Hey. I started an Appalachian media project.

File it under Y'allternative news.

Hi! 

Garbage on the internet is getting too much traction in the place where I grew up. So I moved back to the upper Ohio Valley and started The Holler.

This is a weather forecast, but it’s also the part of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania where The Holler is based.

It’s an Appalachian outlet that aims to help lift up what’s going right, call out what’s going wrong, and make content that matters to the Ohio Valley and places like it. 

You know me from somewhere - home, college, that stint in Albany, seven years of farming and grinding stumps, two long-shot runs for office, the rural work I did for Senator Warren and RuralVote.org, or maybe none of those. 

Hi, nice to (re) meet you. 

We’re livin’

This is probably a good place to tell you not to expect straight journalism. The Holler’s content lives at the intersection of silly and important. There will be satire, straight editorials, long-form videos celebrating awesome people in the valley, and typos. I’ll say “fuck” sometimes. But I hope you get a laugh out of it and maybe look at things from a different angle. 

I don’t know how long it will last but I’d love to make this my job (speaking of which, please sponsor The Holler by donating one of the amounts here). That’s the only way I know to keep this independent and sustainable. Bless all of you who support independent media. There’s a special spot for you in the afterlife of your choice. 

I started The Holler in May. We have a lot of content spread across social media, but here are two highlights to start:

This video about unearned wealth that has more than 400,000 views on TikTok:

This profile of a local coal plant operator who’s bringing back Mainstreet in his hometown with an awesome business:

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So that’s what I’m up to. Stick around and share it if you’re into it, or unsubscribe below if you’re not.

And most importantly, stop by the comments section below to let me know what you think! I’m always accepting story pitches and feedback. 

Thanks and much love to you and yours, 

JR 

Connect with me / The Holler - Website | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube | Twitter | Insta