The Fredericksburg Advance exists to provide quality local and state journalism to the Fredericksburg region. Built on four news pillars — government, education, analysis, and investigative reporting — the Advance goes deep on these issues to the citizens of our readership area.
Founded in 2023, the Advance was organized by Martin Davis (editor-in-chief), Shaun Kenney (Board member), and Leigh Anne Van Dorne (Publisher). Martin brings more than two decades of experience to his position, having reported from across the United States and the globe.
At a time when journalism’s old models are dying, the Advance is paving a new path forward. one that focuses on multi-partisan journalism — an approach that embraces the diversity of voices in our community and drives healthy community discussions about the issues that most affect us all.
Ethics
The Advance adheres to the highest levels of journalistic standards. Our reporting team brings decades of experience to their work and prioritize telling the stories that shape our community with integrity, accuracy, and balance.
There are several codes of ethics that help to guide newsrooms in their work. The Advance adheres to those established by the Society of Professional Journalism.
How We Work
The Advance daily publishes original reporting and opinion from across the region. Each piece that we publish is backread by an editor to ensure factual accuracy and that the story properly contextualizes quotes.
Getting the story right is essential to quality journalism, and the Advance takes getting it right seriously. When we err, we own that mistake and take steps to make the necessary corrections.
Corrections/Retractions
The Advance strives at all times to get the story right. If at any time you believe we get it wrong, please contact the editor via email (mdavis@fxbgadvance.com) with your concern.
Simple errors of fact can usually be quickly rectified by editing the document, and issuing a correction — typically in the next email edition.
More-significant concerns with our stories should first be directed to our editor (mdavis@fxbgadvance.com). The concern will be reviewed by the editor, the writer, and a neutral team of advisors. If a correction is required, the Advance will correct the story and issue a correction. In more-serious issues, the Advance will retract the story if retraction is deemed the appropriate action.
Op-eds and Letters to the Editor
The Advance welcomes member of the community to submit opinion pieces and letters to the editor. Submissions should be made directly to the editor-in-chief. Email the submission to mdavis@fxbgadvance.com. Submissions must include: Name, address, and a phone number so that we contact you to verify identity.
Op-eds
Opinion pieces are published at the discretion of the editor. The decision to publish or reject is based on many factors, with the most important being:
The opinion piece is tied directly to local issues that affect our readers. The Advance understands that national and international issues do affect our readers, but those who wish to write about those issues for the Advance should ensure their piece can answer the following two questions in the affirmative: FIRST, the issue has a direct impact on our community, and SECOND, our community can play a direct role in addressing that question. For example, commentary on military actions in general are unlikely to find a space on our pages; however, when military actions directly affect service members stationed in our readership area and the op-ed concerns primarily how it affects them, the piece is more likely to gain acceptance.
The opinion writer has some level of expertise with the information they are writing about. One need not have a degree or professional certification to be qualified to write about a subject, but one must have more than a passing interest in the topic, and access to information about said topic that is beyond the scope of the general public.
The piece is no longer 1,000 words. While longer pieces will be considered, pieces that exceed this length must demonstrate a compelling reason to exceed this word count.
The piece is free of ad hominem attacks, personal vendettas, or language that could be construed as advocating for or supporting violence against anyone.
Pieces are subject to fact-checking and to editing. Substantive changes made in editing will be run back by the author before publication. Corrections to minor grammatical and spelling errors are not typically run back by the writer.
The editor’s decision to publish or not to publish is final — appeals will not be considered.
Letters to the Editor
Letters represent a lower bar for publication. However, certain criteria are in place:
The topic must focus on the local community, or on local and state-wide elections.
The letter must be free of ad hominem attacks, personal vendettas, or language that could be construed as advocating for or supporting violence against anyone.
Letters are subject to light fact-checking.
Letters are subject to editing.
Substantive changes made in editing will be run back by the author before publication. Corrections to minor grammatical and spelling errors are not typically run back by the writer.
The editor’s decision to publish or not to publish is final — appeals will not be considered.
Special Guidelines for Political Candidates
The Advance welcomes op-ed submissions from certified candidates for political office who are seeking election.
Submissions should adhere to the conditions above. In addition:
The Advance will only publish op-eds from candidates after primaries.
The Advance will stop publishing op-eds from candidates one month prior to Election Day. For 2025, the Advance will not publish candidate op-eds after October 4, 2025.
Candidates are allowed one op-ed between the day after the primary and one month prior to the election (October 4, 2025).
Candidates are allowed to advocate for their positions, but they are not allowed to directly ask voters to vote for them.
Candidates cannot identify their opponents by name.
Obituaries
The Advance weekly publishes the names of those who have recently passed away, with links to the funeral homes handling the arrangements.
Families who wish to have a full-length obituary published may do so by contacting the editor (mdavis@fxbgadvance.com). There is a small fee for this service.
Families who wish to have the Advance write the obituary should also contact the editor (mdavis@fxbgadvance.com) for details and cost.
Funding and Revenue Sources
As a nonprofit newsroom, the Advance is supported in three ways: 1. Individual Subscribers, 2. Donations, and 3. Ads.
The Advance is in the process of building a page that shows where donations are coming from.
Currently, about 45% of our support comes from Individual Subscribers paying $8 per month or $80 per year to support our work. About 35% of our support comes from corporate and private donors. Our new site will list these donors and their amounts. The balance of our support currently comes from ad revenue, which is displayed on our stories and daily e-newsletters.
Contact Us
News Tips
Adele Uphaus — Managing Editor — adele@fxbgadvance.com
General
Martin Davis — Editor-in-Chief — mdavis@fxbgadvance.com
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