The Kokomo Tribune
The Kokomo Tribune is a daily newspaper that is based in downtown Kokomo, Indiana. It is widely regarded as one of the most important sources for Kokomo news and general Indiana news in the area. This Kokomo newspaper dates back to October 30th 1850, when it was first launched under the name "Howard Tribune", a weekly publication that only reached a handful of readers. In that early period, from 1856 to 1872, the paper was managed by T.C. Phillips, whom almost single-handedly brought it out from obscurity and turned it into one of the best sources for Howard County News. An interesting piece of history is that in 1862 a tornado struck the Tribune building and completely destroyed the paper's facilities and equipment. T.C. Phillips took charge of the situation and asked 1000 of his subscribers to pay up front a full year's subscription. This enabled him to raise sufficient funds in order to buy new equipment and set up the paper in a new location.
From 1897 to 1981 the Kokomo Tribune was managed by John Arthur Kautz and his descendents. The paper was sold in 1981 to Thomson Newspapers Inc., who in turn sold it in 2000 to its present owners, Community Newspapers Holding Inc. The Kokomo Tribune has consistently been regarded as one of the most recognized family-owned newspapers in the United States. Its merits include being presented an award for 8 years in the 1970's by the Audit Bureau of Circulations for having the highest penetration of its market in the nation. In addition, in 1994 the Indiana newspaper was honored by this state for doing business for more than a century, obtaining the Century Business Award for "Outstanding Contributions to the Economic Growth and Prosperity in the state of Indiana".
Interestingly enough, in 1989 another Howard County newspaper called "The Kokomo Perspective" was launched as a weekly competitor to the Tribune, and in recent times it has managed to surpass the Kokomo Tribune in terms of distribution of Indiana newspapers.