Although only 35 years old, the roots of Maysville's daily newspaper, The Ledger Independent, can be traced more than 100 years into the past. The Ledger Independent was first published on Oct. 1, 1968, following the simultaneous buy-out of the city's two daily newspapers, The Public Ledger and The Daily Independent, by the Gadsden (Ala.) Times Publishing Corporation. The newly-chartered Maysville Publishing Corporation, with former Gadsden Times business manager James M. Striplin as president and publisher, continued publication of an afternoon edition of The Public Ledger while the company's morning edition carried the masthead of both papers. By early 1969, Maysville Publishing Corporation was printing one morning edition six days a week under the combined The Ledger Independent masthead. Both The Ledger and The Independent were family-owned and operated newspapers. The Public Ledger began publication in 1892 under eight incorporators, including Thomas A. Davis who soon became sole owner. The paper was bought by Arthur F. Curran in 1909 and was sold to Clarence Mathews and William D. Cochran in 1915. By 1920, The Public Ledger was under the sole ownership of Clarence Mathews. The paper remained in the Mathews' family until the 1968 sale to Gadsden and Maysville Publishing. Clarence Mathews served as publisher until his death in 1958. His son, William B. Mathews, became the fourth and last solitary owner and publisher. Mary Mathews, the publisher's wife, served as editor of The Ledger, following her husband into retirement after the sale. The Daily Independent, first published under the Mason Independent masthead in 1907, was founded by James and John L. (Jack) Purdon. In 1911, the paper came under the sole ownership of James Purdon, but by 1913 Purdon had acquired another partner, L.F. Schatzman, who continued his association with the publication until his death, at which time the newspaper was again under the ownership of the Purdon family. The Daily Independent absorbed its morning rival, The Daily Bulletin, in 1936. Martha Purdon Comer, who served as editorial consultant to the The Ledger Independent until her death last year, began her career with the family-owned Daily Independent. She followed her brother, J. Clifford Purdon, as editor of the newspaper in 1935. In 1980, The Ledger Independent was sold to Howard Publications, Inc., a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Oceanside, Calif. Howard Publications was the owner of 17 daily newspapers across the country. Gary Quinn, who came to Maysville with the Striplins in the late 1960s, assumed the position of publisher and retained that position until 1991, when he accepted a similar position with another Howard newspaper, the Freeport (Ill.) Journal-Standard. Robert L. Hendrickson, who began his career with The Ledger-Independent as a reporter in 1978, served as editor of the newspaper prior to Quinn's departure, when he was named publisher, a position he currently holds. In 2002, Lee Enterprises, Inc., based in Davenport, Iowa, purchased the Howard publishing group, including The Ledger Independent. At the time of the purchase, Lee Enterprises Chariman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck cited the Howard newspapers focus on local news, which is also the primary focus for the Lee group. Lee owns 38 daily newspapers and a joint interest in six others, along with associated online services. Lee also publishes nearly 200 weekly newspapers, shoppers and classified and specialty publications. Lee stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. Located in the heart of a seven-county area of northern Kentucky and southern Ohio, The Ledger-Independent has shown tremendous growth in both quality and quantity in the past several years, meeting the expanding needs of the community.That includes the addition of community Web sites for the entire seven-county area the newspaper serves. The newspaper has made great strides in technology and news-gathering capabilities, including the addition of computer networks for news, advertising, photo scanning and layout pagination.
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