| Pickens County Herald | |
| Type: | Weekly newspaper |
| Format: | Broadsheet |
| Foundation: | 1904 |
| Owners: | Mid-South Newspapers Inc. |
| Editor: | Gena Huff |
| Circulation: | 4,000 |
| Headquarters: | 215 Reform St, Carrollton, Pickens County, AL 35447 |
| Oclc: | 15344667 |
The Pickens County Herald is a newspaper serving Carrollton, Alabama.[1] It is published once a week on Wednesday, with a circulation of just under 4,000. The current editor is Gena Huff, who took the helm in 2018, succeeding previous editor Bo Black.[2]
It was established as a Democratic paper in 1904 by Bert Smith and Marion Johnson, formerly of the Columbus Dispatch,[3] [4] and relaunched in 1913 under editor Ben I. Rapport,[5] publishing on Tuesdays and Fridays.[6] In 1914, Rapport was able to recapitalize the paper, bringing in $10,000 of investment and significantly expanding it.[7] The investment allowed the purchase new linotype machines, and was accompanied by a move from Reform, Alabama to Carrollton, where the paper still currently resides.
Rapport was one of a number of Alabama newspaper editors to oppose the Ku Klux Klan, saying "I do not even care to make any mention of this worthless organization, thereby giving them publicity."[8]
For about 40 years, the paper was edited by John ("Jack") Pratt of Carrollton, who was also vice president of the Alabama Press Association for part of that time.[9]
From 1963 to 1986 the Herald was owned and edited by Euteal vann Junkin,[10] a lifelong resident of the county, U.S. Army veteran, and owner of Herald Printing for 44 years.[11]
In a 2001 interview on the importance of local weekly papers, then-editor Doug Sanders emphasized the value of "keeping an eye on local officials."[12]
The Tuscaloosa News, which reported on the Herald's founding and later financing, has continued to cite the Herald for local news reports as recently as 2018.[13]
In 2018, an editorial in the Daily Mountain Eagle identified the Herald, along with itself, the Journal Record, and the Time-Record, as the key news organizations in the area Bevill State Community College serves.[14]