LexingtonKY.com

Where to Get Your Local News After You Move to Lexington

I've lived in Lexington for about 26 years, and the first thing I'd tell anybody who just moved here is there are plenty of options for local news for a city this size. There's one daily paper, four TV newsrooms, two NPR stations, a free statewide news site and a nonprofit that covers city hall every week. This page is the short version of which one to use for what. Every line on it was checked on the outlet's own website in October 2026.

New to Lexington?

The one daily paper, the Herald-Leader

The Lexington Herald-Leader is the city's daily paper, at kentucky.com, and it's part of McClatchy. Its own mission statement says it aims to be the primary news source for Central and Eastern Kentucky, with a circulation area of 70 counties.

It has a paywall. A digital subscription gets you unlimited stories and subscriber-only content. When I checked in October 2026 it was $1.99 for the first month, then $15.99 a month, or $159.99 a year. There are three print plans, a 3-day plan, a Wednesday and Sunday plan and a Sunday-only plan, and each one comes with digital access.

Its email newsletters are free even if you don't subscribe. There's an AM and a PM newsletter, Breaking News, Bluegrass Politics, Crime and Safety, LexGo! Eat & Drink, and a daily obituaries email called Daily Tribute. A few newsletters are marked subscriber-only.

I don't use the Herald-Leader much or read the paper. When I checked in October 2026 I landed on six pages before any paywall came up, though I have been hit with one in the past, so count on it showing up at some point.

Obituaries aren't on kentucky.com. The paper's own Obituaries link goes to Legacy.com, which is covered further down this page.

Which TV station to put on

I primarily watch LEX 18 (WLEX) news or WKYT news on TV to get my news. There are some great meteorologists here but I am a Bill Meck guy.

WKYT

WKYT is the CBS station, owned by Gray Television. It signed on in September 1957, and it also runs a second channel it calls The CW Lexington.

Its livestream page lists local news on weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m., 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 12:30, 4 to 6:30 p.m. and 11 to 11:30 p.m. On Saturday it's 6 to 8 a.m., 6 to 7 p.m. and 11 to 11:30 p.m. On Sunday it's 7 to 9 a.m. and 11 to 11:30 p.m. The CW Lexington carries more news on weekdays, 7 to 9 a.m., 3 to 4 p.m., 6:30 to 7 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m.

It has news and weather apps for iPhone and Android.

LEX 18 (WLEX)

LEX 18 has been Lexington's NBC station since 1968, and it's owned by Scripps. WLEX signed on in 1955 as the first TV station in Lexington, and its broadcast area covers 40 counties.

Since May 26, 2026, LEX 18 and ABC 36 have aired one combined weekday morning newscast called LEXNews at Sunrise, from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on both stations. If you flip between 18 and 36 in the morning and see the same show, that's why.

It has two phone apps, LEX 18 News and LEX 18 StormTracker Weather, plus apps for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV.

ABC 36 (WTVQ)

ABC 36 is WTVQ, branded ABC 36 News Now. Its contact page lists Good Day KY from 9 to 10 a.m., News at Noon, and Good Afternoon KY from 3 to 4 p.m. on weekdays, plus the shared LEXNews at Sunrise morning show.

It has a mobile app and a separate news and weather app, both with push alerts.

FOX 56 (WDKY)

FOX 56 is WDKY, the FOX affiliate, owned by Nexstar. Its staff bios list weekday news from 5 to 7 a.m. and 7 to 10 a.m., then at 6:30, 7 and 10 p.m. Weekend news is at 10 p.m.

The FOX 56 weather app is free, and the station runs a free streaming channel on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Samsung TVs. It also sends four email newsletters, 5 Things at 5 a.m., 5 Things at 5 p.m., Breaking News and Weather Authority Alerts.

Spectrum News 1 Kentucky

Spectrum News 1 Kentucky is owned by Charter and lives on channel 1 for Spectrum customers. Its about page says it is the only station in Kentucky dedicated entirely to weather, community and politics, and that it covers weather 24 hours a day.

Anyone can read its articles on the web. The live stream needs a Spectrum, Cox or Xfinity login. The app is for Spectrum customers, with a 60-day free trial for everyone else.

The two NPR stations

WUKY 91.3

WUKY is the University of Kentucky's listener-supported public radio station at 91.3 FM, governed by UK's Board of Trustees. Its tagline is “Where NPR Rocks.” It carries NPR programming plus local news, and it has a free app for iPhone and Android.

WEKU 88.9

WEKU is Eastern Kentucky University's NPR station. It broadcasts on 10 FM transmitters across Northern, Central and Eastern Kentucky, and 88.9 FM is the one for Richmond and Lexington. It has a Lexington and Richmond news section and calls itself Lexington's radio news leader. Its about page says there's no paywall, and the app is free.

Free news that's actually good

Kentucky Lantern

The Kentucky Lantern is a free news site based in Frankfort that covers the whole state, and its about page calls it nonpartisan. It's an affiliate of States Newsroom, which it describes as a nonprofit, and it's supported by grants and donations. The about page says no paywall and no subscription fee. There's a free daily newsletter on weekdays plus a weekend edition.

CivicLex

CivicLex is a Lexington nonprofit, not a newspaper, that reports on city hall. Its newsroom covers the Urban County Council, the Planning Commission, budgets, zoning and elections, with a city hall reporter on staff. It's free. Its newsletter, The CivicLex Weekly, goes out every Monday at 8 a.m.

To see who represents you on the council, find your council district.

The Lexington Times

The Lexington Times, at lexingtonky.news, was founded and is published by Paul Oliva. It calls itself an open-source local newsroom. Most of it is news aggregation, with original reporting and commentary, plus an archive of city government meetings. There's no paywall.

The magazines that show up in your mailbox

Smiley Pete Publishing

Smiley Pete Publishing puts out Chevy Chaser Magazine and Southsider Magazine, monthly neighborhood magazines that started in October 1997. They're mailed to about 25,000 homes and stocked on racks around town.

Smiley Pete also publishes Business Lexington, a news journal for the Central Kentucky business community, and tadoo.com, an online arts and entertainment calendar.

Articles on its website have no paywall. A Business Lexington print subscription was $29.25 a year when I checked. There are free weekly emails for Chevy Chaser and Southsider, for Business Lexington, and for the tadoo calendar.

If you're here for UK

Kentucky Kernel

The Kentucky Kernel is the nonprofit, student-run news outlet for the University of Kentucky. It was founded in 1908 and has been independent since 1972. It covers campus and the surrounding area, and it prints news magazines during the fall and spring semesters. It's free, with an email newsletter.

UKNow

UKNow is the university's own news site, run by UK Public Relations & Strategic Communications. It's research, campus news and announcements straight from UK. It's free, with email subscription and RSS.

For the city side of student life, see the UK student guide. For the next game and its channel, see where to watch UK games.

What the city itself puts out

The city posts its press releases at lexingtonky.gov/news, and you can filter them by date, department and board. Trash schedule changes, road closures and council items show up there first.

If you need a person, not a press release, Who to Call has the right number. To see who represents you, look up your council district.

Obituaries and old newspapers

The Herald-Leader's obituaries live on Legacy.com.

For anything older, the Lexington Public Library has the Herald-Leader's full text from April 25, 1983. It also has digital print issues from January 1, 2016 to now, with new issues on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. There's a Local History Index of Lexington newspaper articles from 1787 to 2007, and the digitized Kentucky Gazette from 1787 to 1840. All of it is free with a library card.

The Facebook groups

Whats Going On In Lexington KY is the big one. It's not news. It's local businesses advertising, realtors, a few people at restaurants, a few crafts and random people advertising their services around town, with an occasional event.

If you are moving to Lexington and like vintage stuff, the Lexington, KY Vintage (buy&sell) group is a pretty active group and posts all kinds of things you can decorate an apartment or home with.

And if you are wanting to move here but need a job first, the group Job,Jobs,Jobs...Lexington, KY And Surrounding Cities has a mixture of people posting about employment and people posting about jobs you can apply to.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Lexington Herald-Leader free to read online?

It has a paywall, but it doesn't always stop you right away. When I checked I read six stories before it came up. A digital subscription was $1.99 for the first month, then $15.99 a month. Its email newsletters are free.

Which TV station has local news in Lexington?

Four stations run local newscasts. WKYT (CBS), LEX 18 (NBC), ABC 36 (WTVQ) and FOX 56 (WDKY). LEX 18 and ABC 36 share one weekday morning newscast from 4:30 to 7 a.m. Spectrum News 1 is a Kentucky-only channel for Spectrum customers.

Is there a free newspaper in Lexington?

The Kentucky Lantern is a free statewide news site with no paywall. CivicLex sends a free weekly email about city hall. Chevy Chaser and Southsider are monthly neighborhood magazines that come by mail.

Where do I find Lexington obituaries?

The Herald-Leader runs its obituaries on Legacy.com. For older ones, the Lexington Public Library has the paper's full text back to 1983 and a local history index back to 1787.

What is the NPR station in Lexington?

Two of them. WUKY 91.3 is the University of Kentucky's station, and WEKU 88.9 is Eastern Kentucky University's station. Both are free, both have free apps.

Where does the city post its own news?

Press releases go up at lexingtonky.gov/news. If you need a person instead of a press release, our Who to Call page lists the right number for every city department.

Every outlet on this page was checked on its own website in October 2026.