Happy Birthday, FXBG Advance
One year ago, the Advance ran the go/no-go checklist, and lit the candle on the region's newest media organization. It's been an exciting ride thus far, and the horizon ahead is clear and inviting.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The one-year anniversary of FXBG Advance’s ribbon-cutting is still a little over three weeks away. Today, however, is the day we recognize as our birthday.
One year ago today, Adele Uphaus joined our staff as our first full-time employee, and her hiring lit the engines on a project that has steadily gained altitude ever since.
For those of us there at the very beginning in January 2023 — Shaun Kenney, Leigh Anne Van Doren, and myself — the idea that by November 1, 2023, we would have the staffing, public support, and financial backing necessary to go public would have been thought ambitiously optimistic.
That we reached our goal so quickly is owed to the private citizens who signed up and then subscribed, the donors who provided the necessary funds to operate, and our readers who come back every day to explore what is happening in the community and share with us their stories and problems that form the backbone of our work.
The level of interest in journalism we’ve witnessed this past year makes clear that journalism is far from dead.
To the contrary. Here in our community, journalism is thriving, as it is in hundreds of communities across the country where local journalism is enjoying a renaissance.
It’s no accident that this revival is happening at the local level. Every person associated with the Advance is also a part of this community.
The problems and challenges that confront the people who live here are our problems and challenges. And the successes that happen here happen to us as well.
In the year ahead, we will continue to lean into this community and its people, even as we grow our staff of writers and people who make the Advance go every day.
New bylines are on the horizon at the Advance, and you’ll be seeing them in coming months. Innovative approaches to covering this community are also in the works. You’ll witness one of these on Tuesday when we once again bring the most extensive election coverage available in this region.
Great journalism, we have seen, is a synergistic relationship involving journalists and readers and government leaders and business leaders and nonprofit organizations who work together and hold one another accountable for the common good.
Thank you for a great first year.
The best is yet to come.
Now — will you share the word?
To celebrate this day, we’re asking our readers to take just a moment and share the Advance with one neighbor or friend in your network and encourage them to sign on for a free subscription.
Or invite family and friends to follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Finally, ask them to listen to the New Dominion Podcast. A fresh take on conversation and civility.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to report on a Spotsylvania School teacher arrested for bringing drugs onto campus.
First to report on new facility fees leveled by MWHC on patient bills.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Provided extensive coverage of the cellphone bans that are sweeping local school districts.
And so much more, like Clay Jones, Drew Gallagher, Hank Silverberg, and more.
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
