THE TRIBUNE (ELKIN, NORTH CAROLINA)

'''The Tribune''' is a tri-weekly newspaper published in Elkin, North Carolina. It has covered the tri-county area of Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties since 1911. ''The Tribune'' has a circulation of 6,000 ^[1].

Contents

Overview

Heartland Publications purchase

Public records lawsuits

Affiliated publication

References

External links

Overview

Harvey Laffoon (1897-1978) was the owner, publisher and editor of ''The Elkin Tribune'' for 42 years, beginning in 1926. He was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame in 2002 ^[2]. In 1949, the paper expanded from a weekly to bi-weekly.
After Laffoon retired in 1968, the newspaper was sold to Mid-South Management Company Inc. Thomas Fleming succeeded Laffoon as publisher. Soonafter the paper was sold, it was expanded to three times weekly. Further, Elkin was dropped from the masthead, and it became known as ''The Tribune''.

Heartland Publications purchase

In June 2007, both ''The Tribune'' and the other Surry County-based newspapers were part of a sale from Mid-South Management to Heartland Publications, LLC of Connecticut. ^[3]

Public records lawsuits

In 1992, the paper sued the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners for access to applications for a Yadkin County manager opening. The paper argued the files were public records. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in ''Elkin Tribune v. Yadkin County Board of Commissioners'' that the applications were personnel files and are governed by the state's personnel statues, not public records laws. ^[4]
October 2000, the paper sued Boonville after the town said it needed a written request and up to five days to produce public records. A North Carolina Superior Court judge ruled in favor of ''The Tribune'', and the town later changed its policy on public records. The paper's suit won it a third-place Community Service Award from the North Carolina Press Association. ^[5]

Affiliated publication

The Tribune also publishes ''On the Vine'', a bi-monthly magazine that focuses on Yadkin Valley and North Carolina wine.

References

1. Mid-South Management website
2. "Former publisher inducted into ‘Hall of Fame’", The Tribune April 15, 2002
3. Yadkin, Surry, Stokes newspapers are bought Winston-Salem Journal (accessed 3 June 2007)
4. North Carolina Supreme Court docket
5. North Carolina Press Association 2001 contest winners

External links

★ The Tribune website

★ North Carolina Newspaper Project

★ The Park Library's list of North Carolina newspapers, by circulation

★ Heartland Publications website

★ The Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce - Elkin, NC