The Kentucky Kernel is the

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. 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. newspa ...

Chief White House Correspondent Terence Hunt, former ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' 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 ar ...

'' Washington correspondent

William Neikirk William Robert Neikirk (January 6, 1938 – August 27, 2020) was an American journalist, editor, and author. He spent 48 years as a reporter and served as White House correspondent for the ''Chicago Tribune'' during the Clinton administration. ...

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 d ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

correspondent Michael Wines. The writer Bobbie Ann Mason 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 An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

Don Rosa 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 Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...

tales ''

The Son of the Sun "The Son of the Sun" is the first Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa, first published in ''Uncle Scrooge'' #219 in July 1987. It is a well-known comic book story that features Disney's Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and his three nephews. This story ...

'', ''

Cash Flow A cash flow is a real or virtual movement of money: *a cash flow in its narrow sense is a payment (in a currency), especially from one central bank account to another; the term 'cash flow' is mostly used to describe payments that are expected ...

'', 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 The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer ...

from the

Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...

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