The Jessamine Journal was founded in 1873 by J.M. Parish of Mount Sterling, Ky., and changed ownership several times during its first century. It has been managed by many distinguished Kentucky journalists, including C.W. Metcalf, Col. H.M. McCarty and Edgar E. Easterly Jr., an Associated Press editor and press secretary to Gov. A.B. "Happy" Chandler in the 1950s.

Easterly bought the Journal and The Jessamine News-Week in 1956 and merged them the following year. In 1990, his son sold the weekly to Republic Newspapers Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., and in 2001, the newspaper was purchased by Advocate Communications, a subsidiary of Schurz Communications.

The Journal is a member of the Kentucky Press Association (KPA).

Circulation: 6,216 weekly (Average readership: 19,270 adults)

Circulation area: The Journal serves mainly Jessamine County, immediately south of Lexington on the Kentucky River, and has a population of 43,720. Nicholasville, with a population of 24,791, is the county seat. The county's other city, Wilmore, has a population of 5,918.

The market: The Journal is the only local news source in Jessamine County, but the market is competitive because the community is quickly growing toward Lexington, the location of a regional daily. The community is prosperous, with a low rate of unemployment, but about 60 percent of employees commute to other counties to work. The county is a significant agricultural producer in the state, and there is some industry and retail. Home construction and real estate sales are also important segments of the economy.

Market size: 35,000 adults live in the Jessamine County.

Customers: 58 percent of county adults read The Journal at least once a month.

Key executives:
Publisher - Scott Schurz Jr.
Editor - Mike Moore
Advertising Director - Brad Toy
Production Supervisor - Linda Wiley

The community: Nicholasville, Jessamine's county seat, was the fifth fastest-growing city in Kentucky from 1990 to 2000, increasing 24 percent to reach its present population of 24,791. The town, a suburb of Lexington, has several industrial firms, including McLane Cumberland, Alltech, Trim Master and McKechnie Vehicle Components. It also has several small shopping centers, and the historic downtown business district is the focus of a revitalization project in cooperation with the Kentucky Main Street Program and Renaissance Kentucky.

Wilmore, which also grew rapidly in the last decade, has a population of 5,918. It is the home of Asbury Theological Seminary, which graduates more ministers for the United Methodist Church than any other seminary in the nation, and Asbury College, a small liberal arts institution. Despite rapid development, the county generates significant income through thoroughbred horses, beef cattle and burley tobacco. The Kentucky River Palisades and the horse farms are areas of great beauty, and historical tourism is becoming an important industry.

Median age of adults: 34.6 years

Homeowners: 79 percent of homes in the county are owner-occupied.

Median household income: $49,085

Households: 40 percent of adults have children under 18 living at home.

Sources: 2007 RTR/ESSEX3 Market Study; Kentucky Data Center and The Kentucky Press Association.

Awards and recognition: The Journal has a long string of peer recognition and for the past several years has been one of the most award-winning newspapers in the state. The Journal's news department has taken home 13 Kentucky Press Association General Excellence Awards. And, since 1999, The Journal's advertising department has been awarded first place for General Excellence in every contest entered. From 2000 through 2003, The Journal won seven national awards from the National Newspaper Association for news and advertising excellence. In addition to many local awards and recognition from the Jessamine County community, The Journal received the 2005 Chamber of Commerce President's Award for Community Service.