New Owners for Intermountain Publishing

The Beattyville Enterprise, the Booneville Sentinel, and the Jackson Times-Voice,  have new owners. The three newspapers comprise Intermountain Publishing Inc. (IPI), a company that has been part of the Nolan Group Media based in Manchester since 1995. 

     The papers were recently sold to two Jackson residents with ties to all three counties served by Intermountain Publishing.

      James David Fugate, a long-time journalist, and Stephen D. Bowling, former editor of The Jackson Times and The Beattyville Enterprise, purchased the paper on August 4 , 2025, and plan to continue serving the communities of Beattyville, Booneville, and Jackson.

     “James David Fugate has worked with us in this award-winning business and been part of our ownership team for over 15 years,” said Jay Nolan, the majority owner and CEO of Nolan Group Media.  “So, we are excited to help him and his new business partner, Stephen Bowling, transition successfully as they now assume full ownership of Intermountain Publishing.”

     Fugate, who owned a stake in IPI before the sale, remarked that he was pleased to be once again a part of a hometown newspaper that is 100% locally owned.

     “Having been involved in helping to chronicle the evolution of our community and its people over the past twenty-four years, first with the Breathitt Voice, ultimately leading to its merging with the Jackson Times,” Fugate said, “I’m particularly pleased to partner with Stephen in efforts to continue providing the area’s most widely read platform for local voices and perspectives, all the while guarding the historical record.”

     The new owners do not plan changes for the mission of all three newspapers: “To Inform, Inspire, and Uplift” the communities they serve. 

     The owners have pledged to focus on efforts to expand coverage and ultimately work to improve the quality of the newspapers constantly.

     Fugate added that “few, if any, can equal Stephen’s grasp on the life and times of those who have shaped who we are, as well as those who are leading us in the direction in which we are headed.” 

     Bowling has served as the primary journalist for the Jackson Times-Voice for more than a year and will serve as Editor-In-Chief of the three IPI publications.

     Jay Nolan added, "They both live locally, and will keep providing dedicated, local ownership, good local journalism, and be a blessing to all three communities they serve.”