Leader Publications, Jefferson County’s only weekly newspaper company, was founded in 1994 in Festus, Mo.
It publishes four community newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 75,000.
The first edition of the Jefferson County Leader came off the presses on Aug. 25, 1994. It was distributed free by direct mail to every home in the Missouri communities of Barnhart, Pevely, Herculaneum, Crystal City, Festus, Hillsboro and De Soto, as it still is today.
The Arnold-Imperial Leader, which served those two ZIP codes as well as Kimmswick, began publishing on Aug. 24, 1995.
The West Side Leader began as a monthly on May 30, 2013, quickly grew in popularity and readership and became the company’s third weekly newspaper on May 14, 2014. It covers the western Jefferson County communities of Fenton, High Ridge, House Springs, Cedar Hill, Byrnes Mill and Dittmer.
In February 2017, the Leader started publishing the Eureka Leader, which is mailed to more than 10,900 households in the Eureka, MO, 63025 ZIP code and the Wildwood, MO, 63040 ZIP code every other week. The paper expanded to the Wildwood ZIP code in January 2021.
In 2011, Leader Publications jumped into the digital age with www.myleaderpaper.com. The newspaper's online product now has an average of about 500,000 pageviews monthly and includes banner ads, online classified ads, breaking news and features unique to the website.
Leader Publications also keeps in touch with readers and advertisers through social media. Visit the Leader's Facebook page by clicking here. Follow the Leader on Twitter @myleaderpaper and on Instagram at @myleaderpaper
Leader employees are actively involved in Jefferson County’s communities and civic organizations.
With owners/operators on site, the company remains committed to its cornerstone values of strong local news coverage, customer service and community involvement.