Coal Valley News

The Coal Valley News is a weekly newspaper produced in Madison in the U.S. state of West Virginia.[2] Published on Wednesdays, it has a 2016 circulation of 1,176,[1] and is owned by HD Media.[3]

Coal County News
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Civitas Media, LLC
Founded1925
Headquarters350 Main St, Madison, Boone County, WV 25130
Circulation1,176 (as of 2016)[1]
ISSN0745-7111
OCLC number9395264
Websitecoalvalleynews.com

The 2014 book The Coal River Valley in the Civil War: West Virginia Mountains identified the Coal Valley News as the "region's principal local newspaper."[4] The newspaper's title has been described in national media as typical of Boone County, where the coal industry plays defining role in the local economy.[5][6] It is considered a newspaper of public record by the West Virginia Secretary of State.[7]

History

Founded in 1925 by M.L. Jones,[8] it achieved notoriety in 1931 when a local sheriff allegedly paid to have the plant damaged in an attempt to shut down production of the paper.[9]

Amos Sullivan testified that on the morning of October 23, 1930, he had attended a deputies' meeting that had discussed recent opposition of the Guyan Valley News to Republican candidates favored by the sheriff's department.[10] At that time the Guyan Valley News, which had been running editorials attacking the "Hatfield clique",[11] was printed in the Coal Valley News plant.[10] Sullivan testified that at the meeting it was said that "something had to be done"[10] and claimed he had later been paid five hundred dollars by Logan County Sheriff Tennis Hatfield to damage the plant.[9] He broke into the newspaper printing plant late at night, but was surprised by assistant editor Elmer Jones, who shot and seriously wounded him.[9][11] Both deputy Henry Napier and Amos Sullivan pled guilty to the crime,[12][13] with Sullivan receiving a year in prison.[13]

In 1935, the paper was a prominent critic of the appointment of William N. Beehler as West Virginia relief administrator for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, arguing that his nonpartisan approach to government aid programs was disqualifying.[14]

The paper was acquired by HD Media from Civitas Media in June 2017.[3]

The paper is archived by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.[2] It is owned by HD Media,[9] and is a member of the West Virginia Press Association.[1]

References
  1. 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
  2. "Newspapers Currently Received in the West Virginia Archives and History Library" (PDF). West Virginia Division of Culture and History. State of West Virginia. December 2016.
  3. "HD Media acquires West Virginia Group from Civitas Media". Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. 19 June 2017.
  4. Graham, Michael B. (2014). The Coal River Valley in the Civil War: West Virginia Mountains, 1861. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625851925. OCLC 898896051.
  5. Heller, Karen. "Coal no longer fuels America. But the legacy — and the myth — remain". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  6. Heller, Karen (July 10, 2017). "The Legacy and Myth of Coal in America". Valley News.
  7. "2018-2019 Newspapers" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. State of West Virginia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  8. "About Coal Valley news". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  9. "Sullivan Tells of Plans to Damage Coal Valley News". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 13 May 1931. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  10. "Hatfield Denies Sullivan's Story Told as Witness". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 14 May 1931. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  11. "Editor Shoots Deputy Sheriff". Muncie Evening Press. 24 October 1930. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  12. "West Virginia Briefs". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 29 July 1931. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  13. "West Virginia Briefs". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 7 October 1931. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  14. Thomas, Jerry Bruce (1998). An Appalachian New Deal: West Virginia in the Great Depression. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813120640.
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