To Our Readers and Supporters:
Thank you.
From the very beginning, our only objective has been to add creative content; to be a complement and not a competitor; and to offer a brand of journalism no other local media outlets can.
And we believe we have accomplished those goals over the past 24 months with the breaking news stories, the features, our coverage of the ongoing pandemic, and the articles about how communities in the Upper Ohio Valley have taken steps toward reinventing a better place to live.
Our readers believe it, too, and thank you for that.
LEDE News also has gained national attention with radio and podcast interviews, an article by The Daily Yonder, and many of the website’s published pieces that have been read by individuals in all 50 states and more than 100 countries worldwide during our first two years.
But it has not been easy.
As publishers and journalists employed by a start-up digital media news outlet, it has taken us time for local residents and officials to comprehend the online platform as a valid source for real reporting. Some, in fact, have believed we incorrectly spelled “lead” when naming the news outlet while others have pronounced it as “Leddy.”
It’s OK, though, because we expected challenges when launching on October 30, 2019. Of course, no one saw Covid coming but when the pandemic caused SHUTDOWN 2020, but that is why our staff concentrated on writing what we could to help our local businesses survive. We published about the constraints and raised awareness about the dangers of loneliness and exposure, and also about the services that were still offered by local restaurants and retail shops.
Thankfully, those issues have not stopped nearly 3,000 readers from clicking “like” or “follow” on our social media platforms, and for each and every one, we are thankful. Please help us in the future, if you would, to spread LEDE News to your family and your friends – no matter where they reside – during our third year of publishing.
We are so very grateful for the support received from our advertisers because, without them, we would be unable to attempt to have a positive impact on our community. That’s the goal. That is the one and only goal, and that is something those fine folks understand.
That’s right … we’re only getting started, and we plan to expand beyond the podcasts by adding more journalists, video coverage, and live entertainment on the website and on our social media platforms.
It’s about growth, and we hope to grow along with the Wheeling area.
Sincerely,
LEDE News
