Our story
In 2022, Corinne Colbert was fired as editor of The Athens News, a weekly newspaper in Athens County, Ohio, for warning readers about deceptive advertising in the publication. Her tweets about her firing went viral and inspired a crowdfunding campaign that earned more than $18,000 to launch an independent nonprofit newsroom in Athens County.
Colbert and former colleagues Jen Bartlett, Keri Johnson and Dani Kington founded Southeast Ohio Independent News, a 501(c)nonprofit organization whose mission is to establish locally controlled independent nonprofit news organizations in at least six counties in southeastern Ohio. The first of these is the Athens County Independent.
Since publishing its first story in August 2022, the Athens County Independent has been recognized for its high-quality journalism, sound financial practices and innovative business model:
- Second place, Best News Story, Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, 2024
- Second place, Best Government/Political Reporting, Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, 2025
- Finalist, The Future of News, NEXT Challenge for Media and Journalism, 2023
- Finalist, Startup of the Year, Nonprofit News Awards, Institute for Nonprofit News, 2024
- Recipient, Closing Local Coverage Gaps Open Call Grant, Press Forward, 2024
- Finalist, Financial Health Award, LION Sustainability Awards, LION Publishers, 2025
What we stand for
Our Mission
The Athens County Independent empowers community engagement through accessible public service journalism.
Our Vision
We will be Athens County’s trusted, go-to news source, empowering all residents to drive change toward a more fair, connected and participatory community
Our Values
- Empowerment. Free, comprehensive local news and information supports a thriving democracy and community.
- Respect. Our coverage is fair, inclusive, and respectful of all residents’ experiences — countering destructive narratives about Appalachia.
- Accessibility. We present complex information in a way everyone can understand — for free.
- Accuracy. We recognize what we don’t know, and if we make a mistake, we’ll own it. Objectivity is a method for gathering and reporting the news. Where there’s bullshit, we’ll call bullshit.
- Independence. Our reporting is not influenced by advertisers, funders, and authorities.
- Fun. Because!