# Addison County Independent

The Addison County Independent is a weekly newspaper located in Middlebury, VT that covers Addison County. The paper was founded in 1946 as the Addison Independent and is now owned and published by Angelo Lynn. The paper is a member of the New England Newspapers and Press Association, and in 2016, the paper won the award of first place for general excellence in its class from the association. The paper is published weekly on Thursdays.

## History

The Addison Independent was founded in 1946 by William J. Slator and his wife Celine. At the time they owned Addison Press, Inc. which published the paper as well as served a commercial printing plant. In 1955 the newspaper name changed to The Addison County Independent.
In 1976 William J. Slator sold the Addison County Independent to Gordon T. Mills, who was the editor for the Burlington Free Press.
In 1984 the current owner, Angelo Lynn, purchased the paper. In 1988, Lynn changed the publication schedule to twice-weekly, which continued until April 2020 when it shifted to weekly publication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Online presence

The Addison County Independent's web site carries local stories and allows for individual online subscriptions.

## Coverage area

The Addison County Independent mostly reports on news in Addison County, however some news is included from Rutland County, particularly school news related to Otter Valley Union High School.

## Awards
### New England Better Newspaper Competition - New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA)

| Year | Award | Place | Recipient |
| 1998 | Sports Columnist - Weekly Class 2 Category | 1st | Andy Kirkaldy |
| 2016 | General Excellence in its class | 1st | Addison County Independent |
| 2015 | Top Newspaper Web Site - Weekly | 1st | Addison County Independent |
| 2009 | Business and Economic Reporting | 2nd | Kathryn Flagg |
| 2009 | Social Issues Feature Story | 3rd | Kathryn Flagg |
| 2003 | Election Coverage | 3rd | Travis Fahey |

### Vermont Press Association

| Year | Award | Place | Recipient |
| 1999 | General News Photography | 1st and 2nd | Trent Campbell |
| 1999 | Feature Photography | 2nd and 3rd | Trent Campbell |
| 1999 | Non-Daily Sportswriter | 1st | Andy Kirkaldy |
| 2000 | Best sports writing (non-daily) | 1st | Andy Kirkaldy |
| 2000 | Feature writing (non-daily) | 3rd | Jennifer Jensen |
| 2000 | Sports photo (non-daily) | 1st & 3rd | Trent Campbell |
| 2000 | Feature photo (non-daily) | 2nd | Trent Campbell |
| 2000 | News photo (non-daily) | 3rd | Trent Campbell |
| 2006 | General Excellence - non-daily | 3rd | Addison County Independent |
| 2006 | Sports Writing - non-daily | 1st | Andy Kirkaldy |
| 2006 | Best local story - non-daily | 2nd | John Flowers |
| 2006 | Feature Writing - non-daily | 3rd | John Flowers |
| 2006 | Photo Sports - non-daily | 3rd | Trent Campbell |
| 2006 | Photo - general news - non-daily | 2nd | Trent Campbell |
| 2006 | Photo - feature - non-daily | 3rd | Trent Campbell |
| 2002 | Best local story - non-daily | 1st | Travis Fahey |
| 2002 | Sports Writing - non-daily | 2nd | Andy Kirkaldy |
| 2002 | Feature Writing - non-daily | 2nd | John Flowers |
| 2002 | Feature Photo - non-daily | 1st | Trent Campbell |
| 2002 | General News Photo - non-daily | 1st | Trent Campbell |