Month: May 2026

Paxton Media, as expected, announces job cuts at Cherokee Scout, other papers it bought in March

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A Paducah, Kentucky, firm known for chasing profits over local news has given the boot to several publishers — and probably other staffers — at its newly acquired newspapers in North Carolina and Georgia.

Cherokee Scout publisher David Brown was one of those who got the ax, along with Clay County Progress publisher Becky Long.

Rachael Hoskins, longtime publisher of The Franklin Press, will take over at least four of the positions formerly held by four different publishers.

In addition to his current duties, editor Randy Foster — essentially is the only hard news reporter at The Scout — will now have oversight of the news operations added to his duties, according to the release published at the bottom of page 1 of the May 20 edition of the weekly newspaper.

According to its website, Paxton publishes nearly 120 community newspapers in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia.  The company also operates WPSD-TV, an NBC affiliated television station in Paducah, Kentucky.

Other publisher posts eliminated by Paxton were Glenn Harbison of The News Observer in Blue Ridge, and an open publisher position at the Times-Courier in Ellijay, Georgia.

Brown had been at The Scout for the past 23 years and presided over the newspaper when it was deemed “the place where American journalism goes to die,” during a national condemnation of the small weekly for its handling of one of its writer’s requests for gun ownership records from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department.

Brown essentially groveled to the sheriff’s department, apologized and withdrew the public record request. The writer soon left the newspaper.

North Carolina Republican Chuck Edwards under investigation by House Ethics Committee

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The House Ethics Committee has begun investigating Rep. Chuck Edwards over unspecified allegations against the North Carolina Republican, Axios has learned from three sources familiar with the probe. (Axios is a news website based in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded in 2016 and launched the following year by former Politico journalists Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz.)

Democrats are working to unseat Edwards in November, and an Ethics probe could damage the GOP lawmaker’s reelection prospects.

n an email obtained by Axios, a lawyer from the committee said that Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member, Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), had authorized ethics staff to investigate “allegations involving Representative Chuck Edwards.” No allegations were specified.

Multiple aides who’ve worked for Edwards have received similar communications from the committee, sources told Axios. 

“I welcome any investigation,” Edwards told Axios. “Given the current political environment we are facing in our nation, it comes as no surprise that others with their own political agendas will attempt to raise false accusations in order to create news stories.”

The House Ethics Committee declined to comment. 

House Ethics probes can start via referrals from the Office of Congressional Conduct, which conducts its own investigative review before sending its findings to Ethics, according to the OCC’s rules. The panel can also initiate an investigation on its own, or launch one based off of a formal complaint from a member or staffer. Ethics investigations typically take months, if not years, to complete.

Ethics Committee probes can involve a wide range of issues, from compliance matters such as improper reimbursement practices to more serious misconduct. 

Three House members have resigned this month amid Ethics probes. The panel had been investigating all three members — Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) — but they all resigned before the panel had completed its process.