Kokomo Perspective


The Kokomo Perspective is a weekly newspaper serving Kokomo, Indiana, established in 1989, with almost exclusively local content.
The Perspective is distributed for free to 31,000 homes every Wednesday and beats the local daily newspaper, the Kokomo Tribune in Monday through Saturday, and Sunday alone, circulation. The weekly paper tends to lean toward a union-friendly worldview, as Kokomo is a heavily unionized city, with FCA US and Delphi Automotive Systems being the largest employers. However, the paper carries columns from a wide range of viewpoints in the community, some of which are very conservative and at times hostile to the publication itself.
The paper also publishes public vitals each week, providing information about citizens' court happenings, arrests, mug shots, marriages, divorces, causes of death, and obituaries. The section continues to be one of the most popular sections of the paper.
One of the publication's overriding goals is to foster public awareness of the political process and to mobilize the citizens of Howard County, of which Kokomo is the county seat, to participate in electing local officials.
In January 2017, local attorney Brian Oaks bought part ownership of the Kokomo Perspective with plans to fully purchase the business down the road. Don Wilson will continue to be the publisher for the next several years.
In March 2017, Brian Oaks also purchased the weekly Kokomo Herald.
In June 2017, the paper switched to being delivered via the United States Postal Service versus carriers to ensure reliable delivery every week. The paper size also was changed to the Berliner format, which is slightly narrower and shorter than the broadsheet format, making it more user-friendly.
In addition to delivering 31,000 papers to homes in Kokomo, an additional 3,000 papers are dropped off at area businesses, which can be picked up, also free of charge.
The Perspective office is located in downtown Kokomo at 209 N. Main.