Ben Gish

Editor and Acting Publisher

Ben Gish, 54, was born in Frankfort, Ky., and moved to Whitesburg in January 1957, when his parents assumed ownership of The Mountain Eagle. He has worked at the Eagle since he was 5 years old, leaving only when he enrolled at the University of Kentucky in 1974. He graduated from UK in 1979, having paid his way with a long-term summer job in an underground coal mine in Letcher County, Ky. Gish has done most of the jobs at the Eagle and currently serves as the paper’s editor and acting publisher.

[KY 0101] - Part 1: Intro and Contribution (3:50)

Ben Gish, editor & acting publisher, The Mountain Eagle, describes growing up in a weekly-newspaper family. He identifies the newspaper’s “watch-dog” mission for his small rural community.

[KY 0102] - Part 2: Ethics and Content (2:34)

Ben Gish, editor & acting publisher, The Mountain Eagle, describes some of the unique ethical standards he has devised for his small-town weekly newspaper in Eastern Kentucky.

[KY 0103] - Part 3: Strategic Changes (2:07)

Ben Gish, editor & acting publisher, The Mountain Eagle, says his newspaper has not been affected by the circulation losses that have hit the larger daily newspapers in the USA, and therefore his paper’s reaction to the changing marketplace has been minimal.

[KY 0104] - Part 4: The Future & Preparation (1:40)

Ben Gish, editor & acting publisher, The Mountain Eagle, says that aspiring weekly newspapers owners and reporters can’t expect to earn a lot of money, but they can expect to have “a lot of fun.”