Reporting With You, Not Just About You: 2025 in Review

It’s been a good year for The Citizen.

When we bought this site in November 2024, it was routinely reaching about 50,000 unique visitors a month. Over the past three months, that number has averaged more than 200,000 unique visitors each month.

So why are so many more of you reading?

Part of it is growth by design. We’ve recruited new columnists. We’ve committed to consistently telling local stories about local people. We’ve built weekly features like Citizen of the Week, Athlete of the Week, and Business of the Week—stories meant to reflect the fabric of this community and the people who quietly (and sometimes loudly) shape it.

We are the only local news site with no paywall. Our desire is to give readers unfettered access to the news that matters most to them.

That’s the best way we know to say thank you to the readers who have kept The Citizen bookmarked, who check in regularly, who share our stories, and who hold us accountable when we get something wrong or when you simply disagree. Again, thank you. Local journalism only works when it becomes part of a community’s daily rhythm, and your trust, engagement, and willingness to read deeply are what give this work meaning. And to the local businesses who choose to advertise with us, your support makes it possible for this newsroom to continue showing up every day to tell the stories of this community—independently, fairly, and locally.

We’ve also made a point of sharing what your elected officials both say and do. That, unsurprisingly, brings the most criticism.

It often seems that our most conservative readers notice only when we publish releases from Democrats like U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, while missing that we extend the exact same courtesy to Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Jack. As editor, I believe it’s important for readers to know what their representatives are saying on major issues—especially those that may affect people in Fayette or Coweta counties—regardless of party.

Beyond Washington, we’ve also worked to explain what’s happening closer to home. From election coverage to local government reporting, we’ve tried to add clarity where it’s often missing. That includes opinion columns like those written by Kenneth Hamner on Peachtree City. Like all of our columnists, Hamner’s views may not be mine. They may not be yours. That’s intentional.

Which is why we continue to encourage letters to the editor.

During the last election, we published every letter we received but one—and that exception was from someone whose views we had already published. Even so, The Citizen received significant criticism for the opinions expressed in those letters. Those opinions were not necessarily ours. They were the community’s.

What we have attempted to do over the past year is practice compassionate community journalism. That means we don’t just report the news—we live in it with you, because we live and work here, too. 

Part of community journalism is recognizing that it isn’t all about our site. We don’t own the news. Recently, Melodie Woods was diagnosed with Stage 4 salivary gland cancer while also serving as the full-time caregiver for her husband, Wesley, who has a debilitating condition called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and requires round-the-clock care. As Melodie prepared for major surgery that will remove most of her tongue—and possibly require reconstruction—the family needed help covering the cost of Wesley’s care while she is hospitalized and recovering. When The Citizen first shared their story, their GoFundMe had raised about $6,000 or $7,000. After that initial coverage, donations climbed into the mid-$20,000 range. 

Because we don’t believe the goal is clicks but care, I also pitched the story to Doug Evans at FOX 5, whose coverage helped double the total again. I then shared it with Cheryl Preheim at 11Alive, who recruited Kaitlyn Ross to amplify it on social media and the station followed suit. After coverage across multiple local outlets—and a follow-up story here—the Woods family’s fundraiser has reached roughly $97,500. That is the power of community journalism: shared, multiplied, compassionate. 

They are not out of the woods. Just a year of care for Wesley is expected to cost about $120,000, and possibly more. Melodie hopes her surgery next week removes all the cancer and that she recovers well enough to continue caring for Wesley, as she has for the past five years.

After reporting on the tragic loss of dementia wanderer Al Novotnik, I attended his memorial lunch at the invitation of his wife this last Spring. I grieved with her. I helped write his obituary, in addition to covering the news itself. That’s not detachment; that’s community.

The news will break your heart. Sometimes, though, it can also make a difference.

Last winter, after our reporting on children living in a truck parked on a residential street, DFACS and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office intervened. Maybe they would have reached those children anyway. Or maybe our reporting helped light a fire. Either way, those kids were no longer sleeping in a truck.

Our most-read story of the year—nearly 43,000 views—was the loss of Dave “Coach Ed” Edinger. His wife, Sandy, spoke with me within a day of his passing so the community could understand not just what happened, but who he was and why so many people loved him. It wasn’t my first interaction with Sandy; earlier in the year, she had reached out to share the success of one of her science students, hoping that story would be told, too.

We are there for the celebrations and the grief.

Another major moment this year was the Walk for Peace. I spoke with organizer Tami Morris before the group arrived, trying to help secure a more visible stop in Sharpsburg. They got one in Fayetteville: Trilith LIVE became the site—and it mattered. More than 4,000 people showed up. Tens of thousands more read our stories and watched our videos.

That’s the work.

It isn’t perfect. It isn’t always comfortable. But it is rooted here—in the belief that local journalism should inform, challenge, and care for the community it serves.

And judging by how many of you are reading, sharing, and responding, it’s work worth continuing.