''Kent County News'' 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 ...
published in
Chestertown,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The paper is published once a week on Thursday.
The first publication was in 1947, but the paper can be traced back to the ''Chestertown Spy'' which was established in 1793.
It is one of the nation's oldest newspapers.
The paper serves
Kent County and the city of Chestertown on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...
.
The newspaper was previously part of Chesapeake Publishing, a division of
American Consolidated Media
American Consolidated Media (ACM) was a United States publisher of approximately 100 daily and weekly newspapers, which it divested in 2014.
In March 2014, ACM announced the it was selling three of its regional newspaper groups, encompassing 34 ...
.
In March 2014, the division was sold to
Adams Publishing Group
Adams Publishing Group LLC (APG) is a company that provides publishing services, including newspapers, periodicals, and website publishing in the United States. Its corporate headquarters is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Mark Adams, the son ...
. This paper is a part of APG Media of Chesapeake.
''Kent County News'' is one of 34 publications across Maryland and Delaware published by APG Media of Chesapeake.
The newspaper is published at 223 High Street Chestertown, Maryland, 21620,
and has an estimated weekly circulation of 8,800.
History
''Kent County News'' has been serving
Kent County since 1793.
''Kent County News'' officially began its publication in 1947, but was originally known as the ''Chestertown Spy'' which began in 1793.
The original ''Chestertown Spy'' was locally owned and reported on the daily activity in and around Chestertown. The ''Chestertown Spy'' was rebooted in 2009, but does not consider itself a newspaper.
In 2007, ''Kent County News'' was owned and published by Chesapeake Publishing, a section of American Consolidated Media.
The paper remained under ACM until March 2014 when it was sold to Adams Publishing Group.
At the time of the sale, David Fike, the president and publisher of the Chesapeake group, said that he was "thrilled ... to be moving back to a family owned company" with "diversified resources and opportunities".
APG consists of four regions; ''Kent County News'' is a part of APG Media of Chesapeake.
The Chesapeake Publishing Group publishes six newspapers and five free distribution products. It is located in
Easton, Maryland
Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...
, and the publishing corporation employs about 580 people.
Coverage
The paper is published weekly, and there are daily online updates.
It is published every Thursday, except holidays.
''Kent County News'' covers the local news in Chestertown and surrounding areas. The paper reports on sports, opinions, school news, obituaries, real estate, and community arts and celebrations.
Awards and recognition
In April 2009, staff photographer Charlie Campbell won first-place for a photo from the scene of a tractor-trailer crash from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association (MDDC Press Association) in the category of spot news photo . That same year, editor Kevin Hemstock won first place in the editorial category, for a piece called "Gansler's Bay Audit Got Off to a Bad Start". Staff writer Peter Heck also took a first place award that year in the environment category for his report titled "Biodiesel Plant is Proposed for Kent".
Trish McGee, deputy and sports editor of the ''Kent County News'', was named the best of all columnists in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. in May 2013. She received the best in show ”honor by MDDC Press Association for her article "Honoring an Orioles Legend" on
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally c ...
.
In 2017, the entire editorial staff of the paper was honored by the MDDC Press Association for excellence in journalism and their news reporting in 2016.
Editor Daniel Divilio received first place for education reporting in the circulation category for his article "School Funding Woes: How We Got to This Point.
Trish McGee won first place for the feature story (non-profile) category for her piece "Kent County Salutes its Vietnam Veterans". McGee also won first for "10 Years Later, Cataldo Has a Geart of a Champion", a sports feature story.
In 2018, the full editorial staff received honors again from the MDDC Press Association for their reporting in 2017. Editor Divilio received first place for education reporting in the circulation division for his article titled "Angry Parents Voice Issues with School Buses". McGee and Schenke received second place awards for articles.
[{{Cite news, url=https://www.myeasternshoremd.com/kent_county_news/spotlight/kent-county-news-staff-takes-home-press-association-honors/article_686a1b9b-bbeb-5232-b197-39b4a3c690ed.html, title=Kent County News staff takes home press association honors, work=MyEasternShoreMD, access-date=2018-11-29, language=en]
References
Newspapers published in Maryland
Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom