The Lakeville Journal

The Journal was established in 1897 by Colvin Card[2] as an independent eight-column four page weekly,[3] published on Saturdays.[4] Card's other newspaper, the Millerton, New York Telegram, had grown steadily in circulation. But the Journal, situated in a small farming community with a dying iron industry, had limited circulation, with Rowell's Directory consistently rating it as a paper with less than a thousand in paid circulation in the early 20th century.[5] Early on, the paper used a boilerplate system for national coverage, with the first and last pages being produced by a syndicate and run along with ads for patent medicines, and the internal pages dedicated to original local reporting.[6]

In 1905, editor Benjamin D. Jones bought out Card's interest and became sole editor and publisher.[6] Shortly afterward, Card would suffer from sickness and mental illness,[7] dying on March 8, 1908.[8]

Jones introduced a number of improvements to the Journal, including the introduction of a modern Linotype press.[6] The paper struggled financially, however, and by the time of Jones's death in 1937. the Journal's subscription was only about 300.[9] In 1940, it was purchased by New Yorkers Elizabeth Ann and Stewart Hoskins bought the Journal, who remade it as a 'cozy hometown paper' focused on local news. By 1948, the paper that only had 300 subscribers upon the Hoskins's purchase had received local and national recognition, including the Connecticut Editorial Association's 1948 first place prize for General Excellence and a trophy for the Best Special Edition in any weekly from the National Editors Association.[9][10] Stewart Hoskins also served as the president of the Connecticut Editorial Association.[11]

In 1969, Elizabeth and Stewart Hoskins sold the paper to Robert Francis[12] only to buy it back the following year.[13] Finally, in 1971, the Journal was bought by Robert Estabrook, a former foreign correspondent and editor for the Washington Post,[14] and his wife. Under Estabrook's leadership, the paper adopted more hard-hitting approach, seen most clearly in its reporting and advocacy around the 1973 Peter Reilly case.[14] Reilly, an 18-year-old, had been charged with the murder of his mother, Barbara Gibbons. The persistence and quality of The Lakeville Journal's reporting and editorials on the case was seen as crucial in the eventual discovery of exculpatory evidence.[14][15] In 1978, the University of Arizona awarded editor and publisher Robert H. Estabrook with the annual John Peter Zenger award for his reporting on the 1973 case.[15] The award noted his "distinguished service in behalf of freedom of the press and the public's right to know".[16]

Glynne Robinson, a noted photographer.[17] was the co-publisher and co-owner of The Lakeville Journal and the Millerton News of New York from 1986-1991.

Ruth Epstein became editor of The Lakeville Journal in November 1997. In 2003 she teamed up with Donald S. Connery, author of 'Guilty Until Proven Innocent', to write a 30th anniversary article on the Reilly case. The state police initially rejected their request, which prompted a New York Times article on their reporting of the case.[18]

• Lakeville Journal website