The Caledonian-Record

The Caledonian-Record
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
PublisherTodd M. Smith
EditorDana Gray
Staff writers36 (2007)
Founded1837
Headquarters190 Federal Street
St. Johnsbury, Vermont 05819  United States
Circulation10,204 (as of 2013)
ISSN1054-3716
OCLC number12180513
Websitecaledonianrecord.com

The Caledonian-Record is a daily newspaper published in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and primarily circulates throughout Caledonia County.[1] It was established in 1837.[2] It employed a total staff of 36 as of 2007.[3]

Circulation

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The paper is distributed in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the western portion of Coos County, New Hampshire. It maintains a New Hampshire office located at 263 Main Street in Littleton, New Hampshire.[4] It is published daily except Sunday and some holidays.[2][5][6]

The Caledonian has focused on local news from 50 communities, which are located in three Vermont counties and two New Hampshire ones.[7] The average daily net paid circulation has dipped from a peak of about 12,500 about 1999 to the six months ending March 2013 at 10,204.[8]

Penetration of the primary market area of St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville was under 93%. For the area immediately surrounding St. Johnsbury the Caledonian provided coverage of 80% of the occupied households.[9]

History

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Albert G. Chadwick began publishing the paper as a weekly in August, 1837. It is the oldest paper in the county. It started as a four-page, twenty-four column paper.[10]

It was a Whig paper when it started.[11] At the time, Vermont was strongly Whig.[12] The paper advocated the principles of the Free Soil element and became an early adherent and unswerving supporter of the principles of the Republican Party. It was edited and published by its founder for 18 years. George D. Rand and Charles M. Stone bought it in July 1855. Stone became the sole owner, editor and publisher in April 1857.

In 1875 it was still a weekly newspaper. Subscribers paid $1.50 a year. In 1909, Walter J. Bigelow, a former mayor of Burlington, Vermont, purchased the St. Johnsbury Caledonian, which he turned into a daily newspaper.[13]

In the 20th century, the paper was bought by a former Hearst reporter from Boston, Herb Smith. His son, Gordon Smith, Class of 1941 at Yale, joined the paper on the business side upon graduation and went on to own and publish the paper. Gordon brought with him as a writer who stayed a year; a classmate, Barry Zorthian.[14]

Caledonian-Record Pub. Co., Inc. v. VT State College

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The Caledonian garnered attention in 2003 over a court case entitled Caledonian-Record Pub. Co., Inc. v. VT State College. The Caledonian wanted to have access to student disciplinary records and hearings from Lyndon State College. Lyndon state claimed that it was exempt from making the requested information public per the Vermont Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Law. The local court sided with Lyndon State College, and an appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court followed. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the verdict.[15][16][17] Julie Fothergill, an attorney with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, stated that the ruling "is important for all public bodies because it indicates how the Court may interpret other exceptions to the Public Records Law."[18][19]

Operations

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Besides the Caledonian, the paper also published the Orleans County Record and the Littleton Record.[20]

In 2007 the paper employed a staff of 40. Sales ranged from $1 to $5 million annually.[2]

In 2007 the paper partnered with the American Society of News Editors at Lyndon Institute to publish a school newspaper, the first at the school, entitled The Campus News.[5]

In 2008 the paper outsourced the printing of the paper to Upper Valley Press in Haverhill, New Hampshire, citing equipment, quality control and personnel problems.[21]

In 2017, the paper was family owned.[20]

Controversies

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In its coverage of the 2017 fire that destroyed the home of singer-songwriter Neko Case, the paper included Case's name despite her ongoing issues with stalkers and threats to her and her family. The paper maintains that it followed its typical public safety reporting standards.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Caledonian-Record newspaper - MondoTimes.com". www.mondotimes.com.
  2. ^ a b c VT Living.com: Caledonian Record Publication Profile Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  3. ^ "Archived". Archived from the original on November 30, 2002. Retrieved May 6, 2023.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ Littleton, NH, Discover Our Town. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  5. ^ a b ASNE Partnership profile: Lyndon Institute/Caledonian-Record, High School Journalism. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  6. ^ Resources for New Hampshire Residents - Caledonian Record, NH.gov. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  7. ^ Alexander, Mary Jane, (Winter 1998) Civic journalism as rationale for aggressive coverage of domestic assault, Newspaper Research Journal.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Us[permanent dead link‍], The Caledonian Record Online. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  10. ^ Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT.; 1883-1884, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887
  11. ^ "Chronicling America: The Caledonian-record". Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  12. ^ John Joseph Lalor (1890). "Vermont". Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political Economy, and of the Political History of the United States. Vol. 3. C. E. Merrill & Company. pp. 1061–1063.
  13. ^ "Former Mayor of Burlington Dead". St. Albans Daily Messenger. St. Albans, VT. May 3, 1935. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Oral history, conducted by Richard B. Verrone, Ph.D., The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University, 2006. Pp 27-8. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  15. ^ (September 12, 2003) Newspaper loses bid to access student disciplinary records, But newspaper can access 'final results' of hearings, Vermont Supreme Court rules Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Student Press Law Center. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  16. ^ LEGAL WATCH: STUDENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE IN VERMONT Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Gannett. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  17. ^ "Legal Issues in College Athletics". www.hackneypublications.com.
  18. ^ Fothergill, Julie (September 2003) STUDENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS ARE EXEMPT FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine VLCT News. Accessed online: July 14, 2007
  19. ^ (September 8, 2003) Newspaper loses bid to access student-discipline files Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, First Amendment Center. Accessed online: July 14, 2007.
  20. ^ a b Gresser, Joseph (December 13, 2017). "Wells responds to Cal-Rec suit". The Chronicle. Barton, Vermont. pp. 1A.
  21. ^ "Denied:1up! Software". caledonianrecord.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ Cush, Andy (May 18, 2018). "Neko Case Talks 'Hell-On,' House Fire, Stalker in New Interview". Spin. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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