Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1505137
22 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • August 2023 INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt For more than two decades, families have turned to Fredericksburg Parent and Family magazine for information on events, camps, classes and much more. But there are so many ways that what goes on in the halls of government in the Fredericksburg region impacts families and children. School boards make policies that impact what materials children can access at school, and how attractive they are to the best teachers. City councils and boards of supervisors make funding decisions that impact our schools, parks, libraries and public safety services. State government budgets and policies impact everything from how much our teachers are paid to how congested our roads are. Local news reporting is declining nationwide. Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism reported a year ago that between 2019 and 2022, more than 360 local newspapers closed in the U.S. This puts the country on track to lose one-third of its newspapers by 2025. Martin Davis wants to bring more resources to local government and issues reporting in the Fredericksburg region through the launch of a new news source called The Fredericksburg Advance. Davis was editorial page editor at The Free Lance-Star from January 2022 to January 2023. After being laid off amid continuing staff reductions at the paper in 2023, Davis took a full-time teaching job in Stafford County, while continuing to document and write about the actions of the Spotsylvania County School Board in a Substack news- letter called F2S. The audience grew steadily, and Martin began talking with Shaun Kenney, a local resident who is senior editor of online news source The Republican Standard, about launching a nonprofit, independent online news source focused on the Fredericksburg region. Fredericksburg Advance will launch September 1 at fxbgadvance.com. The publication will be housed under Fredericksburg Parent Gives, a nonprofit arm formed by Fred Parent founder Leigh Anne Van Doren, for the purpose of bringing more coverage to education, healthcare and other needs that directly impact area families. Fredericksburg Advance Will Provide Solutions-Based Local Reporting Mar n Davis, award-winning journalist, is providing in-depth analysis on local educa on, poli cal and business issues through the newly formed FXBG Advance. Leigh Anne Van Doren, local publisher, is hous- ing the new non- profi t newsroom the FXBG Advance in Fredericksburg Parent Gives, her 2-year-old nonprofi t.