Mount Vernon News
| Type | Wednesday and Saturday newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Metric Media LLC[1] |
| Publisher | Kyle Barnett [2] |
| Managing editor | Fred Main[2] |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Headquarters | 107 South Main Street, Suite 200 Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050 |
| Circulation | 5,500[2] Monday-Saturday[3] |
| ISSN | 0747-2099 |
| OCLC number | 11185341 |
| Website | mountvernonnews.com |
The Mount Vernon News is a print newspaper published twice a week in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Since 2020, it is owned by Metric Media LLC, a company reported to engage pay-to-play coverage.[4] Most of the content published by the newspaper since the Metric Media takeover are press releases and submitted content.[4]
It was formed in 1935 through the merger of the Daily Banner and the Republican News.[2] The Culbertson family of Mount Vernon owned and managed the News for eight decades, and Kay Culbertson served as the newspaper's publisher for 28 years from 1992 to 2020.[5]
Metric Media
[edit]In August 2020, Metric Media LLC, a newspaper and media company that publishes 1,227 regional and business news sites across the U.S., purchased Mount Vernon News for at least $1 million.[4][6] The new owners instructed staff that they would no longer received employee benefits and would instead be considered contractors.[4] This led half the staff to quit on the spot.[4]
Kyle Barnett, the new publisher, reported in an online "Dear Subscriber" letter two days after the purchase that the Mount Vernon News would immediately transition from its six-day-a-week publication schedule (no Sunday edition) to a two-day-a-week schedule (Wednesday and Saturday). The letter informed readers that "We promise to deliver more local news in 2 days than what you received before in 6 days."[7][5]
Five months later (in December 2020), Metric Media sold the building on East Vine Street that had been home to the Mount Vernon News for 80 years. Ever since the News has operated out of offices in the Woodward Building on South Main Street.[8]
In 2023 and 2024, the newspaper published an inordinate amount of stories that criticized Frazier Solar, a planned solar farm in Knox County.[4] Within a year, 17 of the 40 print editions of the newspaper featured anti-solar content on its front page.[4] ProPublica linked the newspaper's anti-solar coverage to a well-financed campaign by fossil fuel interests seeking to scuttle solar energy.[4]
Residents in the community criticized the newspaper for failing to publish obituaries in a timely manner.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mount Vernon News under new leadership". Mount Vernon News. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d Sun, Justin (Fall 2019). "Keeping The News Alive". The Collegian Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "Subscribe". Mount Vernon News. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Maney, Miranda Green,Jennifer Smith Richards,Priyanjana Bengani,Sarahbeth (2024-10-08). "Fossil Fuel Interests Are Working to Kill Solar in One Ohio County. The Hometown Newspaper Is Helping". ProPublica.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Grant Pepper (2020-08-07). "Chicago-based Metric Media buys Mount Vernon News, trims print product to 2 days per week". KnoxPages.com. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "Mount Vernon News under new leadership". Mount Vernon News. 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "Reinvigorating community news in Mount Vernon". Mount Vernon News. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ Beasley, David (2020-12-30). "Knox County Land Bank buys former Mount Vernon News building". Mount Vernon News. Retrieved 2021-01-24.