424.120 Qualifications of newspapers.
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if an advertisement for a
publication area is required by law to be published in a newspaper, the publication
shall be made in a newspaper that meets the following requirements:
(a) It shall be published in the publication area. A newspaper shall be deemed to
be published in the area if it maintains its principal office in the area for the
purpose of gathering news and soliciting advertisements and other general
business of newspaper publications, and has a periodicals class mailing permit
issued for that office. A newspaper published outside of Kentucky shall not be
eligible to carry advertisements for any county or publication area within the
county, other than for the city in which its main office is located, if there is a
newspaper published in the county that has a substantial general circulation
throughout the county and that otherwise meets the requirements of this
section; and
(b) It shall be of regular issue and have a bona fide circulation in the publication
area. A newspaper shall be deemed to be of regular issue if it is published at
least once a week, for at least fifty (50) weeks during the calendar year as
prescribed by its mailing permit, and has been so published in the area for the
immediately preceding two (2) year period. A newspaper meeting all the
criteria to be of regular issue, except publication in the area for the
immediately preceding two (2) year period, shall be deemed to be of regular
issue if it is the only paper in the publication area and has a paid circulation
equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the population of the publication area. A
newspaper shall be deemed to be of bona fide circulation in the publication
area if it is circulated generally in the area, and maintains a definite price or
consideration not less than fifty percent (50%) of its published price, and is
paid for by not less than fifty percent (50%) of those to whom distribution is
made; and
(c) It shall bear a title or name, consist of not less than four (4) pages without a
cover, and be of a type to which the general public resorts for passing events
of a political, religious, commercial, and social nature, and for current
happenings, announcements, miscellaneous reading matter, advertisements,
and other notices. The news content shall be at least twenty-five percent
(25%) of the total column space in more than one-half (1/2) of its issues
during any twelve (12) month period.
(d) If, in a publication area there is more than one (1) newspaper which meets the
above requirements, the newspaper having the largest bona fide paid
circulation as shown by the average number of paid copies of each issue as
shown in its published statement of ownership as filed on October 1 for the
publication area shall be the newspaper where advertisements required by law
to be published shall be carried.
(e) For the purposes of KRS Chapter 424, publishing shall be considered as the
total recurring processes of producing the newspaper, embracing all of the
included contents of reading matter, illustrations, and advertising enumerated
(2)
(3)
in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection. A newspaper shall not be
excluded from qualifying for the purposes of legal publications as provided in
this chapter if its printing or reproduction processes take place outside the
publication area.
(a) If, in the case of a publication area smaller than the county in which it is
located, there is no newspaper published in the area, the publication shall be
made in a newspaper published in the county that is qualified under this
section to publish advertisements for the county. If the qualified newspaper
publishes a zoned edition which is distributed to regular subscribers within the
publication area, any advertisement required by law to be published in the
publication area may be published in the zoned edition distributed in that area.
(b) If, in any county there is no newspaper meeting the requirements of this
section for publishing advertisements for that county, any advertisements
required to be published for the county or for any publication area within the
county shall be published in a newspaper of the largest bona fide circulation in
that county published in and qualified to publish advertisements for an
adjoining county in Kentucky. This subsection is intended to supersede any
statute that provides or contemplates that newspaper publication may be
dispensed with if there is no newspaper printed or published or of general
circulation in the particular publication area.
If a publication area consists of a district, other than a city, which extends into more
than one (1) county, the part of the district in each county shall be considered to be a
separate publication area for the purposes of this section, and an advertisement for
each separate publication area shall be published in a newspaper qualified under this
section to publish advertisements for the area.
Effective: July 12, 2006
History: Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 8, sec. 3, effective July 12, 2006. -- Amended
1992 Ky. Acts ch. 9, sec. 2, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts
ch. 201, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 180, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 1982; and ch. 430, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1982. -- Amended
1960 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 1. -- Created 1958 Ky. Acts ch. 42, sec. 2.
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