CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — This election season, it’s not just political candidate campaign material finding its way into local mailboxes, but also new politically-focused publications.
In the last month, people living in communities across Hampton Roads have reported receiving newspapers they don’t recall subscribing to, or even hearing of, in their mailboxes.
In the Point Elizabeth neighborhood, a homeowner said he was sent a paper titled South Tidewater News and The Virginia Independent within a matter of days of each other. One paper was addressed specifically to him, the other to his family.
Upon reading both, he said it became clear both papers weren’t meant just to inform.
“I started reading it and I realized it was very pointed to one side of a political party,” said the homeowner, who did not wish to be identified.
The Sept. 2 edition of South Tidewater News included: a profile of Republican House of Delegates candidate Felisha Storm and her campaign to unseat Democratic incumbent Nadarius Clark in the 84th District; an article covering negative comments made by the founder of the League of American Workers about Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger; and a story about the Virginia Police Benevolent Association’s endorsement of Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares for reelection.
Inversely, The Virginia Independent’s Sept. 2025 issue covered: the increase of school supply costs amidst tariffs set by the Trump administration; a profile and “exclusive interview” with Spanberger; and an article pointing out Miyares’ ties to an anti-abortion group.
“Newspapers are supposed to be neutral fact-based reporting, and these newspapers are just disguised political ad campaigns,” the recipient said.
Traditional newspapers have struggled in the last two decades as daily circulation nationwide continues to decline. In 2000, it was just less than 60 million. It was just under 21 million in 2022 according to the Pew Research Center. Advertising revenue, the main funding source for print newsroom, has dried up.
However, even as their content is being seen by less, local papers specifically still harbor a fair amount of trust. In 2024, 74% of Americans said they had “a lot of” or “some” trust in their local news organizations, while only 59% said the same about national news organizations, according to Pew.
It’s one of the reasons Dr. Eric Claville, executive advisor to the president for governmental relations at Norfolk State University, said the space has become a target for those with political motives.
“By utilizing print media where there has been a void due to the rise of competition, the rise of digital media,” Claville said, “there is a thought that print media going to residences allows for individuals to actually pick it up and say ‘I can trust this.'”
The physical copy of South Tidewater News listed an address of Chicago, but gave no further information as to who was behind the publication. However, it did list the newspaper’s website, which, according to the Internet Archive service, has been around since 2020.
“South Tidewater News is your trusted source for community news, events and stories that matter most to the people of our region,” the website’s “About” section states. “Founded with the mission to connect, inform, and engage, we provide daily updates, in-depth reporting, and human-interest features that shine a spotlight on the voices of our neighborhoods.”
No stories have reporter bylines, as is customary by publications that follow journalistic standards.
In the print addition, a full page displayed local gas prices reported by GasBuddy.com gave prices and addresses for gas stations in North Dakota. In the online addition, Dr. Sharon Byrdsong appears as the image for every Norfolk Public Schools story, even thought she was terminated from her role as superintendent in June.
Their Facebook page lists “Metric Media LLC” as responsible for the page.
The company with a Oak Park, Illinois mailing address operates more than 1,200 local news sites across the United States, including 30 in Virginia, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. An investigation by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School found the found the company distributed thousands of algorithmically generated articles across the United States and is funded by groups with ties to conservative causes.
If you want to “pitch a story” on Metric Media’s site, you will be taken to communitynewsmaker.com, a site funded by the Community News Foundation.
In tax documents, the foundation lists Metric Media LLC, Pipeline Advisors LLC and Piepline Media LLC as independent contractors paid nearly $6 million combined in 2023. Pipeline Media has the same mailing address as the one printed on South Tidewater News.
Metric Media is controlled by Brian Timpone, a conservative businessman and former TV reporter based out of Illinois according to Neiman Lab. Pipeline Advisors, based in Texas, received $1.7 million in 2022 from the Restoration PAC, funded mostly by Republican mega-donor Richard Uihlein.
Calls to Metric Media and Community News Foundation were not immediately returned.
Bylines are included on The Virginia Independent, however, as is the name of the “The American Independent Foundation.” The paper’s website explains the Washington D.C. based 501(c)(4) aims “to use journalism to educate the public, giving them the information they need about local and federal issues.”
American Independent Media is headed by Jon Conason, according to tax documents. However, its major contractors have ties to Democratic-leaning groups.
In 2023, $1.5 million was paid to Bonner Group Inc., a Democratic political fundraising firm. Berni Consulting received $1.1 million. Berni Consulting is headed by Ryan Berni, who most recently served as a special assistant to the president and senior advisor for infrastructure implementation in the Biden Administration.
Conason didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
“I think what we’re seeing now is, in the print news industry, our Citizens United, that moment where tons of money for campaigns can be poured into campaigns from around the world without having to identify who that comes from, or without any limit as well,” Claville said, “treating those corporations as individuals … favoring one side or the other under the guise of news.”