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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Polk County News (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983

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About Polk County News (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983

The first incarnation of the Polk County News appeared in 1883, and it went through several changes in name and location before William F. Russell established the Polk County News-Gazette in Benton, Tennessee, in the mid-1900s. The Democratic weekly was published each Thursday and circulated to approximately 500 subscribers in 1910 at an annual cost of one dollar. Readers could also purchase six-month and quarterly subscriptions for 50 and 25 cents, respectively. The News-Gazette offered readers local news ranging from politics and agriculture to baseball, as well as feature stories purchased from newspaper syndicates. The paper included ads for local events, services, and products as well as national advertising. In 1915, Reverend T.M. “Dan” Hicks took over as editor. Throughout the First World War, the News-Gazette provided news of the war in Europe via syndicated reports. During this period, the newspaper printed the following words of wisdom above its masthead: “You are only as good as what you have done” and “The county newspaper is the mouthpiece through which the people of the county keep in touch with each other.”

In 1917, Hicks purchased the News-Gazette and dropped the word “Gazette” from its name. Hicks ran the Polk County News for a couple of years before selling it to John S. Shamblin in 1919. Under Shamblin’s leadership, the newspaper abandoned its Democratic political affiliation and became an Independent weekly. The change reflected a national trend toward non-partisanship in newspaper ownership. The Polk County News continued to circulate to its approximately 500 subscribers each Thursday at an annual rate of $1.25. The News increased in size from four to eight pages, but it retained many of its earlier characteristics including announcements about club and church events to birth and death notices, news from around the state, and national news from wire services. The paper continues to operate into the 21st century under the name Polk County News, Citizen-Advance both in print and online.

Provided By: University of Tennessee

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Polk County News (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983

Dates of Publication

  • 191?-1983

Created / Published

  • Benton, Tenn. : Rev. T.M. Hicks, -1983.

Headings

  • -  Benton (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Polk County (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Tennessee--Benton
  • -  Tennessee--Polk County
  • -  United States--Tennessee--Polk--Benton

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  -100th year, no. 13 (Mar. 17, 1983).
  • -  Special "Historical and progress edition" published: Nov. 28, 1964.
  • -  Issue for Mar. 14, 1929 misdated Mar. 7, 1929.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from Tennessee State Library and Archives.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Merged with: Charleston Calhoun record, to form: Polk County news and the Charleston-Calhoun record.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 8, no. 49 (Feb. 1, 1917).
  • -  Charleston Calhoun record (DLC)sn 98069903
  • -  Polk County news and the Charleston-Calhoun record (DLC)sn 83007414 (OCoLC)960435369

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 44 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86071278

OCLC Number

  • 13377093

ISSN Number

  • 2474-5588

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

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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:

Polk County News Benton, Tenn. 191?. (Benton, TN), 191?. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86071278/.

APA citation style:

(191?) Polk County News Benton, Tenn. 191?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86071278/.

MLA citation style:

Polk County News Benton, Tenn. 191?. (Benton, TN) 191?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86071278/.