The Paducah Sun

"The Paducah Sun" is a daily newspaper in Paducah, Kentucky owned by the family-run Paxton Media Group. The paper was formerly known as the "Paducah Sun-Democrat". The publisher is Jim Paxton. Gary Adkisson is the General Manager. Duke Conover is the managing editor.

The Sun is the most-read newspaper in the small Purchase region of Kentucky. The newspaper's combined online and print subscriptions total 24,768 on weekdays, 23,455 on Saturdays and 26,833 on Sundays, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation's last official audit, taken on March 31, 2008. [http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp]

History

According to the Historic Downtown Paducah special section of the Sun published Jan. 8, 2003, the newspaper traces it roots to 1896, when a group of investors headed by William F. Paxton launched The Evening Sun by buying the assets of the failing Paducah Standard at 214 Broadway. The cost was $8,900, and the men started with $10,000 capital. The newspaper did not make a profit until 1918. In 1929, Paxton's son, Edwin J. Paxton, who had taken over as editor, bought out the rival News-Democrat. After the merger, the newspaper became The Sun-Democrat, and operations were moved to the current location at 408 Kentucky Avenue in 1934. The name changed to The Paducah Sun in 1978 at the request of Jack Paxton, editor at the time and grandson of Edwin J. Paxton.

Controversy

On Nov. 14, 2003, Paducah Sun Editor and Publisher Jim Paxton, then 48, was arrested in Nashville, Tenn., and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of a handgun while under the influence, unlawful possession of a weapon and having an open alcoholic-beverage container. These records can be found in the office of the Criminal Court Clerk of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. The Paducah Sun also ran stories about the arrest. [http://www.paducahsun.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?200311/20+0gQl_news.html+20031120]

Jim Paxton was forced by the Paxton Media Group to take an indefinite leave of absence from his work. He subsequently pleaded guilty to all charges.

In the aftermath, opponents of the paper's long-time right-wing stance spoke out against the publisher through paper campaigns and on Web sites such as www.bluegrassreport.org, which still regularly takes shots at the paper for its editorials, with criticisms such as, "While (Paducah) residents were temporarily blessed that the Paxton-owned paper had gone quite a while without a functioning editorial page, they're back, and as loony as ever." [http://www.bluegrassreport.org/bluegrass_politics/2007/06/with_deep_sympa.html]

Surviving

Like many daily newspapers across the country, the Paducah Sun is fighting the rising cost of newsprint and a decrease in national advertising.

The Paducah Sun, the flagship paper of PMG, has continued to service the Westen Kentucky and Southern Illinois area providing it with local news, articles, and sports. New publications have been presented to the area, including the Four Rivers Business Journal, to try and keep the community involved in the daily news of thier surrounding area.

The Future

In April 2008, The Paducah Sun ran the first newspaper papers on its new printing press. Completed in December 2007, the new building, a $10.7 million facility, is a grand sight in downtown Paducah, Ky. It is a 26,000 square foot high tech production building housing the new press with the entire southwest wall made of glass and the printing press sitting on the other side of it. The paper prints around 12am cst and is a sight for late night downtowners. [http://apexchange.typepad.com/industry_news/2008/04/paducah-sun-unv.html [

External links

* [http://www.paducahsun.com Official site]