About WACN 21

By WACN 21 Staff
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WACN 21 News is Atlanta’s independent source for local news, politics, weather, sports, and culture. We launched in 2026 with a simple premise: a great city deserves news coverage that takes it seriously.

What we cover

We cover the city of Atlanta, the broader metro, and the state of Georgia. Our beat map:

  • Local news — Atlanta city hall, county governments, public safety, infrastructure, transit, and neighborhood news across the metro.
  • State politics — the Georgia General Assembly, the governor’s office, state agencies, federal politics as it hits the state.
  • Business and the economy — Georgia Power, the data-center boom, small business, real estate, labor.
  • Sports — the Falcons, Hawks, Braves, Atlanta United, and Georgia high school sports.
  • Things 2 Do — restaurants, arts, music, family events, the outdoors.
  • Opinion — editorials, columns, and reader letters.

What we don’t do

We don’t run sponsored content. We don’t take advertising from candidates in active elections. We don’t accept gifts from people or organizations we cover. Our editorial decisions are made independently of our business side.

How we’re funded

WACN 21 News is reader-supported. Our revenue comes from:

  • Individual memberships — annual and monthly.
  • Local advertising — from Atlanta-area businesses, displayed clearly as advertising.
  • Philanthropy — from foundations and individual donors, listed on our supporters page.

How to reach us

Our team

Our newsroom is led by Lena Bishop (Opinion Editor). Reporters include Marcus James (politics), Elena Vásquez (city hall and transportation), Aisha Bell (business), Jordan Reyes (sports), Kira Tomlinson (arts and culture), Devon Patterson (investigations), Tom Whitaker (weather), and Samuel Okonkwo (breaking news).

Our standards

We follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Our editorial standards page details how we handle sourcing, conflicts, corrections, and the rest.

We don’t always get it right. When we don’t, we publish a correction at the top of the affected story, dated and signed.

Independence

WACN 21 News is independently owned. Our ownership has no financial interest in any of the businesses, candidates, or organizations we cover. Our editorial team has full independence on what to cover and how to cover it.

If you have questions about our ownership or want to verify a fact, email us at hello@wacn21.com.