Community journalism at its best

We cover the celebrations in life, including recognitions and awards, youth sports, school news, new business openings, community events and high school and college graduations.

Unfortunately, we also must report on the less pleasant news that affects where we live, work and raise our families — including drug busts, public officials behaving badly, murders, assaults, child sexual predators, misuse of public funds, etc.

As professional journalists, we do all of this based on long-held standards of journalism that require telling both sides of the story and using multiple official sources to determine the relevant facts. We report in an unbiased format so the reader can form his or her own opinion about the local news that impacts their lives.

Opinions are limited to the editorial page, for which we have an Editorial Board that acts as a check and balance in order to serve our readers as an independent voice for North Central West Virginia.

We are in constant contact with state and local elected officials to voice concerns and raise awareness of the issues that are important to the people of North Central West Virginia.

We constantly engage with our readers and advertisers to determine their needs and develop story assignments and varied marketing programs to serve their needs. We get involved with local organizations such as the United Way and the Harrison Chamber of Commerce, among others, to help our communities prosper.

For more than a decade, we have been much more than just a newspaper. The internet has enabled us to be a 24/7 multimedia organization through our multiple websites: wvnews.com, theet.com, statejournal.com, bluegoldnews.com, morgantownnews.com, fairmontnews.com, westondemocrat.com, bridgeportwvnews.com, prestonnj.com and therepublicannews.com.

In addition, we are actively expanding our presence on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We have also made extensive use of video on our websites and social media, as well as the recent launch of our webcast, “WV Legislature This Week,” and “Issues and Answers,” which was a live debate on the Harrison County Commission race. We have invested in a multimedia studio in our Exponent Telegram office to host live-streamed interviews and talk shows for our statewide digital and social media audience.

All of this has enabled us to grow our audience and our reader engagement to unprecedented levels.

In 2022, we acquired eight weekly newspapers: The Record Delta (Buckhannon), The Mountain Statesman (Grafton), The Jackson Herald (Ripley), The Jackson Star (Ravenswood), Mineral Tribune & News (Keyser), River Cities Register (Point Pleasant) and River Cities Tribune (Gallipolis and Pomeroy, OH). Also: The Barbour County Value Guide, The Upshur County Value Guide, Today’s Shopper (Mineral County) and The Prospector.

Each of these community newspapers except one was operating at a loss. All were up for sale with only one taker — WV News. Each one was on the verge of closure, and those communities were about to lose their primary local news source. But WV News stepped in, and we are working diligently to improve local news, sports, features and coverage of community events — in print, digital and social media.

With our 23 publications in West Virginia, Western Maryland, Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, WV News has the largest print audience combined in the Mountain State.

Our digital website audience is growing at an even faster pace. Our monthly unique users based on Google Analytics have grown to over 1.8 million, with over 3.8 million pageviews, across our 26 websites, mobile sites and our free WV News App.

Our social media audience is growing rapidly as well. We are averaging over 500,000 net reach on Facebook each month.

Each of our reporters is equipped and trained with smartphones with both video and photo capabilities, and they can post real-time news on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for your enjoyment.

Certainly, we are very proud of our dedicated and hard-working employees. We receive lots of positive feedback from all over the state for our quality and fair journalism. It’s always nice to receive recognition for a job well done.

But what matters most is how well our readers and advertisers think we are doing as the source for local news in print, digital and social media each and every day.

We continue to work diligently to serve our readers, advertisers and the communities across what has become an ever-growing market area. We need your support to ensure that local news remains a viable partner with local communities and local businesses so that we may all prosper. A rising tide does indeed lift all ships.

If we fall short or if you have suggestions on how we can serve you better, please contact me or Executive Editor John Miller. Our direct phone numbers and email addresses are always listed on Page A2 each day, as well as on our website under Contact Us.

Community journalism is alive and well across the nation and across West Virginia. We hope that you agree that it is in your local community newspaper, The Exponent Telegram, as well.

Thank you for allowing us into your home and your life.

God bless.