| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Paxton Media Group |
| Publisher | Mike Weafer[1] |
| Editor | Matt Francis[1] |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 1401 Frederica St. Owensboro, Kentucky 42301 United States |
| Circulation | 15,087 Monday-Saturday 20,383 Sunday |
| Website | messenger-inquirer |
TheMessenger-Inquirer is a local newspaper inOwensboro, Kentucky.The Messenger-Inquirer serves 15,087 daily and 20,383 Sunday readers in five counties in westernKentucky.[2]
The newspaper's roots trace back to 1875, when Lee Lumpkin founded The Examiner.[3]
The newspaper's name was later changed to the Messenger. The Messenger was purchased by the Hager family, owners of the competing Owensboro Inquirer, in 1929.[3]
By 1864, whenThomas S. Pettit purchased the paper, it had changed its name toThe Monitor.[4] Immediately after taking control of the paper, Pettit published a series of items vigorously criticizing theRepublican Party and its policies during theCivil War.[5] On November 17, 1864, Pettit was arrested on orders from GeneralStephen G. Burbridge on charges of being "notoriously disloyal" to the Union.[5] He was taken toMemphis, Tennessee, and transferred intoConfederate territory.[4]
In May 1865, he returned to Owensboro and found his print shop and printing press had been destroyed by federal authorities.[4] He traveled toCincinnati, Ohio to purchase replacement equipment and, on hearing the story of his arrest and subsequent travels, the equipment dealer extended him a generous line of credit, allowing him to purchase more sophisticated equipment than had ever before been used in Owensboro.[4] With this new equipment, Pettit revived theMonitor and published his stories of wartime banishment, bringing him significant acclaim in Kentucky.[5] Moreover, he also published editorials by futureU.S. SenatorThomas C. McCreery, giving theMonitor further credibility and increasing its readership.[4][6]
The newspaper was purchased byA.H. Belo Corp. (then-owner of theDallas Morning News) in 1997 for an undisclosed sum.[7]
Belo sold the newspaper toPaxton Media Group in 2000.[8][6]