president, secretary and director of Schurz Communications Inc., a company founded by her father which now operates 12 daily newspapers, 10 radio stations and five television stations.

To the Sun:   I looked up the definition of the word litter today. It’s “objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.”   I would certainly appreciate it if you would stop throwing unsolicited newpapers in my yard. I believe the fine for littering is $500 in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I would consider paying for a subscription, if you would just quit delivering the paper to my house. Thank you for your consideration. David Fogle Winchester

When a North Carolina weekly newspaper asked for and was given a $50,000 business loan by town aldermen in mid-May, no quotation from free-press defenders and the nation's founders like Madison and Jefferson immediately came to mind. Rather, it was a thought sometimes expressed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, often a critic of the press: "With the shekels come the shackles. " The loan from the town's business development fund will help the Carrboro Citizen, a two-year old newspaper, expand its business, hire more staff and even expand its circulation beyond its current 6,000 copies - certainly a laudable set of facts in an industry generally seeing at least sharp reductions in all areas.

Three Danville newspapers merged 100 years ago and formed The Kentucky Advocate, according to an announcement July 1, 1907. The Advocate, The Danville News and The Boyle County Herald became one with a combined circulation of 4,800. "It is undoubtedly the best medium of circulation of any county paper in the state," according to the article. The local newspaper became a tri-weekly and was published Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. The merger came about at "the earnest solicitation of the merchants and businessmen of the city and through their cooperation and assistance.

The Advocate-Messenger is pleased to announce the formation of the On Guard Text Alert System.  The system is designed to send out emergency messages to cell phones and mobile devices. “We are very proud of our new system,” said Advocate Communications Inc. Audience Manager John Preston. “On Guard is going to keep the people in our area safer and better informed.” The system offers breaking news alerts from the Advocate and other area newspapers, plus severe weather warnings for the area.   “The weather warnings are a big thing for us,” Preston said.

FRANKFORT - Danville High School's student newspaper, The Log, took home several awards and third place for General Excellence in this year's annual statewide high school journalism contest sponsored by the Kentucky High School Journalism Association.  The contest recognizes high school journalists participating in high school newspapers, yearbooks and broadcast programs. KHSJA was founded 16 years ago by the Kentucky Press Association and has nearly 100 member high schools. Students from 32 Kentucky schools and one from Indiana won awards, which were announced last week.  South Oldham High School won the Grand Champion competition by amassing more awards points than any other participating school.

I would like to thank The Advocate-Messenger, The Interior Journal and The Harrodsburg Herald for covering the Sheriff's Forum sponsored by the Boyle County 9-12 Group. Our group is dedicated to the educating the community to ensure an informed electorate. The meeting, held at Mallard's Restaurant, was a great example of our mission. We had the sheriffs of Boyle, Lincoln and Mercer counties answer questions and talk about their position on not only gun rights, but the rights and responsibilities of the citizens of these counties.

Recently the website buzzfeed.com ran a story about Fox News contributor Bob Beckel's offensive comments about his lack of concern about rape on college campuses in the country. It was rightfully condemned by many on that site, but many of the site's viewers then proceeded to associate this view with Republicans and conservatives along with Bob Beckel. One of the reasons is that many did not know Bob Beckel is a progressive Democrat. That fact was not reported in the article on buzzfeed.com.

The four-page edition of the West End News dated Sept. 22, 1887, is filled with brief items from the community and surrounding towns. A few items from New York and Boston also are in the newspaper published in Parksville. John Bower was editor and proprietor for the weekly newspaper that kept the subscribers up to date with news, weather and sports, and a page and half of advertisements. Cost for the newspaper was 50 cents per year.   News items The newspaper reported a long drought came to an end when rain fell all day and again on Sunday and Monday.

The Jessamine Journal was named the state's top newspaper in its class for the second time in three years Friday night, beating out dozens of papers across Kentucky. The paper won the “General Excellence” award, along with 21 other awards, from the annual Kentucky Press Association's Excellence in Kentucky Newspapers competition. The Journal received its awards during the KPA awards banquet in Louisville. Managing editor Mike Moore said he credits his talented staff for the large number of wins for the paper this year.

When Brenda Edwards began writing history and genealogical articles for The Advocate-Messenger in the 1980s, she never thought about publishing them into a book. However, with the encouragement of friends and readers, and help from the Boyle County Genealogical Association, a new, 186-page book titled “It's History: from Brenda's notebook” has been published. Many of the more than 1,500 articles that tell personal family histories of people, schools, places, buildings, churches and memories of past years are included in the fully-indexed book.

A first-year teacher at West Jessamine High School hopes the launch of a school newspaper will fuel students' passion for writing the same way his school paper pushed him toward a variety of careers. English teacher Charlie Cox is sponsoring Colt Nation, which he hopes will become West's first regular newspaper. The first issue of the monthly publication is expected before winter break. Cox attended Boyle County High School and worked on the newspaper there before attending Western Kentucky University.

This column will be different from my others, but I need your help. Something has happened to me that - well, I cannot decide whether it is disturbing me or whether it simply is a “love gift” from somebody. I am just going to lay it out for you and if you know anything about it, please email me. About two weeks ago in my mailbox was a letter. It was addressed to “Ms. Jean P. Brody, Salida, Colorado, 81201” - no street address at all. Now, this could have happened in Winchester because most everybody knew me and my actual street address, and to write Flanagan Station Road was unnecessary for me to get mail.

The Advocate-Messenger will not publish a newspaper Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. The office will be closed. Normal hours and production will resume Tuesday.