KPC Media Group

KPC Media Group is home to several local newspapers in the greater Northeast Indiana area.

Printed media has played an essential role in the Kendallville community since before the city's founding. In 1860, Kendallville's first newspaper, The Noble County Journal, began printing newspapers for Republican readers. In 1863, a rival Republican-backed newspaper, The Kendallville Standard, was established. The two newspapers merged in 1870, bearing the name The Kendallville Standard. In 1877, a Democrat-supported newspaper, the Weekly News¸, competed with the Standard. The two newspapers rivaled each other until 1898, the publishers of the Kendallville Standard created a daily newspaper called the Daily Sun. In 1906, the Weekly News followed the Daily Sun's lead by publishing the Daily News. The rise of mass media pushed the two weekly papers to begin publishing daily. By August 1911, the Kendallville Daily Sun and Kendallville Daily News combined into the Kendallville News Sun. ^[1] 102 North Main St was built in 1880 by Herman Krueger. It was the site of the city's post office. The Kendallville News Sun moved into the building in 1911 and has continuously been printed there since. The Kendallville Publishing Company (KPC) was developed out of the Daily Sun and Daily News merger. ^[2] By 1969, the company had changed hands a couple of times. The new editor and general manager of the News Sun was George Witwer. 

Under Witwer's leadership, the company saw expanded business and modernization. KPC converted its printing press into a cold-type press. The News Sun was one of the first newspapers in the country to implement computers in the newsroom. Additionally, by 1996, the News Sun was one of the only newspapers in the state to have a website. ^[3] The company expanded its reach across several counties. KPC purchased the Auburn Evening Star, the Cromwell Advance, the Ligonier Leader, the Garrett Clipper, The Herald-Republican, the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, The Butler Bulletin, and the Times Community Publications. In 2005, the Kendallville Publishing Company became KPC Media Group Inc. to reflect the larger geographic audience and products it offered. The current president and publisher of KPC Media Group is Terry Housholder. The Kendallville News Sun remains in its original home to the present day as KPC has branched out across the greater Northeast Indiana area. ^[4]

[1] Terry Housholder, 150 Years Kendallville Indiana, 1863 – 2013 (Kendallville: KPC Media Group, 2013), 2.

[2] “Historic Downtown Guided Tours Set For 1 to 4p.m. Sat, June 1,” Kendallville News Sun, May 29, 2013, https://www.kpcnews.com/archives/features/kvdowntown/article_88ad58a6-281d-5f4e-a9d5-cd3133613aab.html.

[3] Housholder, 150 Years, 95

[4] Housholder, 150 Years, 95.