Outlet profile

West Virginia Watch

U.S. center-left (nonprofit state news network)

Owned byOperated by States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. West Virginia Watch is one of its state affiliates and has no individual owner.

FundingGrants and donations. It runs no ads and has no paywall. States Newsroom is funded by philanthropic foundations and individual donors. Press-watch groups such as InfluenceWatch say some of that money has come from progressive-leaning funders and fiscal sponsors. I did not fully verify the current donor list for this report.

On the administrationmixed

Background

West Virginia Watch launched on July 11, 2023, as part of States Newsroom's expansion of state-focused outlets. Editor-in-Chief Leann Ray, a longtime West Virginia journalist and former city editor of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, leads it. It joined a network of dozens of 'Watch' and 'Reporter' sites that cover statehouses and share content under a Creative Commons license. The launch came as the state's local news was shrinking, and the outlet said it aimed to add statehouse and policy reporting. It says it is editorially independent from its funders and publishes without ads or paywalls. States Newsroom has drawn criticism from conservative commentators and some watchdog groups. They point to its ties to progressive-leaning funders and say its opinion sections and story selection lean left. Defenders note that the network does straight news reporting and keeps news and opinion separate. Its West Virginia coverage focuses on the Republican-controlled legislature and governor's office, health care, Medicaid, energy and public schools, with state-level impact angles on national policy. The outlet does not appear to have a major record of public controversy or corrections.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-10-23; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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