Sarah Vogelsong: The Richmonder is an expression of hope

This is the second in a series of profiles to introduce you to the people behind The Richmonder:

I’m Sarah Vogelsong, and I signed on to The Richmonder because it felt to me like an expression of hope. 

So much of journalism isn’t just about reporting on problems. It’s also about covering solutions. And while the decline of local news is a problem everyone is well acquainted with, the conversation doesn’t stop there. The Richmonder was one solution I saw to this challenge, and I wanted to be a part of it. 

There was also another inducement: Richmond has been my home for the past 14 years, and I’ve seen it change dramatically in that time. Some of those changes have given me joy, while others have given me pause. It’s important to chronicle both what’s coming and what’s going, and what Richmonders think and feel about those shifts.

None of this is abstract to me: As I write this from my home in Highland Park, heavy machinery is digging up the lot across the street for a new affordable housing development. The changes are literally in my front yard (or mere feet from it). For every project, every policy decision, there will be someone in Richmond whose “front yard” will similarly be affected. 

For me, The Richmonder offers a chance to understand how to bring neighborhood concerns into a wider conversation about the city we have and the city we’re building. 

In her essay “Goodbye to All That,” Joan Didion wrote of her realization that “it had counted after all, every evasion and every procrastination, every mistake, every word, all of it.” I’ve never forgotten that passage, because to me it underscores exactly why I do the work I do as a journalist: It all matters — every decision, every person, every plan, every hope, all of it.

Sarah is the rare journalist who can write about a controversial topic–and have both sources from both sides feel like their views received a full and accurate hearing. She combines a great ear for voices in the community with the ability to suss out documents, such as a botched city waste contract and a judicial misconduct finding against a retired judge.

If you are a fan of Sarah’s work, I’m asking you to be more than a Richmonder reader.

Become a donor.

Your support will ensure that Sarah can help us all make sense of a community that is re-making itself right before our eyes. 

Please join the 600 readers who have made the decision to invest in our efforts to enlighten and connect the community.

Click on a button below and commit to an amount that fits your household’s budget.

Thank you for reading The Richmonder and for your willingness to do your part to help Sarah explore “all of it.”

Regards,

David M. Poole
Development Director

PS – If you would prefer to make a one-time donation, you can select your preferred amount. The suggested annual amount is $120, but gifts of any size – large or small – are appreciated. You can double your impact by giving today. The first $1,000 of any donation will be matched through a challenge grant from the Institute for Nonprofit News. Thank you.