Student newspaper hits fundraising goal for legal duel with University of Kentucky

The Kentucky Kernel has reached its fundraising target to fight a lawsuit over the release of documents detailing alleged sexual misconduct by a University of Kentucky professor.

The independent student newspaper reached its $15,000 goal Tuesday afternoon after the Kentucky Press Association provided $7,500.

The money will come from the organization’s legal defense fund. The fund has provided newspapers $750,000 over the past 20 years to fight lawsuits, the KPA posted on its Facebook page.

“Public agencies basically have a bottomless well because of taxpayer dollars available, while newspapers are stymied because they don’t have the financial resources like UK and other public agencies,” KPA executive director David Thompson said on the post. “Without that support, some newspapers would have to give up the battle.”

Former Kernel editor-in-chief William Wright started a GoFundMe campaign Friday to pay its attorney, Tom Miller of Miller, Griffin & Marks.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, that campaign had raised $10,435.

Miller will represent the paper in court after the university appealed the Kentucky attorney general’s ruling in August regarding the release of documents in the sexual misconduct case.

Current Kernel editor-in-chief Marjorie Kirk said the success of the GoFundMe campaign shows how much value the public places on transparency.

“To receive the added support of KPA was the cherry on top,” Kirk said. “Not only is that money going to go a long way for us, it’s also encouraging as young journalists to see a professional organization acknowledge your work and then jump to your aid when you need it most.”

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Student newspaper hits fundraising goal for legal duel with University of Kentucky."