“What happens when a town loses its newspaper?” Panel discussion set for Sept. 10
Please join us for a discussion presented by the Main Street Free Press Museum in association with Central Ohio SPJ
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, 7:15-8:15 p.m.
First Baptist Church
22 E. Sandusky St. (one block east of the Public Square)
Fredericktown, OH
In February of this year, Fredericktown lost its hometown weekly newspaper, some form of which had been printed since 1845. Most recently called the Knox County Citizen, the paper was published for 35 years by Rarick W. Long, a 48-year member of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter until his death in 2001 and co-founder of The Main Street Free Press Museum, where the newspaper was printed.
The Knox County Citizen continued to be published, under several owners and in several other locations in Fredericktown after Mr. Long sold it in 1977, until it was folded by its latest owner, Civitas Media LLC, in February.
But the Citizen’s editor, Penny Smith, and a photojournalist, Jason Bostic, were determined to keep Fredericktown informed by founding a news website, TheFredericktownCitizen.com, reviving the flag of the Fredericktown newspaper during the 1920s and ’30s, before it was renamed the Knox County Citizen.
Penny Smith and Jason Bostic, co-owners of The Fredericktown Citizen LLC, will talk about their adventure in keeping community journalism alive in Fredericktown. Museum Director John C. Long, Rarick Long’s son, who teaches journalism at St. John’s and Hofstra universities in the New York area, and who also is a member of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter, will moderate and provide background on how community newspapers elsewhere are dealing with similar developments.
The Main Street Free Press Museum, located a block north of the Public Square at Main and Second streets, will open at 6 p.m. for tours and printing demonstrations. It will close for the program at the church and reopen afterward from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
For driving, parking and other information, visit www.FreePressMuseum.org