I have written this statement many times since I joined WCPO: There's always more to the story.
Here's more to the story of WCPO Insider and the kind of journalism you can expect from our team.
Most TV stations in a market of this size might have five to seven staff members focused primarily on the website. We have 35.
That includes a team of 10 reporters producing stories specifically for our Insiders. These veteran reporters include some of the top talent in Cincinnati, like Dan Monk, Lucy May, Mike Dyer and Lisa Bernard-Kuhn.
Our web editors, managers and community editors bring our total count of full-time journalists — just on our digital team — to 26.
Then we have the impressive team of journalists like Tom McKee, Tanya O'Rourke and John Popovich that you are used to seeing on 9 On Your Side.
All told, our full-time news team is as large as any other in Cincinnati.
In addition to our full-time staff members, we work with at least 30 freelance reporters. The list includes well-known journalists like John Fay, Kevin Necessary and Julie Niesen Gosdin.
Those journalists provide unique, interesting stories you can't find anywhere else. Some of them are available to Insiders only. Others are available for everyone.
Here are the type of stories you can expect us to deliver to you every single day.
Business: If you follow business in this area, you know the name Dan Monk. He’s one of the best business reporters in the Tri-State. Dan and our team of business reporters take you behind the scenes with stories on the region’s biggest companies — Procter & Gamble, Macy’s and Kroger. We tell Insiders about the newest emerging businesses, economic trends and the latest retail spots you won’t want to miss.
Government and politics: Reporters Paula Christian and Amanda Seitz are government watchdogs, investigating area officials to make sure they are spending your tax dollars wisely and following the rules. They also track important issues through the political and government process to make sure you know about the decisions, stances and trends that shape our community. Amanda, Paula and the rest of our team explain how complicated government issues affect you. They also provide insight and deep reporting on local and national elections.
Entertainment: One thing we have discovered about our Insiders is that you all like to be active. But finding the coolest things to do and places to eat can be challenging. That’s where our team comes in. It starts with Entertainment Editor Tasha Stewart and Entertainment Reporter Brian Mains. They bring you recommendations on fun activities and places to check out — as well as local traditions you won’t want to miss. Andy Foltz covers craft beer. And food reporters Grace Yek and Julie Niesen Gosdin (from the popular blog Wine Me, Dine Me) bring you all the news that’s fit to eat. Additional reporters provide coverage on music, the arts and more.
Transportation and development: Unless you’re sitting at your computer doing nothing but reading Insider stories all day, you have to travel somehow. Whether it is by public transit or the roads and highways, we are making sure you understand issues that could affect the way you get around our community. Development and how we change and grow as a region are deeply connected to transportation. Veteran reporter Lisa Bernard-Kuhn heads our coverage of transportation and development. Pat LaFleur — an avid user of public transportation — covers public transit and biking. Reporter Liz Engel covers Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Since Liz began covering this topic, she has consistently been the first to publish important news about the airport.
Education: I have kids in school. So do tens of thousands of Tri-State residents. That includes Bob Driehaus. Bob leads our education coverage. Bob and our team of reporters bring you the most important trends in education along with significant stories affecting Tri-State students, parents and teachers. We know thousands of students in the Tri-State attend parochial schools. That’s why we’ve focused Anya Rao on covering Catholic schools. Colleen Weinkham covers higher education.
Our Community: We want to cover the people, places and things that make this area special. The good news is that’s an easy task. There are so many fascinating, unique aspects of Cincinnati and the Tri-State region. That means focusing on interesting people, the area’s history, our growing diversity or religion and faith. The great news for Insiders is we have one of the most talented storytelling journalists in the region in Lucy May. Lucy brings you stories that matter to her — and those are stories that will matter to you. We have other veteran journalists who contribute such as Brent Coleman and Kevin Eigelbach.
You can expect quality, in-depth reporting on each of these six topics every day.
Here are a few examples of some of the stories we produced in the last year:
We sent journalist Emily Maxwell 10,000 miles to cover the last endangered Sumatran rhino in the Western hemisphere being returned to Indonesia.
Dan Monk's database of local restaurant inspections. This is a feature Dan creates each year for WCPO Insiders.
We did a three-part series on a local basketball standout named John Brown who once went head-to-head with LeBron James and won — but few local basketball fans have ever heard of him.
We spent months tracking criminal complaints and nuisance complaints to take a look at the worst landlords in Cincinnati and the broken system that allows the city's poorest residents to be stuck in awful housing.
Whitey Campbell is Moeller's 78-year-oldequipment manager. This tough old guy whips these top notch athletes into shape off the field.
Joe Rosemeyer paddled down Mill Creek, the Cincinnati region's notorious river of poo.
Here's everything you need to know about gangs in Cincinnati.
He's lost more than he's won. But colleagues still call this 24-year-old a political "wonder kid."
When Debbie Bowman was 3 years old, her mother drowned her brother in the family's bathtub. Debbie lived a difficult and abuse-filled childhood. Now, she heads Boys Hope Girls Hope of Cincinnati.
We investigated the Cincinnati Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, resulting in action by federal officials.
We bring readers — Insiders and those who have not yet become Insider members — great stories on WCPO.com. All WCPO.com users should expect outstanding coverage of breaking news, weather, sports, opinion and money saving tips.
We look forward to sharing these stories with you. And as always, feel free to reach out with questions or feedback.
Mike Canan is editor of WCPO.com. Contact him at mike.canan@wcpo.com. Follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @Mike_Canan.
