The ''Cassville Democrat'' is a

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly new ...

located in

Cassville, Missouri Cassville is a city in Flat Creek Township, Barry County, Missouri, Flat Creek Township, Barry County, Missouri, Barry County, Missouri, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Cassville was 3,190. ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Barry County, Missouri Barry County is a county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 34,534. Its county seat is Cassville. The county was organized in 1835 and named after William Taylor Barry, a ...

. It has a weekly circulation of about 5,000 and has been published continuously since its founding in 1871. The newspaper's motto is "Covering Barry County like the morning dew since 1871." Its

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

is Lisa Craft and Kyle Troutman serves as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. The ''Cassville Democrat'' focuses on local issues and news and has little national or international coverage.

Coverage area and competitors

While the ''Cassville Democrat'' is located in the town of Cassville, its coverage extends across Barry County to most of the smaller towns and hamlets that do not have any independent traditional news services. In addition, it has not been alone in its local news coverage, as for a nearly 20-year period between 1967 and 1984, there were no less than three weekly newspapers operating out of Cassville, a town with a population of less than 3,000, and providing coverage to people across the county. Of those two competing papers, the '' Cassville Republican'' and the ''

Barry County Advertiser The ''Barry County Advertiser'' is a free weekly newspaper located in Cassville, Missouri, the county seat of Barry County, Missouri Barry County is a county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 Ce ...

'', only the ''Barry County Advertiser'' continues to this day, with the 106-year-old Republican closing in 1984. As the names signify, during their prime, the ''Cassville Democrat'' espoused and promoted the views of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

while the ''Cassville Republican'' did the same for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, creating a fierce political climate in the small town. Since that time, the ''Cassville Democrat'' has shred its former political affiliation and instead focuses on being the primary local news source.

Ownership history

The ''Cassville Democrat'' was established in 1871 by John Ray, a native of

Barren County, Kentucky Barren County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,485. Its county seat is Glasgow. The county was founded on December 20, 1798, from parts of Warren and ...

, who moved to Barry County in 1850. Ray had been a

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in the

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He would publish the ''Cassville Democrat'' until his death in 1889. Following Ray's death, his son Charles Ray took over as editor and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of the paper and continued in that role until his own death in 1926. During his time as publisher, Charles Ray also served two terms as county treasurer, and was

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Cassville under the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

administration. Charles Ray's wife, Jennie Pharis Ray, and sons John and Means Ray took over the responsibilities of the newspaper following his death. Eventually, ownership of the paper moved on to Bob Mitchell, Charles Ray's grandson through his youngest daughter, Katherine. Bob Mitchell retained ownership of the ''Cassville Democrat'' up to the mid-1990s when, after more than 120 years of single-family ownership, he sold the publication to Mike and Lisa Schlichtman. In 2004, the Schlichtmans sold the then 132-year-old publication to the

Rust Communications Rust Communications is an American privately owned media company based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The ''Southeast Missourian'' is its flagship publication. The company has its origins in 1967, when Gary Rust and his wife Wendy purchased the sma ...

newspaper chain, which continues to own it.Rust acquires Monett Times; Cassville Democrat; March 4, 2009

References

Newspapers published in Missouri Rust Communications publications