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Newspaper Kentucky Reporter (Owensboro, Ky.) 1???-19??

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About Kentucky Reporter (Owensboro, Ky.) 1???-19??

The Kentucky Reporter, published in Owensboro and later in Louisville, was a small African-American newspaper with Republican leanings claiming devotion “to the Political, Religious, Educational and Industrial Interest of the Negro.” Co-founded by two brothers, Robert T. and George W. Berry, in 1900, as a weekly, the newspaper continued at least into the early 1940s. Only one issue of the Kentucky Reporter from its Owensboro incarnation, dated March 3, 1902, and fewer than three years from the 1940s are extant.

While in Owensboro, the Kentucky Reporter was edited by Robert T. Berry and managed by George W. Berry. The Berry brothers were tailors before becoming newspapermen and even advertised their business in their publication. One source suggests that Robert edited another newspaper in Daviess County before co-founding the Kentucky Reporter. In 1912, the Berrys moved to Louisville and took the publication with them, possibly due to its declining circulation. George worked as a United States Storekeeper and Gauger, with duties involving issuing revenue stamps, and measuring and storing beverage alcohol. Robert opened a print shop on Seventh Street where he published the Kentucky Reporter. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Courier-Journal and a city sanitary inspector. When Robert died on July 28, 1967, his Courier-Journal obituary simply noted that “for many years [he] was the editor of a small Negro-community newspaper.”

By 1921, the Kentucky Reporter offices had moved to a building in the heart of the African-American business district of Louisville, which was also home to other African-American newspapers such as the American Baptist, the Louisville Leader, and the Louisville News. Strong leaders in the African-American community–William H. Steward, I. Willis Cole, and William Warley–founded and edited these publications. Though some sources suggest that the Kentucky Reporter did not compete with these papers, certain incidents and anecdotes suggest otherwise, specifically when certain African-American leaders formed the Lincoln Independent Party (LIP), contributing to a rift with the Republicans in 1921. Soon after the formation of the LIP, the Kentucky Reporter printed 10,000 copies of an article, which was distributed free of charge to the African-American community, denouncing the leaders of the new party. Willis Cole, the editor of the Louisville Leader, stated that Republicans must have funded the publication of this issue, since Robert Berry typically printed 500 copies of the Kentucky Reporter and had difficulty selling them.

With so few surviving issues of the Kentucky Reporter, it is impossible to comment meaningfully on its content throughout its long publication history. Nonetheless, Berry seemed to have remained true to the publication’s mission to promote the interests of the African-American community. Though some describe its politics as neutral, even the earliest extant issues of the Kentucky Reporter hint at its Republican leanings, and one could even infer a more conservative political outlook than that of the other Louisville African-American newspapers of the time.

Provided By: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Kentucky Reporter (Owensboro, Ky.) 1???-19??

Dates of Publication

  • 1???-19??

Created / Published

  • Owensboro, Ky. : [Kentucky Reporter Pub. Co.]

Headings

  • -  African American newspapers--Kentucky
  • -  African Americans--Kentucky--Newspapers
  • -  Daviess County (Ky.)--Newspapers
  • -  Owensboro (Ky.)--Newspapers
  • -  African Americans
  • -  African American newspapers
  • -  Kentucky
  • -  Kentucky--Daviess County
  • -  Kentucky--Owensboro
  • -  United States--Kentucky--Daviess--Owensboro

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 2, no. 28 (Mar. 22, 1902).

Medium

  • v. : ill.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86069325

OCLC Number

  • 13922717

ISSN Number

  • 1943-8923

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kentucky Reporter Owensboro, Ky. 1???-19??. (Owensboro, KY), 1???. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86069325/.

APA citation style:

(1???) Kentucky Reporter Owensboro, Ky. 1???-19??. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86069325/.

MLA citation style:

Kentucky Reporter Owensboro, Ky. 1???-19??. (Owensboro, KY) 1???. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86069325/.