West Virginia Watch

U.S. center-left

Background

West Virginia Watch launched on July 11, 2023, becoming the 35th state newsroom in the States Newsroom network. It was founded under the editorial leadership of Leann Ray, a Charleston-based journalist who previously held senior editing roles at the Charleston Gazette-Mail. States Newsroom, its parent organization, is a national nonprofit that funds state-level political journalism through foundation grants and individual donations; it was previously a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, which is affiliated with the Arabella Advisors network of progressive nonprofits. Major funders of States Newsroom include the Wyss Foundation — whose founder, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, is a prominent donor to left-leaning advocacy groups — as well as the Knight Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and AFSCME, the large public-sector labor union that consistently backs Democrats. Media Bias/Fact Check rates West Virginia Watch as left-biased in editorial stance but high in factual accuracy. InfluenceWatch similarly notes that its coverage emphasizes left-of-center issues such as labor, the environment, education, and criminal justice reform. Coverage of the Trump administration's second term has included critical commentary on Project 2025's effects on West Virginians, concerns about federal voter-record demands, and opinion pieces questioning whether state leaders are overlooking administration-level corruption, though the outlet also reports straightforwardly on Trump-era policies that benefit the state, such as broadband funding approvals.

Sources

1. About • West Virginia Watch
2. States Newsroom Launches West Virginia Watch • States Newsroom
3. West Virginia Watch to launch statewide news outlet — West Virginia Press Association
4. States Newsroom launches West Virginia Watch — Editor and Publisher
5. West Virginia Watch — Bias and Credibility — Media Bias/Fact Check
6. West Virginia Watch — InfluenceWatch
7. States Newsroom — InfluenceWatch
8. Project 2025 and how it hurts West Virginians • West Virginia Watch
9. Will West Virginia avert its eyes from Trump administration corruption? • West Virginia Watch
10. Why is WV being asked for voter records? • West Virginia Watch

Profile compiled 2026-07-24; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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