Newspaper journalism is believed to have begun in Clinton County in about 1888, but the oldest newspaper about which much is known is the Albany Banner, published by J. A. Brents, which was begun in 1890. Brents was a major in the Civil War and in 1863 moved to Liberty, Ky., later moving to Albany. Brents was a lawyer and held various county offices.

Community druggist R. L. Higginbotham is also believed to be the next Clinton County publisher with the Albany Courier. He was also a co-publisher with John Talbott of The Gleaner.

C. L. Bell, a Clinton County lawyer, began publishing a weekly newspaper in the early 1900s. He joined with Samuel V. Brents in 1906 to publish The New Era. W. H. Nunn and Blaine Campbell, employees of Bell and Brents, became the owners of The New Era in 1908. Nunn bought out Campbell's share of the business in 1910 and continued as editor and publisher until his death in 1942.

A. B. Gibson, who was manager of The New Era from 1942 until 1949, started the Clinton County News in 1949. The New Era was consolidated with the Clinton County News in 1955.

The Lake Reporter, a biweekly newspaper devoted to news of the Lake Cumberland community, made its debut May 26, 1986. Publishers are Larry Hatfield, Brian Thompson and Jim DeForest On Sept. 27, 1986, the first issue of The New Mountain Echo, a weekly paper with local news and television features, was published by the same company.

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