Athens County Independent

Overview

The Athens County Independent is a nonprofit online news outlet covering Athens County, Ohio, and the wider Appalachian southeast Ohio region, operated by Southeast Ohio Independent News.

History

The outlet grew out of the February 2022 firing of Corinne Colbert as editor of the weekly Athens News after she warned readers about deceptive advertising in the publication. A crowdfunding campaign that followed raised more than $18,000, which Colbert and former Athens News and Athens Messenger colleagues Jen Bartlett, Keri Johnson and Dani Kington used to found Southeast Ohio Independent News, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to establish locally controlled independent newsrooms across at least six southeastern Ohio counties. The Athens County Independent, the organization's first newsroom, published its first story in August 2022.

Notable works

The Independent has been recognized with second place for Best News Story (2024) and Best Government/Political Reporting (2025) from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, was a finalist for the Institute for Nonprofit News' Startup of the Year Nonprofit News Award in 2024, and received a Press Forward Closing Local Coverage Gaps grant in 2024.

Key personnel

Co-founder and Editor: Corinne Colbert
Co-founder and Creative Director: Jen Bartlett
Co-founder and Staff Writer: Dani Kington
Co-founder: Keri Johnson

Audience

The Independent serves residents of Athens County, Ohio, providing free news funded through reader memberships, donations and grants rather than a paywall or subscription model.

Location and contact info

Address
Athens, Ohio
Website
https://athensindependent.com