Madison County deserves values-driven reporting now more than ever

Greetings, 

This is Whitney McKnight, founder and publisher of The Edge. It’s been a minute since I directly appealed for your support here at Madison County’s only source for investigative journalism. I’d like to explain to you why it matters now. 

To understand, it’s important to go back to the beginning. In late 2023, word was out about EKPC’s plan to run a transmission line through Berea College’s forested land. There were several reasons why this upset many in the community, including environmental concerns. 

But there were two things that bothered me most. The first was the disregard for beauty for the sake of power, and by “power” I mean it in all senses of the word. The second was the assumption that people would just accept the loss of beauty as the price of progress, and so did not need to be consulted on the decision, even though, from my way of thinking, it would alter our sense of connection to what makes our community feel like home, given that the Pinnacles are so integral to what makes Berea unique.

There was no media outlet covering any of this in a meaningful way, if at all, so I asked a local paper if I could do it for them. I managed to publish one story, but was told the power line wasn’t news, and that I didn’t know what news was. 

So, I founded The Edge (Reporting from The Edge of Appalachia in Berea, Kentucky). 

The Edge was the only outlet to demonstrate how newsworthy this story was. We were the only outlet to fully report on the Circuit Court decision that EKPC was wrong to assume it could take the land without community input, a ruling which, pending a state appellate court decision, is currently precedential in the state. 

By covering this story as thoroughly as we did, the Edge demonstrated that land use policy is essential to all policy. How we view the land undergirds how our communities function and see themselves. How a community thinks about land ties together so many seemingly disparate concepts, including property rights, valuation and taxation, and equitable access to resources. It emphasizes how our landscapes contribute to our community’s quality-of-life. 

In short, how we view the land says everything about our values. 

Right now, Madison County is at an important crossroads. We sit on a major interstate and are still, even if it’s hard to believe for some, mostly a rural county. Lots of land to buy, lots of land to develop. The pressure to buy, sell, and build is immense, and is coming from the governor’s office, from the manufacturing sector, from the business sector, from out-of-state prospectors, from instate developers, from seemingly everywhere. It’s even coming indirectly from the White House and its emphasis on AI, which means Kentucky is a data center target zone. 

What happens to our quality-of-life across all three jurisdictions in our county will come down to whose values take precedence, to who prioritizes what when faced with this pressure to develop and grow. The results of our recent primary election spoke to this, but there is more to do, more to consider, and most of all, more to uncover and understand about the challenges of balancing new growth with the regeneration of what already exists.

The Edge is the only independent (not part of a university or media group) news outlet in Madison County that, with our regular government meeting coverage, our exclusive investigations, and our podcast with local, state, and federal leaders, has demonstrated a capacity to define and probe these questions and to bring you consistent coverage of who is doing what on your behalf, or otherwise. 

There is so much more of this kind of journalism I want to provide, but when I sat down to list what kind of resources that would actually take, I had to admit how far away I am from that goal. To operate on all cylinders, The Edge needs $250,000 annually. Last year, The Edge took in just under $50,000 with grants, ads, donations, and subscriptions. 

And look at all we accomplished anyway:

Full coverage of EKPC v. Berea College, including a celebration party with Homegrown Hide-aways in Red Lick, after the decision. Every Congressional candidate on the podcast, multiple local candidates and leaders also came on. Exclusive coverage of an eminent domain case prompted by several local leaders and EKU. Extensive election night coverage with WBONTV and 100.7FM The Coyote. And that is just a partial list. 

Plus, The Edge has received state and national recognition, leading to multiple invitations for me to be a speaker at major journalism and rural community conferences. We’ve also been accepted into the Kentucky Press Association, and several other professional journalism organizations. Now we just need the funds to pay for the membership fees.

We’ve developed our consistent coverage mostly with one reporter, yours truly, but often with behind-the-scenes support from donors and subscribers with monthly paid memberships. Plus, the high number of readers, among other factors, is persuasive to grantors who support The Edge.

The thing is, we can do more, if we do it together. Every contribution helps. If you’ve been reading The Edge and believe our work should continue, can you become a sustaining monthly donor today or give a one-time tax-deductible gift? 

By the numbers

Here’re some numbers to consider. Earlier this year, The Edge surpassed the 100,000 views mark. In May alone, we had just under 36,000 views of our site. But we have only 900 subscribers, and only 10% of those pay for a monthly or annual membership. By industry visibility standards, these are phenomenal numbers. But for the sake of sustainability, they’re not so great. 

With sustainability in mind, I’ve invested in a new ad platform technology that I absolutely love. You might have noticed a few ads that I have had time to sell and display. The ads look great, they move around the site without any glitches and best of all, without me having to remember to add them when I publish a story. 

I’ve also applied for and won some important grants recently (more on that soon). And, with the help of the Bluegrass Community Foundation and Press Forward Blue Grass (will we ever agree to one spelling of bluegrass?), I have hired a part-time reporter, with more to come from a developing pipeline. 

And now I am turning to you. How much value do you place on knowing The Edge is asking the hard questions at a time when Madison County needs those questions asked and answered more than ever? Please demonstrate your commitment with a one-time or recurring donation now.

If you are a subscriber, but not a paying one, please consider becoming one:

If you are wondering why The Edge is free to read, even though it is expensive to produce, that’s because my values include the belief that reliable civic information is an essential part of an empowered citizenry. My commitment to Madison County is to provide the kind of journalism necessary for you to make decisions that help improve our community.  With your support, I seek to add coverage of Richmond City with the level of thoroughness we have invested in Berea and the County.

If you’d like to write a check, please message me and I will give you the address where you can send it:

Everything The Edge has built so far has been possible because readers like you decided Madison County deserves serious local journalism. 

Thanks for your part in that.

– Whitney McKnight