John Bradford founded the state's first newspaper, the Kentucky Gazette, in Lexington in 1787. Bradford was Kentucky's first public printer and was noted for his pamphlets and book publishing. He was also one of Lexington's leading citizens.
William Hunter established one of Kentucky's earliest newspapers, the Mirror, at Washington in Madison County in 1797. The paper was moved in 1798 to Frankfort, where it was renamed the Palladium and continued under Hunter's direction until 1809.
Samuel Vail established and operated Louisville's first newspaper, the Farmers Library, which existed from 1801 until 1808.
Joseph M. Street was co-founder of the Frankfort newspaper, the Western World, in 1806. He helped expose the Burr conspiracy and Spanish intrigues in Kentucky. Street survived an assassination attempt brought on by his actions.
William Worsley co-founded the Reporter, a prominent central Kentucky newspaper, in 1807. Worsley operated this newspaper until 1819, when he helped establish a paper in Louisville called the Focus.
Humphrey Marshall was a staunch Federalist who published the American Republic, later named the Harbinger, in Frankfort between 1810 and 1825. Marshall was a U.S. senator and author of a notable early history of Kentucky.
Thomas T. Skillman founded the first religious newspaper west of the Alleghenies, the Evangelical Record and Western Review, in Lexington in 1812. Skillman later edited the Presbyterian Advocate and the Western Luminary.
Albert Gallatin Hodges started his career in 1815, when he was 12. Hodges served in various capacities at a number of Kentucky newspapers. In 1833, he established the Frankfort Commonwealth, which he published for almost four decades.
Amos Kendall edited one of the best early Kentucky newspapers, the Argus of Western America, from 1816 to 1829. Kendall was a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, under whom he was U.S. postmaster general and a member of the "Kitchen Cabinet."
Francis Preston Blair was an associate of Amos Kendall and writer for the Argus of Western America. In 1830, Blair went to Washington to become editor of the Jacksonian paper, the Globe, a position he held until 1845.
Shadrach Penn founded the Louisville Public Advertising Weekly, which became a semiweekly and in 1826 became the first daily newspaper in Kentucky. Under Penn's leadership it was a leading paper of Louisville for more than two decades.
Lewis Collins was editor of the Maysville Eagle from 1820 to 1828 and again from 1830 to 1847. Collins wrote a history of Kentucky that remains a standard work on the subject.
Edwin Bryant was a major figure in the establishment of the Lexington Observer and Kentucky Reporter in 1832. The two papers later became the Lexington Observer and Reporter, of which Bryant was the first editor. He also was associated with the Lexington Intelligencer and the Louisville Dime.
D.C. Wickliffe was editor of the Lexington Observer and Reporter from 1838 to 1865. Wickliffe was a friend and supporter of Henry Clay, and after the collapse of the Whigs he became a leader of the Democratic Party. He was Kentucky secretary of state under Governor Robinson.
Cassius Marcellus Clay was an important Kentucky abolitionist. His antislavery newspaper, the True American, was one of the most courageous episodes in the history of Kentucky journalism.
George D. Prentice was editor of the Louisville Journal from 1830 to 1868. Prentice, with his outstanding writing and editorial skills, made the Journal the state's most widely read paper and one with national influence. He was a unionist whose efforts helped prevent the secession of Kentucky. In 1869, Prentice became the first president of the Kentucky Press Association.
John H. Harney was editor of the Louisville Democrat, with which he was associated from 1843 until 1868. Harney was a prominent Democratic party leader and an important Louisville journalist of the mid-nineteenth century.
Walter N. Haldeman founded the Louisville Courier, which he edited or managed from 1844 until 1868. Haldeman supported the Confederacy and continued to publish the Courier from within Confederate lines during the Civil War. After the war, he helped to establish the Courier-Journal in Louisville, and later became president of that newspaper organization.
