National recognition. Local impact.

Hi reader,

Last week, the Henrico Citizen was named one of 12 Local News Bright Spots in the United States by the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University.

We are honored to receive this recognition, which came as part of the MLNI's State of Local News 2025 report as a way to spotlight "local news outlets and some of the business models most successfully navigating 21st-century challenges."

We certainly don't have all the answers about how to build a sustainable, thriving source of trustworthy local news, but we're doing our best each day to pursue the things that can help sustain us.

Why? Because our community's vitality depends upon it.

We think you deserve to know what's happening in Henrico County, and we are committed to keeping you informed about the place you call home. We don't take sides – we simply report.

This recent recognition for us comes at a time when local news continues to face a number of serious challenges. The annual State of Local News report found that more than 130 newspapers in the US closed last year alone, more than 3,200 have shuttered in the past two decades, and 75% of newspaper jobs (about 260,000 in total) have disappeared since 2005.

More than 200 communities in the U.S. now are designated as news deserts where no local source of news exists. We're proud that Henrico County isn't among them.

But our coverage and our existence depend upon the support of our community – and you.

We are proud to have built a local news source that's not only serving Henrico County well but also is viewed as a national model for other local news outlets. We think that's something worth standing behind.

And we'd be honored to have your support today.

With gratitude,
Tom Lappas, publisher