LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tom Gish, who shone the spotlight on corruption and environmental degradation in his corner of southeastern Kentucky as an award-winning publisher of The Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg for a half-century, died Nov. 21. He was 82.

His son, Ben Gish, said he died at Pikeville Medical Center.

Tom Gish and his wife, Pat, overcame floods, threats, arson and attempted suppression to deliver news in the weekly publication with the slogan: “It Screams!”

The Gishes took on previously untouched issues from strip mining to police corruption.

They endured advertising boycotts, faced violent threats and had their newspaper offices firebombed in 1974. Showing their grit, the Gishes churned out another issue a week after the incident, with the masthead stating “It Still Screams!”

The Gishes were recipients of the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for Courage in Journalism through Colby College in Maine and a lifetime achievement award from the Society of Professional Journalists.