Made in Tennessee: McNairy County News

Selmer, TN. (WNBJ)-

About 40 minutes outside of Jackson in Selmer, Tennessee the McNairy County News founded in 2008, is a county paper that is quickly gaining traction in the community. Melanie King (Owner/Publisher) informed us that, “the McNairy County News was founded by Tom Evans. He came here and started the paper in 08 and then retired in august—at the end of July in 2020.”

Melanie King bought the McNairy County News in august of 2020 and has served as the owner and publisher of the paper since then. King has been in the newspaper industry for over a decade and says she is enjoying every moment of continuing the legacy started founder Tom Evans. Melanie King (Owner/Publisher) stated, “it’s been exciting, because I’ve been in the newspaper business for so many years to actually have my own paper. But I don’t take the credit for the success we have had. I have a wonderful team here, and that’s what we are, we are a team.”

The McNairy County News team takes pride in publishing a weekly paper that highlights real happenings in their community. Editor Russell Ingle has written stories that have attracted national media attention, but he says he’s most proud of the stories that highlight the diverse nature of their community. Russell Ingle (Editor) explained, “last year we just kind of backed into Native American History Month. Again, you don’t think about their presence here, but we have one and it was an amazing honor to sit down and speak with some of those individuals and hear their stories.”

The employees of the McNairy County News are all lifelong residents of the county with a multitude of talents that are an asset to their newspaper. Graphic designer Suzanne Ingel told us she’s proud to serve her hometown to this capacity. Suzanne Ingel (Graphic Designer) stated, “I love to serve the community. We try to volunteer anytime we can, we all volunteer for different things. As a paper we try to be involved in the community. Just anything that helps our community because we love McNairy County.”

The paper is growing on McNairy County residents as well. With over 20,000 followers on Facebook, they have the largest following of any weekly newspaper in Tennessee. The McNairy County News is published each week on Thursday and covers all McNairy County with machine and rack sales as well as subscriptions both in-county and the surrounding counties.

Makayla Davis

mdavis@nbc39tv.com