As one of the first successful penny presses outside the East Coast,[7] the Post was written primarily for blue collar laborers who had no time to read a newspaper in the morning.

[10] Though the Post considered itself politically independent, it historically tended to support progressive politicians relative to the Times-Star and Enquirer.

[15] The Cincinnati Post began on January 3, 1881, as The Penny Paper,[16] published from a second floor office at Vine and Longworth streets.

[20] Wellman fled to Kentucky, where he was unlikely to face extradition, and left the Scripps brothers in charge of operations at "the blackmailing sheet".

[25] With an editorial staff that leaned Republican and included a former minister,[26] The Penny Paper was seen as "the spokesman and the organ of the religious element of the community", according to Scripps.

Thomas Harrison held 13 weeks of camp meetings in Cincinnati, "the boy preacher and the little Penny [Paper] were vying with each other and cooperating with each other in the way of saving souls."

One year later, Scripps renamed it The Kentucky Post and began distributing it as a full-fledged publication wrapped around the Cincinnati paper at no additional charge.

In July 1895, it was named the Scripps-McRae League in recognition of Post general manager Milton A. McRae, a longtime partner.

In 1889, the Post put the Cincinnati Telegram, an afternoon competitor once run by Campbell, out of business by secretly financing its unsuccessful move to morning publication.

[39][40][34] In 1904 and 1905, the Post directed its fire against Campbell's protégé, George B. Cox, exposing graft and lampooning his affiliates with the help of cartoonist Homer Davenport.

[44][45] The Post's role in a 1905 Democratic mayoral victory led some advertisers to boycott the paper for up to a decade, and its valuation fell by half.

[47] In 1914, the Post weathered a severe drop in advertising after it exposed a scheme to extend the franchises of the local utilities and sided with striking streetcar workers.

[45] In 1924, the Post was the only Cincinnati daily that endorsed a new municipal charter based on the council–manager system, nonpartisan elections, and proportional representation.

[50] On October 1, 1935, the Post's corporate parent, Scripps-Howard Newspapers, entered the radio business by purchasing AM station WFBE 1230.

[51] Initially, the station's main studios were located in David Sinton's hotel,[52] while news bulletins originated from a broom closet adjacent to the Post city room.

In 1948 and 1949, lawyers for Scripps-Howard and The Times-Star Company discussed the possibility of jointly publishing a Sunday morning edition called the Times-Post.

The two companies determined that they would be safe from Sherman Act investigations, which were rare in the newspaper industry; however, they eventually scrapped the idea for fear that the Enquirer would sue them for any losses.

[55] On April 26, 1956, Scripps-Howard purchased a 36.5% controlling interest in the Enquirer for $4,059,000, beating out The Times-Star Company's $2,380,051 and Tribune Publishing's $15 per share, or $2,238,000.

[6] With the Times-Star and Enquirer acquisitions, the Scripps family owned all of Cincinnati's dailies, along with WCPO-AM, WCPO-FM, and WCPO-TV,[63] which consistently led local television ratings with Al Schottelkotte's news reports.

[62] At Justice Department hearings, the Post claimed to be the brink of financial failure, with losses over the previous six years totaling $12 million.

[62][69] Scripps-Howard rejected an informal offer by Larry Flynt to help fund a takeover of the Post by its employees instead of signing the JOA.

[62] The Enquirer–Post agreement was approved on November 26, 1979,[70] taking effect after negotiations and legal battles with unions, including with 131 Post printers who had been guaranteed jobs for life.

Gannett promoted the narrower format as being "easier to handle, hold, and read" but also cited reduced newsprint costs.

In June 2005, the Post closed its Kentucky newsroom and announced early retirement offers to employees in advance of its probable closure.

[3] However, some Post employees faulted the Enquirer for neglecting its partner, citing empty or outdated newsboxes[71] and uncooperative subscription agents.

[10] A 2009 study attempted to measure the impact of the Post's closure on the political process in Northern Kentucky, a traditional stronghold for the paper.

It concluded that the closure caused an initial short-term decline in political competition and voter turnout, despite the Post having low circulation in its final years.

[87] The day after the Post's closure, Scripps launched KYPost.com as a Northern Kentucky news website to compete with Enquirer sister site NKY.com.