Type Weekly newspaper Language English | Founded 2011 Ceased publication 2014 | |
Owner(s) Jonathan and Susan Austin Founder(s) Jonathan and Susan Austin | ||
The Yancey County News was a weekly newspaper in Burnsville, North Carolina, serving Yancey County. In operation from 2011 to 2014, it was owned and operated by Jonathan and Susan Austin.
The Yancey County News was honored with two major American journalism awards for work in its first year in business. It received the E.W. Scripps Award for Distinguished Service to the First Amendment and the 2012 Ancil Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism from The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.
In a series of stories in 2011, the Yancey County News exposed how the second-in-command at the local sheriff’s department was pawning his issue firearms for personal gain; uncovered efforts by county deputies to get criminals to vote; documented illegal voting by felons who had not regained their rights; and located residents who said a ranking deputy brought them their absentee ballot, witnessed the completed ballot for them and then returned it to the polls, breaking the law more than once in the effort.
The newspaper also documented how, in the weeks leading up to the 2010 General Election, residents were arrested, immediately voted, then saw the charges against them later dismissed or drastically reduced.
"It is probably safe to assume that 'impact' is the primary criterion for all the Scripps Howard Awards," judges said in announcing the First Amendment award. "It should not be assumed, however, that 'impact' is determined by raw numbers alone. Does a story that affects 100,000 people in a city of six million have a greater impact than a story that affects an entire community of 9,000? Certainly not from the community’s point of view."
"It is clear that the Yancey County News has had a significant impact on the rural North Carolina community it serves. In the short time since its founding, the Yancey County News has established itself as a check on local government by providing its readers insight into the practices of their elected officials. Despite risks both financial and physical, the newspaper’s staff exposed corruption on the part of local law enforcement officials. The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of press has little value if there are none who have the courage to speak truth to power. Fortunately, such courage can be found in abundance among the staff of the Yancey County News," the Scripps judges wrote. The stories “show a small newspaper staff pushing their resources, ingenuity and energy to the limit, day after day,” challenging “officials used to operating with a disregard for public scrutiny and accountability that spans degrees from benign to blatant.”
“The entry from (the) Yancey County News fairly crackles with the energy of good journalism in a charged atmosphere of reluctant – if not criminal – public officials, official nepotism and of county government operating without public oversight,” the Scripps judges wrote. “It does so with reporting and writing that shows care with the facts, depth, and yet with a spritely, inviting manner – retaining a strong community (and citizen) tone even as it provides the details of research and analysis.”
Judges in the Ancil Payne Awards had this to say: “To take on the powers that be in a rural community where citizens are afraid to speak out against local law enforcement is very brave. To stake your livelihood and personal safety on it is above and beyond. This is an extraordinary example of serving the public good.”