Publisher’s Note: All the hate fit to print

by Keith Pepper

Why all the hate?

The goal of my periodic Publisher’s Note emails is to give readers a peek behind the scenes of Rough Draft and to share some of my thoughts on the business of local media.

What’s with everybody dissing Atlanta?

Recently, a dust-up between the organizers of InvestFest and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens captivated some corners of social media (they eventually appeared to make up).

Last week, Dickens unloaded on DNC leadership for not choosing Atlanta as the site for the 2028 Democratic Convention.

In an essay titled “Why Did It Become Cool to Disrespect Atlanta?,” photographer Cam Kirk equates the Atlanta hate to a David vs. Goliath dynamic.

Then, on a podcast in my regular rotation, Puck’s editor-in-chief and its chief national correspondent (who previously worked at CNN!) went hard at Atlanta when talking about Paramount’s threat to move from California:

Peter Hamby: “If I was your boss and I said we were moving to Georgia, which Georgia town would you want to relocate to?”
Jon Kelly: “Is there more than one?”
Hamby: “Statesboro? Douglasville? You’d love Douglasville.”
Kelly: “No…my aunt lives in Buckhead, and it’s a swell place…Let’s find a place on Peachtree Avenue. Am I warm?”
Hamby: “Swell is the perfect word to describe Buckhead.”
My initial take on the mayor’s reactions was that he was being a bit thin-skinned, but then I found myself getting territorial. This kind of smugness isn’t helping the already dismal opinion of the national media.

Yes, I spend a lot of my time thinking about other people’s opinions of what we do, because even for a local media organization like Rough Draft, breaking through media skepticism and distrust is essential to building a sustainable business.

All of this makes me even more energized about the moves the team at Rough Draft is making to invest more in local journalism (with some help from the Google News Initiative).

As we continue our due diligence into our next community (where should we go?), we are also actively growing our product portfolio:

On Friday, we launched our first podcast, “From the Paper to the Pod,” with host Summer Evans. Listen on your favorite podcast platform.
We are part of the 2026 Associated Press Fund for Journalism Elections Program, which means enhanced elections coverage for our readers. With less than 75 days until the midterms, expect to see coverage from AP in our publications.
In September, our morning newsletter is expanding to seven days a week with the introduction of a Sunday edition. If you’re anything like me, the Sunday paper has been a staple of my week, so we will aim to deliver a habit-setting newsletter for a day when people have more time to engage.

Whether you read us in print, online, or in your inbox, thank you for your continued support. Please let me know what you think by emailing me directly.

Have a great week,
Keith

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