The Jackson Herald

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The Jackson Herald
"Jackson County's Legal Organ"
TypeWeekly Newspaper
FormatPrinted & E-version
Owner(s)MainStreet Newspapers,Inc
Founder(s)Herman Buffington
PublisherMike Buffington
FoundedJuly 21, 1875; 144 years ago
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters33 Lee St.Jefferson, GA 30549
CountryUnited States
Circulation4,781 (as of 2013)[1]
Sister newspapersMainStreetNewsSports
MainStreetNewsOrbits
BarrowJournal
BraseltonNewsTODAY
BanksNewsTODAY
CommerceNewsTODAY
MadisonJournalTODAY
OCLC number19638930
Websitejacksonheraldtoday.com

The Jackson Herald is a local newspaper in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. It is published once a week, on Wednesdays, and is owned by MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Its contents includes local news, sports and events.[2]

History[edit]

The paper began as the Forest News, founded in 1875, published by the Jackson County Publishing Company. It was renamed to the Jackson Herald in 1886.[3] In 1891 The Jackson Herald was sold to J.J. Holder for $3000; the old ownership had been "somewhat unfriendly" to the Farmers' Alliance, the new ownership was expected to be friendly towards the Alliance.[4]

The Jackson Herald Building, on Lee St. in Jefferson, was built around 1925. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the Jefferson Historic District.[3]

Mr. and Mrs. John N. Holder, were given the Herald by Holder's father, the owner of Holder Plantation near to Jefferson, the county seat, as a wedding present.[5] The couple ran the paper together for many years; Mrs. Holder wrote the social column.[5] Holder "was Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives twice and for many years chairman of the State Highway Board. Holder was also editor and publisher of The Jackson Herald for almost seventy years."[6] He was a five-time candidate for Governor of the state.[7]

Recently[edit]

In 2019 The Jackson Herald is one of several newspapers owned by MainStreet Newspapers, Inc., which is a family owned newspaper company in Northeast Georgia.[8]

The newspaper was purchased by Herman Buffington in 1965. Mr. Buffington served as the newspaper's publisher while his wife, Helen Buffington, was the editor.[9] They were the entire staff; they performed all of the tasks of delivering a newspaper. The Buffington's were in the business for years and famous for using the newspaper as a tool to eradicate the prevalent corruption and organized crime in Jefferson County.[10]

The first edition was printed on July 21, 1965, containing only ten pages. In later years, the newspaper's circulation trended upward.[11]

In 1968, Mr. Buffington inaugurated The Banks County News in Homer County, and in 1987, he purchased the Commerce News. He then proceeded to purchase The Madison County Journal in 1997. Mr. Buffington then merged all the newspapers under the name MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.[12]

On 1 January 2017, the Commerce News was assimilated into the Jackson Herald to create a single paper.[13]

Herman Abner Buffington[edit]

Herman Abner Buffington ( May 7, 1926 – July 13, 2014) was a popular newspaper reporter in Georgia and a highly decorated World War II Combat Veteran. He was born in the town of Rome, Floyd County, Georgia to the late Abner Curenius and Essie Green Buffington.[14]

Before entering the newspaper business, Mr. Buffington already had already created a legacy in the United States WWII Army. He first joined the US Army in August 1944 and was stationed in the 96th Infantry Division, which primarily focused on the Pacific Theater. His service to this country earned him numerous awards including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon, the Philippine Independence Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Ribbon and three overseas service bars.[14]

After returning to the United States, he met Helen Toles and they soon got married 1949. Mr. Buffington used the GI Bill as an opportunity to enroll in the Carrol Lynn School of Business and the Rome branch of the University of Georgia. After his graduation, he worked for Vic's Goodyear Tire, Bradshaw Tire Company, the Celanese Cooperation and Peppered Mfg Company.[15]

His first real Job in Journalism was with the Summerville News in Northwest Georgia, where he worked alongside his wife as an advertising and circulation director. Subsequently, after working for The Summerville News, he launched MainStreetNewspapers Inc. and served as the director of the Georgia Press association (1982–1985).

Due to his deteriorating health, he was later forced to retire from the newspaper business. Mr. Buffington still retained his presidential position even though his sons took over the daily operations of the company.[16]

Coverage[edit]

The Jackson Herald covers Jackson County. Which includes the towns of Jefferson, Commerce, Pendergrass, Nicholson, Maysville, Arcade and Talmo in Georgia.[17] The Newspaper currently has a circulation estimate of 7,446 copies. It is published once a week, on Wednesday.

Area Demographics:Jackson Country,Georgia[18]
Population 6
No. Housing Units 23,930
Race:

White

Black

Other

88%

7%

5%

Median House Hold Income $52,857
Education

High School Grad+

Bachelor's degree+

81%

19%

Circulation by Zip Code[19][edit]

Town State Zip Code Circulation
Jefferson GA 30549 4,228
Commerce GA 30529 2,166
Maysville GA 30558 302
Athens GA 30601 218
Nichollson GA 30565 213
Pendergrass GA 30567 109
Talmo GA 30575 84
Commerce GA 30530 61
Homer GA 30547 25
Other Neighboring Areas 40
Total 7,446

Awards[edit]

Georgia Press Association Recipient Awards
Year Award Place Recipient
1968[20] Community Service 1st Herman Buffingon
2012[21] Best Sports Writing 1st Ben Muro
2012 Best Photo Essay 3rd Angela Gary
2012 Best News Photo 2nd Angela Gary
2012 Humorous Column 2nd Virgil Adams
2012 Best Feature Photo 1st Wesleigh Sagon
2017[22] Religion Coverage 2nd The Braselton News
2017 General Excellence 3rd The Jackson Herald
2017 Best Sports Section 1st Ben Munro
2017 Best Spot News Photo 1st Ben Munro
2017 Best Spot News Photo 2nd Alex Pace
2017 Best Headline Writing 1st Alex Pace
2017 Best Community Service 2nd Mike Bufington
2017 Best News Photo 3rd Wesleigh Sagon
2017 Best Sports Photo 3rd Ben Munro
2017 Best Sports Feature Photo 3rd Clark Buffington
2017 Best Photo Essay 2nd Wesleigh Sagon

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2013 Georgia Newspaper Directory" (PDF). Georgia Press Association. 2013-01-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  2. ^ "Jackson Herald". MondoTimes.com. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Holly L. Anderson (February 4, 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Jefferson Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved May 8, 2019. With accompanying 86 photos (a photo of the building is number 8)
  4. ^ "The Jackson Herald Sold". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2 July 1891.
  5. ^ a b Carter, Carolyn (28 January 1945). "John N. Holders Review 54 Years of Newspapering". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  6. ^ "the Jackson County's Chamber of Commerce website's History page". Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  7. ^ "this Jackson County planning review of its historic resources". Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  8. ^ "Historic Resources, Jackson County Comprehensive Plan, Community Assessment, Technical Appendix". Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  9. ^ Buffington, Hellen. "MainStreetNews History". JacksonHeraldTODAY.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "Herman Buffington". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2019 – via Legacy.com.
  11. ^ Buffington, Helen. "MainStreetNews - History". JacksonHeraldToday.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  12. ^ "Herman Buffington, Patriarch of MainStreet Newspapers, dies". CommerceNewsTODAY.com. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Jackson Herald". MondoTimes.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Herman Buffington passes away; newspaperman decorated WWII Veteran". MadisonJournalTODAY. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  15. ^ "Herman Buffington passes away; newspaperman was a decorated WWII veteran". The Madison Journal TODAY. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  16. ^ "Herman Buffington passes away; newspaperman was decoration WWII veteran". The Madison Journal TODAY. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "MainStreetNewspapers 2019 Advertising Rates". MainStreetNewspapers. MainStreetNews Advertising Department. January 1, 2019.
  18. ^ "MainStreetNewspapers 2019 Advertising Rates". MainStreetNewspapers. January 1, 2019 – via MainStreetNews Advertising Department.
  19. ^ "MainStreetNewspapers 2019 Advertising Rates". MainStreetNewspapers. MainStreetNews Advertising Department. January 1, 2019.
  20. ^ Buffington, Helen. "MainStreetNews-History". JacksonHeraldTODAY.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  21. ^ "Braselton News wins four awards from press association". MainStreetNews.com. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via BraseltonNewsTODAY.com.
  22. ^ "Newspaper Honored by GPA". June 21, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.

External links[edit]