Dear CityBeat Readers,
If you’ve picked up CityBeat over the years, you already know how rare it is to find journalism that feels deeply rooted in a place. Coverage that understands the texture, tension, creativity and contradictions of a city like Cincinnati. CityBeat has played that role for decades, and today, I’m writing to share an important update about its future.
CityBeat is now owned by LINK Media, a local, community-supported public-service news organization. I’m Lacy Starling, founding CEO of LINK Media, and I wanted to introduce myself directly, to tell you why we’re here, what this change means, and what it doesn’t.
First, the most important thing: CityBeat’s commitment to independent journalism is staying intact. We didn’t acquire CityBeat to water it down, flip it or turn it into something generic. We acquired CityBeat because we believe Cincinnati needs it, and because journalism like this only survives when it’s rooted in community, not owned by distant corporate chains or private equity firms committed first to their shareholders and only distantly to their readers.
LINK Media was founded with a simple mission: To strengthen vibrant communities through independent, sustainable local journalism. We started in Northern Kentucky, with LINK nky, which serves Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties with local reporting on government, education, business and daily life. LINK nky is independent, unbiased and community-supported. We don’t have shareholders expecting profits — we answer to our readers and to the community we serve.
That model is why CityBeat made sense as part of LINK Media.
LINK nky and CityBeat cover different things, but have the same mission — to tell the story of our collective community. Our goal with LINK Media is not to erase the differences between these two publications, but to support strong, locally focused journalism in each one, while creating shared stability behind the scenes.
So what does this mean for CityBeat readers?
You should continue to expect independent reporting, sharp cultural coverage and stories that reflect Cincinnati’s creative energy and sense of pride. CityBeat will continue to cover arts, food, music, nightlife and the issues that shape the soul of the region. We’ll be focused on telling the stories you won’t hear anywhere else, about the topics that matter to you.
Behind the scenes, this transition allows both LINK nky and CityBeat to benefit from shared infrastructure — advertising sales, technology, audience development — so our journalists can spend more time reporting and less time worrying about survival. It also allows us to invest in stability at a time when local journalism nationwide is under enormous pressure.
I also want to be clear about accountability. LINK Media is governed by a local fiduciary board and we are committed to transparency in how we operate, how we fund our work and how we spend the money entrusted to us by advertisers, donors and readers. Over time, we plan to expand opportunities for community support and ownership at CityBeat, because we believe local journalism is strongest when the community owns the news.
We will also spend a great deal of time this first year listening — listening to community stakeholders, groups and readers to hear from YOU what you want from CityBeat. Unlike publications owned by corporations or national chains, we do not exist merely to provide profits to distant shareholders. LINK nky and CityBeat exist to serve our readers. Our existence depends on your readership, your support and your honest feedback.
Change always raises questions and concerns, especially in an industry where change is typically bad, and new ownership usually means layoffs, shrinking coverage and loss of local identity. And I understand that we aren’t owed your trust. Our promise is simple — we will earn your trust through the work itself. Through strong reporting, clarity about our values and through showing up consistently for the region.
Thank you for reading CityBeat, for supporting local journalism and for caring about this community. We’re honored to help steward CityBeat into its next chapter.
Sincerely,
Lacy Starling
President/CEO, LINK Media