''The Caledonian-Record'' is a daily

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

published in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and primarily circulates throughout Caledonia County. It was established in 1837.VT Living.com: Caledonian Record Publication Profile
Accessed online: July 14, 2007 It employed a total staff of 36 as of 2007.

Circulation

The paper is distributed in the

Northeast Kingdom The Northeast Kingdom (also, locally, "The Kingdom" and abbreviated NEK) is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties and having a population at the 2010 census of 64,764. ...

of Vermont and the western portion of

Coos County, New Hampshire Coos may refer to: People *Cowasuck, also known as Cowass or Coös, an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe in northeastern North America *Coos people, an indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau in Oregon *Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower ...

. It maintains a New Hampshire office located at 263 Main Street in

Littleton, New Hampshire Littleton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,005 at the 2020 census. Situated at the northern edge of the White Mountains, Littleton is bounded on the northwest by the Connecticut River. The main vil ...

. It is published daily except Sunday and some holidays.ASNE Partnership profile: Lyndon Institute/Caledonian-Record
High School Journalism. Accessed online: July 14, 2007 The ''Caledonian'' has focused on local news from 50 communities, which are located in three Vermont counties and two New Hampshire ones. The average daily net paid circulation has dipped from a peak of about 12,500 about 1999 to the six months ending March 2013 at 10,204. Penetration of the primary market area of St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville was under 93%. For the area immediately surrounding St. Johnsbury the Caledonian provided coverage of 80% of the occupied households.

History

Albert G. Chadwick began publishing the paper as a weekly in August, 1837. It is the oldest paper in the county. It started as a four-page, twenty-four column paper. It was a Whig paper when it started. At the time, Vermont was strongly Whig. The paper advocated the principles of the

Free Soil The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

element and became an early adherent and unswerving supporter of the principles of the Republican Party. It was edited and published by its founder for 18 years. George D. Rand and Charles M. Stone bought it in July 1855. Stone became the sole owner, editor and publisher in April 1857. In 1875 it was still a weekly newspaper. Subscribers paid $1.50 a year. In 1909, Walter J. Bigelow, a former mayor of Burlington, Vermont, purchased the ''St. Johnsbury Caledonian'', which he turned into a daily newspaper. In the 20th century, the paper was bought by a former Hearst reporter from Boston, Herb Smith. His son, Gordon Smith, Class of 1941 at Yale, joined the paper on the business side upon graduation and went on to own and publish the paper. Gordon brought with him as a writer who stayed a year; a classmate,

Barry Zorthian Barry Zorthian (1920–2010) was an American diplomat, most notably press officer for years during the Vietnam war, media executive and lobbyist.Pyle, Richard"Barry Zorthian dies at 90; U.S. diplomat and press spokesman in Vietnam War" ''Associate ...

.Oral history
conducted by Richard B. Verrone, Ph.D., The Vietnam Archive at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

, 2006. Pp 27-8. Retrieved 2011-02-11.

Caledonian-Record Pub. Co., Inc. v. VT State College

The ''Caledonian'' garnered attention in 2003 over a court case entitled ''Caledonian-Record Pub. Co., Inc. v. VT State College.'' The ''Caledonian'' wanted to have access to student disciplinary records and hearings from

Lyndon State College Lyndon State College was a public liberal arts college at Lyndon, Vermont. In 2018, it merged with Johnson State College to create Northern Vermont University; the former campus of Lyndon State College is now the university's Lyndon campus. ...

. Lyndon state claimed that it was exempt from making the requested information public per the Vermont Public Records Act and the

Open Meetings Law Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...

. The local court sided with Lyndon State College, and an appeal to the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

followed. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...

. Julie Fothergill, an attorney with the

Vermont League of Cities and Towns Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, stated that the ruling "is important for all public bodies because it indicates how the Court may interpret other exceptions to the Public Records Law."

Operations

Besides the Caledonian, the paper also published the ''Orleans County Record'' and the ''Littleton Record''. In 2007 the paper employed a staff of 40. Sales ranged from $1 to $5 million annually. In 2007 the paper partnered with the

American Society of News Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...

Lyndon Institute Lyndon Institute is a coeducational, nonprofit, independent, day and boarding comprehensive high school located on a campus in the village of Lyndon Center, in the town of Lyndon, Vermont. It provides education for grades 9 through 12 for both l ...

to publish a school newspaper, the first at the school, entitled ''The Campus News''. In 2008 the paper outsourced the printing of the paper to Upper Valley Press in

Haverhill, New Hampshire Haverhill is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville, Pike, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corner, and the dis ...

, citing equipment, quality control and personnel problems. In 2017, the paper was family owned.

Notes

External links

Official site

Newspaper Pages (1920-1922) on Chronicling America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caledonian-Record, The Newspapers published in Vermont Caledonia County, Vermont St. Johnsbury, Vermont Newspapers established in 1837 Whig newspapers (United States) 1837 establishments in Vermont