Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo,Attorney General;James M. Ringo,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter is before the Attorney General on three separate open records appeals brought by Marvin Phipps. In his appeals, Mr. Phipps asserts that The Interior Journal, the Mount Vernon Signal, and the Commonwealth Journal, respectively, have failed to respond to his open records requests for copies of newspaper articles "about the criminal charges on Marvin Wayne Phipps from Waynesboro, Ky. on dates between June 20, 2003 till 8-16-04," and thus are in violation of the Open Records Act.
The threshold issue in these appeals is whether any of the newspaper companies involved here is a "public agency," as defined by KRS 61.870(1), and thus subject to the application of the Open Records Act.
Each of the newspaper companies, by counsel, has affirmatively advised this office that each newspaper company is a private company and, therefore, not subject to the Open Records Act.
Because the newspaper companies involved in the appeals are private companies and do not fall within the definition of a "public agency" to which the Open Records Act applies, they are not subject to the operation of the Open Records Act and are not required to release their records for inspection or to adhere to KRS 61.880(1) relative to an open records request. KRS 61.870(1); 93-ORD-127. Accordingly, none of the newspaper companies can be said to have violated the Act.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.
Marvin Phipps
George Lewis, Editor The Interior Journal 111 E. Main StreetStanford, KY 40484
Richard Anderkin, Publisher Mount Vernon Signal P. O. Box 185Mt. Vernon, KY 40456
Ashley PackDinsmore & Shohl LLP1400 PNC Plaza500 W. Jefferson StreetLouisville, KY 40202
Ken Schmidheiser, Editor Commonwealth Journal 100 E. Mount Vernon StreetSomerset, KY 42501
Matthew GrayGeneral Counsel Newspaper Holdings, Inc. 3500 Colonnade Parkway, Suite 600Birmingham, AL 35243