Jay Compton has been named the general manager of the Middlesboro News, Harlan Enterprise and Claiborne Progress. The promotion was recently announced by Joe Imel, the publisher for Bluegrass Newsmedia, the parent company for all three newspapers.

“My primary role is still going to be covering news and providing content for the Middlesboro News and Claiborne Progress,” Compton said. “As the general manager for those papers and the Harlan Enterprise I will be striving to give our readers the best newspapers we can with a  focus on local community news.”

Compton has been covering local news and sports in Bell County for over 25 years. He previously worked at the Middlesboro Daily News from 1998 to 2015 as a reporter, managing editor and sports editor and was the general manager and editor of the Pineville Sun from 2015-2023. He returned to the Middlesboro News in January.

“Jay’s passion and dedication for community newspapers will be a great asset to the already talented teams covering these communities,” said Joe Imel, Publisher of the Middlesboro News, Harlan Enterprise and Claiborne Progress and five other Carpenter Media Group papers in Kentucky. ”His drive to cover local news, coupled with his years of experience will be a plus as we continue to serve our readers and advertisers.”

Compton lives in Tazewell with his wife Tyna, an English teacher at Claiborne High School. They have two grown sons, Tyler and Zach, and a teenage daughter, Hannah.

Carpenter Media Group owns and manages over 200 community newspapers and metro media titles in the U.S. and Canada.

Bluegrass Newsmedia comprises seven publications across Kentucky and Tennessee including the Claiborne Progress, Danville Advocate, Harlan Enterprise, Jessamine Journal, Middlesboro News, Stanford Interior Journal and the Winchester Sun.