Talk:The Courier-Journal

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The L C-J is the "de facto newspaper for the state"? I would think that distinction goes to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Certainly oustside the commonwealth The L C-J is much more highly esteemed, but my feeling as a lifelong resident is that the LHL is much more widely read in much of the state.

(unsigned comment above by SonPraises 02:26 22 September 2005)

It seemed POV to me when I edited the stub a few months ago....but since it had been there since August of 2004, I didn't feel I should remove it as I had no circulation data or statistics comparing the various news agencies within the state. The paper could arguably be the de facto paper for the region (Kentuckiana--I live here and its all we have of this type), but I would think nearby cities/towns would take just as much offense to the statement as the LHL readership would. I would suggest removing the statement altogether in lieu of some other wording such as "the paper with the largest circulation in Kentucky" or some such thing--again need verifiable numbers. One would think that the Covington area also has their own "de facto" paper just as our neighboring Lexington does. -Roby Wayne Talk • Hist 02:39, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
I did some checking; my source isn't the most up to date, but according to the 2000 World Almanac, the LCJ was the 46th largest paper in the US with a circulation of just over 224,000 The LHL, had half the circulation and the 94th largest circulation in the US.

I wasn't suggesting editing the page, but I was raised in Eastern Kentucky where the LHL is the daily paper for those getting one. LCJ newstands are few and far between in the eastern part of the state. I now live in Northern Kentucky and often venture to Cincinnati. The LCJ is unavailable except through mail subscriptions. I would subscribe to the LHL but the paper is a day late, and if my mail runs early then I won't get the paper from the day before. However, there are LHL newstands--not many as the dominate papers for Northern Kentucky are the Kentucky editions of the Cincinnati papers.

My feeling is that the LCJ is much more highly esteemed outside the state than inside the state. I often see the LCJ quoted when news breaks in Kentucky with a national interest. The Cincinnati Enquirer runs blurbs of editorials from papers across in a sidebar on their editorial page, and the LCJ is often featured, but I've yet to see the LHL featured.

I have noticed that Newsweek often picks up Joel Pett's political cartoon from the LHL. It seems to be the only national distinction afforded the LHL.

I understand these are personal feelings and opinions and do not justify insertion into an objective article, but I just wanted to voice them on the "Discussion" page, alerting readers that there are alternate viewpoints.

SonPraises

As a former newspaper reporter from Kentucky (with two friends on the C-J staff and one on the LHL staff), I would say that the C-J is still the state's dominant newspaper overall. It is not as much so now as it was under the Bingham media empire -- the Binghams took great pride in the fact that the same-day (as opposed to delayed) edition on the C-J was available in all 120 counties of Kentucky. I'm not sure that's still true under Gannett's management, but in my travels across the Commonwealth, I would still say that the C-J has more sales and more editorial influence than the Herald-Leader. The LHL is hard to buy in the western part of the state, whereas the C-J is still omnipresent.
I also think that the C-J carries more weight among the state's movers and shakers. If your secretary buzzes you and says there's a reporter for the Courier-Journal on line one, you're more likely to take the call than one from the LHL. Having said all that, the Herald-Leader has come a long way in recent years, and has done much to make inroads on the C-J's dominance, particularly since the Binghams sold the paper. The Herald-Leader and its predecessors were always good papers, but not many people outside of the Lexington area knew that. I think the first thing that made some folks wake up and take a look at the LHL was when columnist Billy Reed left the C-J for Lexington. If the move had been in the opposite direction, few would have noticed.
As for the Cincinnati Enquirer often running editorial blurb (not to mention entire stories) from the C-J, that likely stems from their common ownership by Gannett. Even from my present home in Alabama (ugh!), I've noticed in my daily reading of both papers' web sites that the Enquirer (cincinnati.com) often reruns C-J stories these days.
Realkyhick 20:46, 4 February 2006 (UTC)