Introduction to Nashville News Media.
Nashville is Tennessee’s capital located near the Cumberland River of the United States. In 1779, the city was formed and named after a Continental Army general, Francis Nash, who had participated in the American Revolutionary War. However, during the American Civil War in 1862, Nashville became the first state capital in the Confederacy to surrender in front of the Union troops. Nashville reclaimed its position soon after the war and developed itself into a manufacturing base.
Nashville also earned the tag of “Athens of the South” as it became home to some of the country’s best educational institutions, such as Tennessee State University, Belmont University, Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, Lipscomb University and Trevecca Nazarene University.
Media in Nashville
The Tennessean is the most circulated daily newspaper in Nashville. Until 1998, the city had another daily newspaper, Nashville Banner. Both the newspapers used to publish from the same office under a joint-operating agreement. Nashville Post is the most popular online news portal based in the city. The Nashville Pride, Nashville Scene, Nashville Business Journal and The Tennessee Tribune are among the publications that come on a weekly basis.
History of Nashville Newspapers
The city’s first newspaper was The Tennessean as its first edition was published under the title of The Nashville Tennessean on May 12, 1907. The newspaper still operates in Nashville with a liberal editorial policy. To counter the views of the city’s oldest newspaper, The Banner operates with conservative views. The Banner was started in October 2000 and carried on by The City Paper after its closure in August 2013. Alternative weekly newspapers, Nashville Scene and The Nashville Pride, serve an entrepreneurial population of Nashville.
Television is the second most trusted medium of news in Nashville. As many as 11 broadcast TV stations operate in the country’s 29th largest media market. ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox, ion, TBN, Univision, MyNetworkTV, MeTV and The CW are among the major television broadcasters of Nashville.
Nashville newspapers and websites’ list
Here below we present you a list of some of the most prominent newspapers and websites operating in Nashville. With this list of prominent Nashville newspapers and other publications, we have tried to explain the origin, operations, status and relevance of these Nashville based mediahouses.
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is an English language daily newspaper published in Nashville, Tennessee. It was first published on May 12, 1907, as Nashville Tennessean. The newspaper got its current name in 1972. The Tennessean was established by a 28-year-old attorney, Col. Luke Lea, who was also a local political activist. However, it traces its origin back to 1812 as a weekly newspaper, Nashville Whig. The newspaper underwent multiple acquisitions and mergers to emerge as Nashville American in the 19th century.
Circulation
The Tennessean is printed seven days a week. As per March 2013 figures, the circulation of The Tennessean’s circulation was 100,825 daily (Monday-Friday), 102,855 on Saturday and 227,626 for the Sunday edition. It was a dip since 2005 when daily circulation was 177,714, Saturday circulation was recorded 199,489 and Sunday circulation was 250,575. It is circulated in 8 counties in southern Kentucky and 39 counties in Middle Tennessee.
Sister Publications
Currently, it is owned by Gannett. The company publishes several community newspapers such as The Dickson Herald, Gallatin News-Examiner, Hendersonville Star-News, Fairview Observer, and Ashland City Times in Middle Tennessee. In 1962, two of The Tennessean reporters Nat Caldwell and Gene Graham got Pulitzer Prize “for their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers.”
Digital Media Presence
The Tennessean also has a website that was launched in September 1998. There are sections such as news, sports, music, counties and business among others available on the portal. It is also available on Facebook and Twitter.
Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene is an alternative newsweekly published in the tabloid format in Nashville, Tennessee. Established in 1989, it became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999. Village Voice Media and New Times Media merged in 2006. Later in 2009, Nashville Scene was acquired by SouthComm Communications.
Currently, it is owned by Freeman Webb Company. Nashville Scene also has a website with multiple sections such as news, music, arts & culture, food & drink, events and calendar among others. It is also available on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tennessee Tribune
The Tennessee Tribune is ”Middle Tennessee’s largest African-American owned Newspaper,” states its YouTube channel. It was established in 1991 by “the only African-American Female publisher in the state of Tennessee” Rosetta Irvin Miller-Perry. It is circulated in Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Memphis of Tennessee.
The weekly newspaper also has a website with several sections like news, editorial, lifestyle, religion and sports among others. Besides having a YouTube channel, The Tennessee Tribune is also available on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
The Contributor
The Contributor is a bi-weekly newspaper based in Nashville in Tennessee. It was founded by Steven Samara, Tasha French, Tom Will and Will Connelly in November 2007. The Contributor mainly covers issues related to social justice. Most of the content is written by local journalists, those experiencing homelessness or those who are working with homeless people.
The City Paper
The City Paper is a weekly newspaper in Nashville that is distributed free of cost. It is also known as The Nashville City Paper. The first issue of the newspaper was launched on November 1, 2000. Back then, it had a daily circulation of around 40,000 copies. It aimed to compete with The Tennessean, the only daily in the city after Nashville Banner shut down in 1998.
OUTvoices Nashville
OUTvoices Nashville, formerly known as Out & About Newspaper, is a monthly newspaper published in Nashville. Launched in 2002, it is distributed free of cost. The LGBT community of Nashville is the target audience of the newspaper. In September 2020, Aequalitas Media acquired Out & About. It is published along with a broadcast news feature on WTVF-TV known as “Out & About Today”.
Conclusion
Nashville has quite a big network of media as it covers about 966,000 houses, which is almost 0.8 percent of the media market in the United States. The Tennessean is the only daily newspaper publishing in the city. Spanish language newspaper La Campana, NashVegas Insider, Nashville Business Journal, The Nashville Pride and Nashville Scene are among some of the most popular weekly publications in Nashville.
The Contributor is the only newspaper that publishes on a monthly basis along with magazines Nashville Music Guide and NATIVE.
Online Media
Like rest of the world, Nashville is also witnessing a surge in the online newspapers. While most of the above mentioned newspapers and magazines have their news websites, Nashville Post, Antioch Tenn and Style Blueprint are among news portals based in Nashville.
Defunct Papers
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has sent most of the city newspapers on back foot throughout the US. While some newspapers have shut their businesses, some others moved entirely online. As per records, entertainment newspaper All The Rage was he recent to stop its publication. The City Paper published its last edition on August 9, 2013 before shifting its business online.
The Daily American merged into The Nashville American in 1894, which eventually became The Tennessean in 1910. The Labor Advocate was a weekly newspaper that published from 1902 to 1939. The Nashville Banner ceased its publication on February 20, 1998, but its website claims a return of the paper by the end of 2021.
Nashville Business in Review served the city readers from 1995 to 1997, before turning into In Review that published until 1999. To serve the African-American community, Nashville had Nashville Globe and Independent until July 1960. Nashville Times was another prominent weekly newspaper that ceased its publication on July 28, 1940.
While the propelling industry knows no bounds, we at MediaBuzz are working hard to provide encyclopedic coverage of all the news sources. We are a team of professional writers with a knack for the trends in the world of journalism.
We are always looking for suggestions to produce a more concise list.
Please help us with your answers for the below questions in the comment section.
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