Ralph Davis - Journalist Profile | Connect with top journalists

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Biography

My name is Ralph B. Davis, and I am a recovering newspaperman. For the past 20 years, I have been a journalist, working for small-town newspapers in Eastern Kentucky. I still do, but given the shape newspapers are in these days, it’s hard to say which one of us will outlive the other. Just five years ago, I would often say, “There’s no way newspapers will ever die, if for no other reason than reading a laptop on the toilet requires a degree of agility most of us are unwilling to test in the bathroom.” Then I saw the iPad, and I said, “Oh.” Now, I am working on a master's degree in New Media Journalism. I suppose you could say that's my attempt to follow you into the bathroom. EARLY LIFE I am an unapologetic hillbilly, although probably not the kind you might imagine, if your familiarity with Appalachian culture is limited to “Lil Abner” or the recent “Hatfields & McCoys” miniseries. I grew up in Prestonsburg, Ky., where my Dad ran a grocery store that my grandfather opened in 1958. Since we lived next-door to the business, I ended spending more time in that store than my home, and that’s probably where I learned how to deal with a wide variety of people. It’s also where I fell in love with the art of storytelling, having grown up listening to Dad and his customers regale each other with tale after tale. From the time I was a freshman in high school, I began reading the newspaper every day. Anyone who didn’t see me spending my life working in the news just wasn’t paying attention. I must not have been paying attention, because I thought I was going to be a lawyer, all the way up until it was time to actually go to law school. CAREER I began working for the Jackson County Sun in 1992, when I was fresh out of college. Even though I hadn’t really studied journalism, I was hired as associate editor. Just a few weeks into that job, I found myself promoted to editor, when the former editor decided to leave the field, in order to go to nursing school. And you probably wouldn’t believe how common stories like that are in small-town newspapers. I threw myself into my work, simultaneously a student and practitioner of the craft of journalism. I was fortunate that the owners of the Sun really knew less about newspapers than I did, so I was given a lot of freedom to learn through trial and error. Trust me when I tell you I had ample opportunity to learn, because there was no shortage of either trials or errors. In time, I learned the business, made a little noise, picked up a couple of awards, and, four years later, was fortunate to land a job as editor of a larger newspaper in a larger town, less than 20 miles from where I grew up. At the Paintsville Herald, I walked into a situation in which nearly the entire staff had quit to form a competing newspaper. Always being a competitive sort, I relished the challenge. I threw myself into my work once more, learned a lot more from going head-to-head against good competition each week, and picked up quite a few more awards. More importantly, after coming in to what most would describe as a bad situation, I eventually put together a newsroom that turned things around and forced a merger with our competitor. Three years later, I found myself changing jobs once again, this time to helm the newsroom in my hometown. I have been at The Floyd County Times ever since. I’ve picked up a few more awards, possibly because no industry rewards itself quite so much as newspapers. But I’ve also built somewhat of a legacy during my tenure, having had the good fortune to find talented individuals who I helped groom into extraordinary reporters, several of whom went on to become editors at other newspapers. ACCOMPLISHMENTS I’ve mentioned several times that I’ve received a few awards over the past two decades. For the most part, that’s not really all that remarkable, but I am proud of two. One came in 1998, when I was at the Paintsville Herald. It was a Kentucky Press Association award for Best Editorial, and I received it for a piece I had written about the mayor forcing through a 1,000 percent pay raise for himself. I’ve always valued the editorial award above all others, but that is not the sole reason why I am proud of this particular award. Did I mention that the mayor owned the newspaper I was competing against at the time? Or that he was at the awards banquet, to witness my editorial about him projected bigger than life on a movie screen for the audience? The second came later that year, when I earned a second-place award for Best Non-Daily Newspaper Website from the National Newspaper Association. It was my first and only national award, and I earned it despite having only taught myself web design the year before. But for the most part, awards are a dime a dozen. More important to me are some accomplishments that most people have never heard about. They include: Standing my ground when a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy told me in the middle of a marijuana patch that he didn’t appreciate some of the editorials I had written, all the while patting the gun on his hip. Refusing a request from federal investigators to turn over a tape of an anonymous caller making a non-serious threat to burn down the Daniel Boone National Forest. I’ve never betrayed a source to whom I’ve promised confidentiality. I never will. Working with a reporter to uncover new information concerning a death that had been ruled accidental, forcing Kentucky State Police to reopen its investigation into the incident. Creating the “Great Easter Egg Hunt,” an insanely popular newspaper promotion in which a few weeks before Easter, I hide a $500 prize egg somewhere in the county. Every issue, I reveal a clue to its location, and the person who figures out the clues and finds the egg wins the money. Not being defeated all three times I’ve faced competition from a rival publication. Surviving 20 years in a career in which most people burn out after five. PERSONAL LIFE I am truly blessed to go to sleep every night and wake up every morning next to the love of my life, Valerie Bock. We are engaged to be married and are raising four boys, ranging in age from 5 to 18. After bouncing around for 25 years, I finally live in the town where I grew up, within walking distance of my parents’ home. I’m almost assuredly the best poker player you’ve never heard of, and I am completely serious when I say I am the world’s greatest unranked razz player. Just try me, if you don’t believe me.

Content

Total articles 2114

• Available on paid plans

  Pike man accused of setting mother's house on fire

  By Ralph Davis Verified

  Apr. 21, 2025

• Available on paid plans

  Student taken into custody following threat against Floyd County Schools

  By Ralph Davis Verified

  Apr. 21, 2025

• Available on paid plans

  Pike Circuit Judge Howard Keith Hall indicted on theft, mail fraud charges

  By Ralph Davis Verified

  Apr. 18, 2025

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Company Info

Mountain Top Media

East Kentucky Broadcasting is the area's oldest broadcasting company continuously serving eastern Kentucky and the tri-state area. Much tradition has been built throughout the years making the radio stations operated by EKB the area's most trusted and relied upon source of information as well as a favorite choice for entertainment.