The Kentucky Kernel is the
student newspaper of the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
.
The ''Kernel'' is distributed free on and around the University of Kentucky campus. It claims a circulation of 8,000 and readership of more than 30,000. Its sole source of revenue is
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
. It is issued during the weekdays during the spring and fall semesters.
History
The ''Kentucky Kernel'' was preceded by several student newspapers, with the earliest dating to 1892. From 1908 to 1915, the University of Kentucky's student newspaper was called ''The Idea'', but it became the ''Kentucky Kernel'' following a naming contest in 1915. The first issue produced under the ''Kernel'' name was published September 16, 1915.
The paper had become an eight-page weekly by 1923, and it became a Monday-Friday daily newspaper in 1966.
In 1972, the ''Kernel'' formally established its editorial and financial independence from the University of Kentucky administration.
Operations and alumni
The ''Kernel'' operates out of the Grehan Journalism Building, which is located in central campus and also is the home of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications and the Department of Communication. The Grehan Building was completed in 1951 and named to honor Enoch Grehan, the founder of the school's Department of Journalism and one of its first faculty members.
Several prominent journalists worked at the ''Kernel'' while they were students, including current
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
Chief White House Correspondent Terence Hunt, former ''
National Geographic'' photographer Sam Abell, current ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' Washington correspondent
William Neikirk and current ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
correspondent Michael Wines.
The writer
Bobbie Ann Mason
Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Early life and education
A child of Wilburn and Christina Mason, Bobb ...
also worked at the ''Kernel''. The famous
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
writer and
illustrator Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Di ...
worked for the ''Kernel'' from 1969 to 1973. ''
The Pertwillaby Papers
''The Pertwillaby Papers'' is an adventure comic drawn by Donald Duck artist Don Rosa in the 1970s. The comic is about the adventures of Lancelot "Lance" Pertwillaby and his friends and colleagues around the world.
History
Rosa started drawi ...
'' were first printed in the ''Kernel'', which inspired many of Rosa's later creations, including the
Scrooge McDuck tales ''
The Son of the Sun'', ''
Cash Flow'', and ''The Last Lord of Eldorado''.
Controversies
On October 5, 2007, the newspaper published an editorial cartoon that was considered racially insensitive to some students. The cartoon depicted an
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
being auctioned off to
fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
in an attempt by the cartoonist to depict racial divide in the fraternity system. The paper officially apologized the next day and the incident spawned a panel discussion on diversity.
Awards
In 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2019 the ''Kernel'' won the
National Pacemaker Award from the
Associated Collegiate Press after having been nominated for several years.
References
External links
Official websiteKentucky Kernel archive
University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Kernel, The
Student newspapers published in Kentucky
University of Kentucky
1892 establishments in Kentucky