Woodford Sun receives tax approval to operate as a nonprofit, marking a rare shift for a Kentucky weekly

A Versailles-based weekly newspaper, The Woodford Sun, has received tax approval that will allow it to change its operating status to a nonprofit, a move Kentucky Lantern described as a historic shift for a struggling traditional newspaper in Kentucky. The announcement comes as local newsrooms across the state face declining subscriptions and rising costs, leaving readers with fewer places to turn for coverage of school board meetings, local government actions and community events.

Kentucky Lantern reported that Bob Rouse, 68, of Midway, is among the newspaper’s best-known supporters and a reader who says the paper matters to how he keeps up with day-to-day life in his hometown. In a detailed account of what he reads in the paper, Rouse tied the publication to practical, recurring community information, including coverage of school board actions and other governmental activity, as well as high school sports results for the school’s Yellowjackets.

Rouse also described the newspaper as a place where other community milestones appear, including church milestones and obituaries, framing the publication as part of the local civic and family record. His account highlighted the way small weekly papers often serve multiple roles at once, from delivering routine coverage of public meetings to recording life events that residents later revisit.

Kentucky Lantern said the Woodford Sun is the first traditional Kentucky newspaper to become a nonprofit, underscoring the scale of the transition. The outlet’s reporting listed the newspaper’s leadership team, including editor Lucie Chandler and publisher Ben Chandler, and it described reporter Scott White as part of the newsroom as the paper moves into a new legal structure.

While a newsroom’s internal business plan is not the same as its editorial mission, changing to nonprofit status can affect how an organization is governed and how it can pursue revenue. The tax approval described by Kentucky Lantern indicates that the paper has cleared at least one step tied to how it will be treated under tax rules as it restructures, though the article did not lay out specific procedural terms or the timeline beyond the current approval.

Community response is likely to hinge on what readers expect to see next, particularly coverage of local institutions that rely on resident attendance, such as school board meetings and government actions. For a town like Midway, where residents may be accustomed to finding updates in a familiar weekly format, the nonprofit change may determine whether that flow of information can continue as distribution and newsroom staffing pressures persist.

As the Woodford Sun continues its transition, readers will be watching for continuity in what the paper covers and how it serves its coverage area, especially around education, local governance, sports and community notices such as obituaries. The Kentucky Lantern report places the approval at the center of that continuity question by tying it directly to the newspaper’s ability to keep operating in its established form.