The ''Yancey County News'' was a weekly newspaper in

Burnsville, North Carolina Burnsville is a town that serves as the county seat of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,693 at the 2010 census. History The town was founded on March 6, 1834, from land conveyed by John "Yellow Jacket" Bailey, ...

, serving

Yancey County Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the S ...

. In operation from 2011 to 2014, it was owned and operated by Jonathan and Susan Austin.

History

The ''Yancey County News'' was started in January 2011 by the husband and wife team; Jonathan Austin had 30 years of journalism experience and had dreamed of starting a newspaper in his father's adopted mountain town. The paper covered Yancey County, North Carolina, which had for years been served by a local paper that didn't rock the boat. Its paid circulation was between 1,000 and 1,300; the cost of a print copy was 50 cents. Jonathan said that his intent with the newspaper was to bring "the attitude of well-funded reporting" to a small-town paper while also covering all local events. The paper covered government meetings, local sports, and also published nutrition and hunting columns. In two series of investigative reports beginning with its first issue and titled "Unlawful Law Enforcement", the newspaper reported criminal abuses of absentee balloting and vote fraud organized by staff at the sheriff's department. The paper also documented that county-owned firearms were being pawned by the chief deputy, who later resigned and pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty. The ''Yancey County News'' received two major American journalism awards for its work in 2011: the E.W. Scripps Award for Distinguished Service to the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and the 2012 Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

School of Journalism and Communication. In November 2012 it was also awarded the Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at 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 newspaper closed in summer 2014 after a local grocery store withdrew its advertising.

References

External links

''Yancey County News'' official website
announced closure on August 8, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yancey County News Yancey County, North Carolina Weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers established in 2011 Publications disestablished in 2014 2011 establishments in North Carolina 2014 disestablishments in North Carolina