Louisville Herald ends operations after nearly 140 years

LOUISVILLE ‒ The Louisville Herald, which provided hyperlocal coverage of the Louisville area for nearly 140 years, has closed.

Longtime owners, Frank and Jackie Clapper, announced the Herald ceased all operations on Nov. 1, including its website. They stopped production of the print edition in late June but kept a digital edition.

The announcement was posted on its website.

"It has been an honor and privilege to be able to serve the community, sharing the good news about 44641 and surrounding areas," the announcement said. "It is with very heavy hearts that they have decided to cease publication ..."

"They recognize this will be difficult for many to understand, but maintaining a viable online newspaper is a very challenging, time demanding endeavor, and it is time to move on."

The Clappers could not be reached for comment.

The Local News Initiative at Northwestern University reported last year that 2,500 newspapers have closed in the U.S. since 2005, leaving many communities without local news coverage.

"Newspapers are continuing to vanish at a rapid rate," the report says. "An average of more than two a week are disappearing."

The decision to end the Herald did not come as a surprise to city officials and business leaders, who said the Clappers were planning to retire and move to the Columbus area, where their daughter lives.

"They were members. We knew this was coming. They're going to be missed," said Beth Campbell, executive director of the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Clappers ended their announcement wishing, "the community all the best and (they) will forever be Leopards at heart."

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On X (formerly Twitter): @bduerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Louisville Herald owners Frank and Jackie Clapper end operations