KRS § 424.120 — KY Code / Title XXXVIII / Chapter 424 / Section 424.120
424.120 Qualifications of newspapers
Status: in_force

424.120 Qualifications of newspapers.

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (4) 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;

(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 qualified paper in the county. 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;

(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; and

(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

in paragraphs (a) to (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.

(2) (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.

(3) 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.

(4) If an advertisement for a publication area is required by law to be published in a

newspaper, the publication may, alternatively, be made in a digital newspaper that:

(a) Maintains an active news gathering office in the publication area;

(b) Has been actively publishing for at least one (1) year, and is updated on at

least a weekly basis;

(c) Has as its primary purpose reporting on matters of import to the public, and

contains regular reporting regarding local and community issues in the

publication area;

(d) Is easily accessible to the public through common Internet search engines or

other Internet search means;

(e) Contains conspicuous links or headings on its landing page that direct

members of the public to public notices; and

(f) Distributes, or has ownership interest in another entity that distributes,

newspapers printed in Kentucky, and is capable of circulating printed

newspapers throughout the publication area.

For purposes of satisfying publication requirements of this chapter, an

advertisement is deemed to be published on the date that it is posted on the website

of the digital newspaper. Any other statute requiring newspaper publication that

contains requirements related to the physical dimensions, typesetting, font, or other

aspects particular to a printed newspaper are not applicable where the advertisement

is made in a digital newspaper that qualifies under this subsection.