[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 80 (Friday, May 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S3301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING THE ADVOCATE-MESSENGER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, one of my home State's great 
newspapers, the Advocate-Messenger, is celebrating its 150th 
anniversary this year, and I want to congratulate the staff and 
publishers of this venerable institution that is published out of 
Danville, Ky.
  The newspaper that would become the Advocate-Messenger was first 
published on June 24, 1865, as The Kentucky Advocate. Created by James 
L. Marrs, it was guided to considerable success by a trio of editors: 
G.W. Doneghy, W. Vernon Richardson, and W.O. McIntyre. The paper became 
a daily in 1911 and a member of the Associated Press in 1914.
  In the meantime, a local merchant named Hubert McGoodwin founded the 
Danville Messenger in 1910 as a competitor of the Kentucky Advocate. 
This paper was purchased in 1918 by J. Curtis Alcock, an experienced 
editor and publisher, and he guided The Danville Messenger to 
considerable success in the ensuing decades while also serving as 
secretary-treasurer of the Kentucky Press Association from 1911 to 
1942.
  In 1940, the two newspapers merged to become the Advocate-Messenger 
and published Monday through Friday under that name. The Kentucky 
Advocate became a Saturday afternoon paper for a decade before 
switching to a Sunday-only paper in 1950, continuing to this day.
  Many able hands have steered the ship of the Advocate-Messenger over 
the years. Enos Swain, formerly the director of Centre College's public 
relations, became the Advocate-Messenger's editor in 1944 and served 
the longest tenure of any editor, 34 years. In 1977 current owner 
Schurz Communications bought the paper, and Mary Schurz became the 
editor and publisher in 1978 upon Enos Swain's retirement.
  From 2006 to 2014, Scott Schurz, Jr., served as editor and publisher, 
and in July 2014, Larry Hensley was named president and publisher, 
posts he continues to fill today. John Nelson is the executive editor.
  Under the supervision of Mr. Hensley, the Advocate-Messenger enjoys a 
healthy circulation throughout southcentral Kentucky, with distribution 
primarily in Boyle, Lincoln, Casey, Mercer, and Garrard counties. 
Danville benefits from being recognized by Time magazine as one of 10 
successful Main Street communities in the country and is the home of 
Centre College, one of the top liberal arts colleges in the region. I 
can attest to my colleagues that Danville is a wonderful place, and I 
believe the Advocate-Messenger truly has its finger on the pulse of the 
region.
  A strong and vigorous free press being vital to the freedoms of our 
country, I wish to recognize the Advocate-Messenger as a newspaper that 
takes its dedication to journalism and to serving the people of its 
community seriously. One hundred and fifty years in publication is 
quite an accomplishment that few newspapers can claim, and I know my 
colleagues join me when I say congratulations to the Advocate-Messenger 
on the occasion of its sesquicentennial and best wishes for many more 
years of publication to come. And congratulations to the newspaper's 
president and publisher, Larry Hensley, and its executive editor, John 
Nelson.

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