The ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'' (also called ''LEO Weekly'' but widely known as just ''LEO'') is a privately owned free urban

alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

newspaper, distributed every Wednesday in about 700 locations throughout the Louisville, Kentucky, metropolitan area, including areas of southern

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The newspaper was founded in 1990 by

John Yarmuth John Allan Yarmuth ( ; born November 4, 1947) is a retired American politician and newspaper editor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2023. His district encompassed the vast majority of the Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville M ...

, Robert Schulman, (Schulman was a nephew of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

's legendary Romany Marie.) Denny Crum (then the coach of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

men's basketball team), and two other investors. According to The Media Audit (March–April 2012) the ''LEO'' has a weekly readership of 88,807 and an unduplicated monthly readership of 136,478. The paper carries various nationally syndicated columns and features such as

News of the Weird News of the Weird is a syndicated newspaper column originated by Chuck Shepherd that collects bizarre news stories. It was created in 1988. , it is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate and published in more than 250 newspapers in the United ...

and ''The New York Times'' crossword puzzle. However, the reviews of music, restaurants, theatre, films, books, and local and sports news, are all written by local writers. In the past, it featured popular columns by national writers Molly Ivins and

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...

History

The paper was initially devoted to opinion and commentary, with columns by Crum, Schulman, Yarmuth, and former ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

'' writers Mary Cauldwell and Dudley Saunders. The first issue was distributed in July 1990, bi-weekly publication began on November 1 of that year, and weekly publication in April 1993. A free paper, it has always been wholly supported by

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

revenue. Following its conversion to a weekly format in 1993, the ''LEO'' began including a more diverse variety of news and reviews. Since 1992, the ''LEO'' has published an annual issue called the ''Literary LEO'', dedicated to locally produced literature, poetry and, more recently, photography. Since 1995, ''LEO'' has been a member of the

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. It provides services to many generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. A ...

. In 2003, it was sold to a company owned by Times Publishing Co. of Pennsylvania, owner of the '' Erie Times-News''. Yarmuth remained on board as a columnist and consultant until January 2006, when he declared himself a Democratic candidate for the Kentucky 3rd congressional district race and his column was put on indefinite hold. Yarmuth won the primary and defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Anne Northup, an occasional target of his columns. In 2008, SouthComm Communications of Nashville, Tennessee, bought the ''LEO''. Following this acquisition, the magazine underwent a style change, introducing a new logo and using coated stock magazine paper rather than newspaper. In March 2013, the printing of ''LEO Weekly'' moved to Gannett Publishing Services in Louisville, and the publication moved back from a coated stock paper to newsprint. In 2014, ''LEO'' was acquired by a group led by Aaron Yarmuth, the son of John Yarmuth. In June 2021, the ''LEO'' was sold to the Euclid Media Group. In August 2023, the company dissolved and the newspaper was sold to Chris Keating, operating under the name Big Lou Holdings LLC. In January 2025, ''LEO'' fired two top editors, leaving it with only three full-time employees.

References

External links

* {{official website Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Louisville, Kentucky 1990 establishments in Kentucky Eccentricity (behavior) Newspapers established in 1990