Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Jackson Herald


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep.  Sandstein  09:14, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

The Jackson Herald

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Article about a smalltown weekly newspaper, referenced almost entirely to its own self-published content, in itself and co-owned sister publications rather than any evidence of independent coverage in non-affiliated sources -- and the only remotely independent source is the paid-inclusion obituary of a former publisher in another newspaper's classified section, which is still not a notability-supporting source. As always, newspapers are not automatically entitled to have Wikipedia articles just because they exist -- they need to be the subject of reliable source coverage in sources other than themselves, such as local history books. Bearcat (talk) 20:32, 4 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Georgia (U.S. state)-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 23:49, 4 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Journalism-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 23:49, 4 May 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep. --Doncram (talk) 18:52, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * I added mention of The Jackson Herald's long-time owner/editor John N. Holder, who was son of owner of historic Holder Plantation, listed on the National Register, located 3.5 miles outside of Jefferson, the county seat of Jackson County, sourced from this Jackson County planning review of its historic resources.
 * It appears to me that The Jackson Herald may have had a long history and co-developed along with the county. The current article's history section so far only mentions that the newspaper was bought in 1965.  I would be interested to see coverage of its founding and longer history, which I presume exists in the local/regional/state histories and libraries of Georgia.
 * Also I just found mention in the Jackson County's Chamber of Commerce website's History page that "John N. Holder of Jefferson 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." So the newspaper has a longer history than covered in the article so far.  I am guessing it was/is the main newspaper of record for the county. --Doncram (talk) 18:49, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * And the same info is mentioned in Jackson County government's History page. I am sure there is coverage about the newspaper, besides archives of its papers, in other local/regional/state histories as well. --Doncram (talk) 18:52, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * And the Jackson Herald Building, built c.1925 on Lee Street in Jefferson, is listed on the National Register as a contributing building in the Jefferson Historic District (Jefferson, Georgia) (currently a redlink). The buildng can/should be covered in the article about the newspaper. --Doncram (talk) 19:05, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * The district's NRHP nomination adds historical info, to be added to this article, going back to 1875: "Jefferson's first newspaper, the Forest News, was founded in 1875 and began publication by the Jackson County Publishing Company. The paper's name was changed to the Jackson Herald in 1886, and it remains the only newspaper to be published in the community and is the official legal organ of Jackson County."
 * Several quotes from the NRHP document:
 * "In 1881 an editorial in the Jackson Herald asked why city officials continued to allow cattle to pasture in Woodbine Cemetery (located a short distance southwest of the public square), revealing the small, almost rural quality that Jefferson continued to possess."
 * "In 1905, the Jackson Herald published an article by Andrew J. Bell in which the Jefferson of that year was contrasted with the Jefferson of the year the railroad arrived. The intervening twenty-two years had seen the town's population triple from 500 to 1,500; taxable property in the community increased from $100,000 in 1883 to $500,000 in 1905; the number of merchandise stores increased from two in 1883 to fifteen in 1905; and the number of children attending school in Jefferson rose from 50 in1883 to 350 in 1905. While the railroad was certainly a factor in the town's growth during these twenty-two years, most of the changes between 1899 and 1905 were the result of a new business, Jefferson Cotton Mills...."
 * It was in "September of 1919 that Jackson County farmers first began reporting sightings of the insects in their cotton crops. The Herald promptly began reporting that "the boll weevil is here," and numerous stories urged farmers to consider cattle and hogs as alternatives to cotton. The impact of the boll weevil on Jackson County cotton production was widespread and extensive...."
 * The above several quotes are not about the newspaper itself, but the newspaper is the definitive source about the county's economic, social, other history, and can/should be cited in articles about Jefferson and the county. --Doncram (talk) 19:05, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * I presume the newspaper was a regular daily newspaper for most of its existence, and has just cut back to a weekly in recent years like many newspapers have done. --Doncram (talk) 21:08, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * I have noted before, but not put it into an essay yet, that Wikipedia could/should serve as a comprehensive gazetteer or whatever is the term, for covering local/regional newspapers which ever operated, like we already choose to do for populated places (existing and long-gone ones too). It is very useful to have some way to evaluate newspapers as sources.  I have myself created stub articles for numerous obscure local newspapers, when it turns out I am citing them directly or citing quotes from them in National Register nomination documents.
 * That said, I do not see any inbound links from National Register place articles or other articles using The Jackson Herald as a source. However I think that future links are likely, and again it provides a service to readers and editors to have some info about this newspaper as a source.
 * --Doncram (talk) 18:30, 8 May 2019 (UTC


 * Comment: Any which way, the article should not be deleted outright, and at worst should be merged/redirected to mention or a paragraph or two or at least a table row in List of newspapers in Georgia (U.S. state).
 * Also the online JacksonHeraldTODAY website includes tab for "BraseltonNewsTODAY" and the Braselton News covers Braselton and other towns and areas in Barrow County, Georgia. Also news of Barrow County is covered in another tab for the Barrow News Journal. It seems that several historical papers in a larger area than just Jackson County, Georgia have been merged, at least production-wise if not editorially.  I wouldn't mind if they were all covered together in one article having sections for each one. --Doncram (talk) 18:41, 8 May 2019 (UTC)
 * "added mention of The Jackson Herald's long-time owner/editor John N. Holder, who was son of owner of historic Holder Plantation" but are there reliable sources that ascertain the notability of the paper rather than the owner? Per WP:NORG, if the organization or company hasn't been reliably and independently covered as the organization, it isn't notable. This is notability isn't inherited per our policy. Graywalls (talk) 19:28, 16 May 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep and Note that sources have been added during AfD making nomination statement obsolete.  Articles on news media - including this 150-year-old newspaper - are extremely useful and part of the point of having an encyclopedia.  I did a modest expand source (note that I could not see past the jump in the article on the Holden's 54th anniversary.)  But this article should never have been brought to AfD.  As User:Doncram says, we may indeed need a new guideline on notability of news media.E.M.Gregory (talk) 16:17, 10 May 2019 (UTC)
 * a news media outlet is an organization, and I believe WP:NORG that covers companies and organizations should be applied. Graywalls (talk) 06:08, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, T. Canens (talk) 05:35, 12 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep per Doncram and EM's expansions.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 03:08, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep. I didn’t look at this when it was first nominated but the sourcing is fine now. Mccapra (talk) 05:58, 19 May 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.