The ''Kent Messenger'' is a weekly newspaper serving the mid-

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

area. It is published in three editions -

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, Malling, and the Weald. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.

History

The ''Kent Messenger'' grew from the ''Maidstone Telegraph'' founded in the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

of Kent in 1859. It changed to its current name two years later. It was sold to the Boorman family in 1890 after its then owners, the Masters brothers, were jailed. In 1942 the Kent Messenger offices were used by

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

newspaper the '' Kentish Gazette'' (then not owned by the Kent Messenger Group) after the Gazette's offices were destroyed by a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

raid on Canterbury, in order to produce that week's copy of the Gazette. The ''Kent Messenger'' remains the flagship newspaper for the KM Group. Besides the main edition for Maidstone, editions are also published for Malling and the Weald. Along with the rest of the KM-owned papers, the ''Kent Messenger'' was given a design overhaul in May 2005. The current editor is Denise Eaton.

Offices

The ''Kent Messenger'' is based at the KM Group's Maidstone office. The offices also housed the paper's sister radio station KMFM Maidstone until the station moved to the Medway offices in 2008.Maidstone's KMFM leaves town

References

{{reflist

External links

''Kent Messenger'' Website
Borough of Maidstone Tonbridge and Malling Newspapers published in Kent KM Group newspapers Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 1859 1859 establishments in England