By Ben Chandler
Woodford Sun Publisher
It’s a new path for the Sun.
Since 1869, The Woodford Sun has served Woodford County with news, features and photographs covering our community’s residents, schools, farms, businesses, churches, sports and local government. And since 1957, the Chandler family has owned and operated the newspaper.
That chapter has come to an end, and a new one has begun. This year, The Woodford Sun transitioned from a privately owned business to a nonprofit organization named The Woodford Sun Community Newspaper.
On paper, the change involves a new governance structure, funding model and tax status. But in the way that matters most, nothing will change at all. In fact, it’ll get better.
The Chandler family legally owned The Woodford Sun for nearly seven decades, but it has always belonged to this community. With our move to nonprofit status, the newspaper’s structure now reflects that longstanding relationship. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the newspaper now has no private owners and no shareholders. It is governed by a local board whose members—your neighbors—are charged with advancing a vital mission: to provide independent, fact-based information in service to Woodford County.
Becoming a nonprofit organization frees us from a business model that no longer works the way it did. Advertising patterns have shifted. Reader habits have changed. News delivery is increasingly digital.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sun lost a significant amount of advertising revenue, and despite the broader recovery, those ad dollars did not return. Over the past two years, I have used personal funds—tens of thousands of dollars—to keep the presses rolling. That path is not sustainable.
We need to look only down the road to see more evidence of the threat to local journalism. In September, McClatchy, the large corporation that owns the Lexington Herald-Leader, gutted that paper’s newsroom, laying off the majority of its journalists. For McClatchy, it was easier to cut its Kentucky-based reporters than to retool the local operation.
Why I chose not to sell
I also had an easy way out.
Several times in the past few years, I was approached with offers to purchase The Woodford Sun, ranging from $300,000 to $1.2 million. I had to consider those offers because of the many thousands of dollars I had personally pumped into the business to keep our newspaper a part of Woodford County life. A sale would have meant immediate financial relief for my family, but at the cost of hollowed-out local coverage for the community.
You see, every offer came from a newspaper conglomerate. In communities across Kentucky and across America, we’ve seen what that means: reduced local staff, cookie-cutter content and a significant erosion of the local reporting that keeps neighbors informed and connected.
I could not let that happen here.
Instead, we chose a more challenging path, but one that protects local governance and accountability. Sharing the stories of Woodford County and our people must be done from the inside out.
To transform The Woodford Sun into a nonprofit organization, the Chandler family gifted the newspaper to the community with no compensation. My daughter, Lucie, remains a paid employee, but the transition is not financially beneficial to me. In fact, I will be a significant donor to the nonprofit organization to help ensure its success.
New opportunities for local journalism
This nonprofit model allows us now to pursue grants that support hometown journalism—and we have succeeded. We have already received a grant from Press Forward that has provided the funds and technical support to create a fully modernized, reader-friendly website. It’s a website that will open doors for us, allowing the Sun to expand its local coverage. Printing and mailing costs are significant, but an upgraded website can house additional stories—deeper dives into the topics that matter most to Woodford countians—at a minimal cost.
For example, members of our advisory board have made great strides in adding extensive coverage on the equine industry in Woodford County—Thoroughbreds and racing, yes, but also insights into the many other breeds and activities that power the horse business on local farms. We’re pursuing funds, securing leadership and finding new voices to write those stories.
Horses and horse people are just one area we’re examining for expanded coverage. We’ll be finding more topics to explore—and more writers to tell the stories.
Speaking of writers, we also received a grant for the Sun’s Scott White to participate in a joint Press Forward/Report for America pilot project. Scott worked as an attorney for decades but is new to journalism, and as the community liaison for the Sun, he is undergoing an intense, two-year program that will help him hone his reporting skills, elevating his service to our community through solid journalism and important storytelling.
Grants alone will not secure the future of The Woodford Sun Community Newspaper, and we are getting support from local advertisers and readers who value the paper as a connection to the community. I have been overwhelmed and enormously encouraged by the response we have received. While our new path won’t be easy, we’re not traveling it alone.
We’ll also take another key step toward stability. We expect to reach the point soon where business revenue and philanthropic support surpass operating costs, and we will start directing income into an endowed fund that will generate even more income. Many supporters have already told me that a gift to the endowment will be their preferred target of support. The endowment we establish will help protect The Woodford Sun from the pressures that have silenced so many hometown newspapers.
Why the Sun matters
And why is it important to preserve our local newspaper? Because decisions and events that shape our daily lives happen right here in Woodford County. The Woodford Sun reports on government and school board meetings, explains proposed zoning changes and local ordinances, and helps readers understand road projects and other developments that affect their neighborhoods. We cover elections so voters can learn about the candidates, their positions and the results. We follow our local teams, celebrate the people who achieve remarkable things or overcome difficult circumstances, and bring readers the sights and stories of our festivals, events and community gatherings.
That reporting does more than keep you informed. It gives you a basis for taking part in community decisions, connects you with neighbors you might otherwise know little about, and preserves a record of Woodford County life. Years from now, people looking back at our schools, businesses, celebrations, challenges and milestones will find much of that history in the pages of The Woodford Sun. A local newspaper helps a community understand what is happening today—and helps us remember how we got here.
The Woodford Sun serves different needs for different readers.
New residents turn to it to discover local businesses, churches, activities, volunteer opportunities and the people and traditions that give Woodford County its character.
Parents and grandparents follow school decisions, youth programs and the accomplishments of their children and grandchildren, while young people enjoy seeing themselves and their friends in print—and discover opportunities and issues that affect their futures.
Business owners and nonprofit organizations use the Sun to reach customers and supporters, promote their work and stay connected to the community they serve.
And for those who have moved away, the newspaper remains a link to home, keeping them in touch with familiar faces, changing neighborhoods, local traditions and the lives of people they remember.
To help The Woodford Sun thrive, we are building a sustainable model that blends print and digital delivery with philanthropic support. The Sun will be powered by people who understand that a local newspaper is not just a business, but also a public good.
I refused to sell the Sun because I believe Woodford County deserves a locally governed, independent newspaper, one that’s accountable to its readers, not to a distant conglomerate. The newspaper’s structure now reflects that longstanding relationship.
I started by saying the Sun is on a new path. But in so many ways, we are continuing the work that began in 1869. The transition is about more than legal paperwork and a new tax status. It’s about preserving a trusted resource, continuing to tell local stories and strengthening the connections that make Woodford County a community.
I enter this new chapter with excitement for the days ahead, and I welcome you to join me on the journey. The Woodford Sun has always been a valuable community resource, and now, its future belongs to the community it serves.