| The Franklin Press | |
| Type: | Weekly newspaper |
| Format: | Broadsheet |
| Foundation: | 1886 |
| Owners: | Community Newspapers, Inc. |
| Publisher: | Rachel Hoskins[1] |
| Editor: | Lee Buchanan |
| Headquarters: | Franklin, NC, 28744 United States |
| Circulation: | 6,000[2] |
| Oclc: | 25486561 |
The Franklin Press is a weekly newspaper in Franklin, North Carolina, and Macon County. It is one of the largest and oldest newspapers in far-west North Carolina.
The print edition is published on Wednesdays and has a circulation of 6,000. The Press also publishes an annual medical directory and special sections.
The Franklin Press was preceded by four other Macon County newspapers: the Macon Advance, The Franklin Observer, The Western Carolinian, and The Western Reporter. None of them lasted more than a few years. The Franklin Press was founded in 1886 by T.J. Christy of Athens, Georgia. Today it is the oldest extant business in Macon County.
Shortly after its establishment the Press was sold to W.A. Curtis. Later owners included Bob Sloan and Jerue Babb, who started Community Newspapers, Inc. in the late 1960s.
In 2003, the Franklin Press headquarters at Depot and Wayah streets was modernized. The newspaper's Franklin press also prints newspapers for the neighboring cities of Bryson City, Cashiers, Highlands, and Spruce Pine.
Community Newspapers, Inc. also operates the Cherokee Scout in Murphy, the Clay County Progress in Hayesville, and the Smoky Mountain Times in Bryson City, among other publications in the southeastern United States.[3]