Last Updated: May 13, 2025

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to Source Media Properties, which includes the local news websites for Richland Source, Ashland Source and Knox Pages as well as the website for our marketing agency, Source Brand Solutions.  (hereinafter “the Organization,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By accessing or using our websites, applications, and services (collectively, the “Services”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Services.

2. Description of Services

The Organization provides online news, information, advertising and marketing services, subscription-based content, and related services covering communities throughout Ohio.

3. Intellectual Property Rights

All content available through the Services, including but not limited to articles, photographs, graphics, logos, and software (the “Content”), is owned by or licensed to the Organization and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

4. Restrictions on Use

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to access and use the Services for personal, non-commercial purposes. 

You agree to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws. 

You may not:

  • Modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, or sell any Content obtained from the Services without obtaining prior written consent from us.
  • Use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in any way that violates these Terms.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Services or the servers or networks used to make the Services available.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Services or any systems or networks connected to the Services.

If you break any of the terms in this Agreement, your license will be terminated immediately. Upon termination you must stop using the website, including all content, and return or destroy all copies, including electronic copies, of the content in your possession or control.

5. Specific Restrictions on AI Ingestion and Content Republication

  • No Ingestion by Generative AI: You are expressly prohibited from using any automated system, including but not limited to artificial intelligence (AI) models, large language models (LLMs), web crawlers, and data scraping tools, to collect, extract, or ingest Content from the Services for any purpose, including training AI models or generating derivative works without prior express written permission from the Organization.
  • No Republication Without Permission: You may not republish, redistribute, or otherwise reproduce any of the Content from the Services in any format or medium without the prior express written permission of the Organization. Requests for permission should be directed to contact@ashlandsource.com.

6. Subscriptions and Payments

If you purchase a subscription to access certain Content, you agree to pay the applicable fees. Subscription fees are non-refundable except as expressly provided in our refund policy.

7. Advertising Services

If you engage our advertising services, you agree to comply with our advertising guidelines and payment terms.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Services and Content are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. The Organization disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness, and non-infringement.

9. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall the Organization, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, or agents be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event shall the liability of the Organization, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, or agents exceed the greater of the total payments received by the Organization from you during the preceding twelve (12) months or $120.00.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Organization and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees and costs) arising out of, related to, or otherwise in connection with, your use of the Services or your violation of these Terms.

11. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the updated Terms on our website. Your continued use of the Services after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

12. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

13. Binding Arbitration. 

You and the Organization agree that, other than claims relating to intellectual property, any controversy or claim related to or arising out of your use of the Services or these Terms of Service, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory (the “Covered Claims”), will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration, except that the Organization reserves the right to seek injunction and to initiate and pursue all other courses of legal action. The parties further agree that the determination of the scope, enforceability of this arbitration, and any dispute regarding the payment of administrative or arbitrator fees will be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration in accordance with this arbitration agreement provision. YOUR AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATION MEANS THAT FOR ALL COVERED CLAIMS, YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. INSTEAD, YOU WILL HAVE A HEARING BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR. Arbitrations for any disputes relating to the Covered Claims will be administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Consumer Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings. 

14. Notice of Copyright Infringement

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide the following information in writing to The office of the CEO, Source Media Properties, 40 West 4th Street, Mansfield Ohio 44902. Please be advised that to be effective, the Notice must include ALL of the following:

  1. a physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright that is allegedly infringed;
  2. a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  3. a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
  4. your address, telephone number, and email address and all other information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you;
  5. a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  6. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at contact@ashlandsource.com.

16. Miscellaneous

  • These terms of service constitute the entire agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede any previous written or oral agreement between us and you with respect to such subject matter.
  • No waiver by either us or you of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.
  • The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation herein.