Newspaper veteran name Publisher of Commonwealth Journal

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Rob McCullough

February 2, 2012

Kentucky native Rob McCullough brings years of experience

by Ken Shmidheiser Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Thu Feb 02, 2012, 07:16 AM EST

Somerset — SOMERSET — A fourth generation newspaperman has been named publisher of the Commonwealth Journal.

Rob McCullough, 50, who started working in a newspaper mailroom when he was 15, officially assumes his duties today. He succeeds Jack McNeely who has accepted a position with the Daily Mountain Eagle in Jasper, Alabama.

McCullough is a native of eastern Kentucky and moves here from the publisher position at the Corbin Times-Tribune.

“It’s always exciting when you can promote people from within the organization,” said Eddie Blakeley, senior vice president and division manager for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., the corporation that owns both the Commonwealth Journal and the Times-Tribune.

“Rob brings a great deal of experience to this role and I am confident he and the excellent staff we have in place will continue to do good things not only for the Commonwealth Journal, but for the communities it serves.”

McCullough will also serve as group publisher overseeing both of the Commonwealth Journal’s sister publications, the Wayne County Outlook and the McCreary County Record.

Blakeley announced McCullough’s appointment as the new publisher and introduced him to department heads in late January.

“I am confident the community will find Rob to be a strong advocate for the market and will continue to improve on our commitment to bring the best in local news and information content that affects the wants and needs of the communities we serve,” Blakeley said.

“Rob is very fortunate to be surrounded by a staff of professional, hardworking employees who have a passion and a commitment to the communities we serve.”

McCullough said he plans to relocate to Pulaski County in the next couple of weeks.

“I am looking forward to moving to Pulaski County and becoming active in the community,” Rob McCullough, an active Rotarian, said.

Prior to his promotion as publisher of the Times-Tribune. McCullough served as publisher of the Morehead News Group for about five years.

The Morehead News Group, also owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., publishes the twice-weekly Morehead News as well as The Olive Hill Times and Grayson Journal Enquirer, both weeklies. And before joining the Morehead News Group, McCullough worked in management at the Daily Independent based in Ashland, Ky.

The Daily Independent is close to McCullough’s heart—it was founded by his great-grandfather in the late 1800s. The Daily Independent’s leadership was passed along to both McCullough’s grandfather and father. McCullough entered management at that newspaper after graduating from Transylvania University with a bachelor’s degree in business.

Although McCullough said he considered entering another field while a university student, he ultimately opted for the newspaper industry.

“It’s my family’s thing,” McCullough said.

The Daily Independent remained under family ownership until it was sold in 1979. Like all the newspapers where McCullough has worked, it is currently owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.

McCullough is the farther of three children.

“Jack [McNeely] built a solid foundation and I am confident Rob will continue to build upon Jack’s success,” Blakeley said. “Part of building upon that success will be expanding how the Commonwealth Journal utilizes multimedia technology to help deliver news to readers.”

“Since 1895, the Commonwealth Journal and its predecessors, the Commonwealth and the Somerset Journal, have provided readers and advertisers with a product that meets their wants and needs. Under Rob’s leadership, we intend to continue and improve upon that tradition for many years to come.”

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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