BUCKHANNON WEST VIRGINIA December 8th,

A newspaper born in the mountains of West Virginia is not expected to reach the nation within a handful of days because new outlets rarely move beyond their towns during the first month of publication and most begin slowly, quietly, and with modest local circulation. Yet the first week of Appalachian Post has unfolded in a manner, that breaks entirely from the history of Appalachian journalism, because it began as a national newspaper on its first day and immediately began drawing readers from across the United States and throughout the world. According to our research, there has never been a documented instance where a West Virginia founded newspaper, or an Appalachian Belt founded newspaper, launched at a national level and achieved nationwide and worldwide distribution within its first seven days; Appalachian Post now stands as the first in the region to accomplish this.

The newsroom was built upon the principle that reliable journalism must rely on first hand sources that speak for themselves without commentary or interpretation; this means that the publication draws its information directly from institutions such as THE WHITE HOUSE, THE PENTAGON, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THE UNITED STATES SENATE, THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU, and THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, and similar type sources for both regional and local coverage, because national newspapers anchor their reporting in the original statements and official releases of the governing authorities that act and speak on the national level. This structure places us in alignment with the traditional standards used throughout the industry and by archival institutions such as THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS which distinguish national publications by reach, sourcing, and subject coverage.

During the first days of publication, the analytics revealed an unexpected pattern of discovery because the very first states to appear in the readership were Georgia, Texas, and Oregon, followed quickly by North Carolina and West Virginia. This spread widened each day as new states appeared including New York, California, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, and many others until the total reached 27 states, along with Washington D.C., by the end of the first week. The appearance of New York carried particular significance, because two of the early visitors were from New York City, which is among the largest and most competitive media environments in the world. California’s arrival was equally unusual because it’s rare for readers on the Pacific coast to discover a new Appalachian publication without external promotion. This demonstrates that the stories being published carried national relevance and were being circulated organically through reader interest rather than advertising placement or algorithmic assistance.

Alongside the national reach an international pattern developed that is even more rare for a publication less than a week old. The analytics showed visitors from twenty one countries across six continents including England, Ireland, India, France, Australia, and regions across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. There is no historical record (that would could find) of any West Virginia newspaper ever reaching this level of global distribution, within its first week, and none in the Appalachian Belt have ever shown such a pattern either (that we know of or could find). Historically, only major coastal papers and long established national outlets have reached worldwide audiences. Appalachian Post proved in its first week that a national newspaper headquartered in a rural Appalachian community can reach the world without prior branding, corporate ownership, or institutional backing.

When placed against industry benchmarks the numbers become even more significant; newly created websites often average one hundred to five hundred visitors during their first month of operation and many smaller papers struggle to reach those numbers in their first several months. Appalachian Post reached nearly 500 unique visitors during its first week which places it far ahead of the average for new publications; the analytics also showed a views per visitor ratio, that indicates returning readership, rather than one time traffic because readers were opening multiple articles per visit, a behavior consistent with national audience patterns rather than local drop in patterns. This ratio shows that the content is being read and engaged with rather than being clicked and abandoned.

The publication’s content structure further supports its classification as a national newspaper because the newsroom focuses on federal departments, national courts, national security issues, military operations, congressional activity, federal level legislative reporting, and stories within states that carry national significance. These are the categories that define a national publication according to long standing industry standards, textbook journalism definitions, and the classifications used by THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS and the U.S. Newspaper Directory. Appalachian Post does not operate as a city paper, a regional paper, or a local outlet; its subject matter aligns with national level journalism from its first day, while still showcasing its pride for the region, as well as its home state and community, by (also) offering coverage of that area.

Historically West Virginia has never been the home of a national newspaper, as every publication within the state has classified itself as either regional or local in function, including known titles in Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, Fairmont, Bluefield, Beckley, Martinsburg, and Clarksburg. None have been classified as national and none have produced national level coverage across the country from within the Appalachian Belt; Appalachian Post therefore becomes the first in the state and the first anywhere in central Appalachia to emerge as a national publication from its launch.

The launch week also demonstrated the intensity and speed of output, that would be expected of a national outlet, because the publication produced dozens of articles each day, including: federal briefings, legal reporting, congressional updates, national law enforcement actions, national security statements, military developments, and stories of national relevance drawn directly from primary sources. This rapid output is comparable to early twentieth century newsrooms where regular delivery of national reporting was an expected hallmark of a national paper. The explosion of growth is also completely organic: no ad campaigns, no Google News Indexing (as of yet), no huge push from anyone, just interested readers tuning in, every single day, to read the news from a truly, old-school fashion- here’s the news, here’s the facts, you decide what to think about it.

As the first week draws to a close, Appalachian Post stands as a new and unusual presence in American media: the reach speaks for itself, the sourcing speaks for itself, the global distribution speaks for itself, and the commitment to apolitical fact based reporting speaks for itself.

At the Appalachian Post we remain committed to a publishing philosophy that centers truth, accuracy, transparency, and absolute neutrality. We rely on first hand sources from the institutions responsible for governance so that every reader may examine official information directly and form their own conclusions. Our work is guided by the belief that journalism belongs to the people and that the people deserve reporting free from ideological influence. And let me close by saying that any claim made in this article was not made from a stance of unhealthy pride, superiority, maliciousness or ill-intent: we simply wanted to celebrate a successful, and by our research, unprecedented, explosive week for readership. If you’re out there and you see this, and you’re in West Virginia or the Appalachian Belt, and you’re a National New Outlet like we are: reach out to us via our contact page so we can connect with you; we would love nothing more than to meet others with like-minds and goals.

The Appalachian Post is an independent West Virginia news outlet dedicated to clean, verified, first-hand reporting. We do not publish rumors. We do not run speculation. Every fact we present must be supported by original documentation, official statements, or direct evidence. When secondary sources are used, we clearly identify them and never treat them as first-hand confirmation. We avoid loaded language, emotional framing, or accusatory wording, and we do not attack individuals, organizations, or other news outlets. Our role is to report only what can be verified through first-hand sources and allow readers to form their own interpretations. If we cannot confirm a claim using original evidence, we state clearly that we reviewed first-hand sources and could not find documentation confirming it. Our commitment is simple: honest reporting, transparent sourcing, and zero speculation.

FIRST HAND SOURCES

WordPress Analytics

• THE WHITE HOUSE
• THE PENTAGON
• THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
• THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
• THE UNITED STATES SENATE
• THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
• THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU
• THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
• U.S. NEWSPAPER DIRECTORY

SECONDARY SOURCES

These are industry-standard datasets, analyses, and historical classification references used across journalism, media studies, and SEO analytics.
All are real, widely recognized, and verifiable without any fabricated data.

• Industry circulation benchmarks and membership data published by the National Newspaper Association, documenting the performance of small and emerging newspapers.
• Article engagement decay patterns referenced in public media studies, including findings reported by Memo and O’Dwyer’s, which analyze how reader engagement declines within the first three and seven days.
• Readership time studies published by Press Gazette, including research on average print versus digital reading durations.
• Digital-media performance benchmarks used across the SEO industry and taught in standard digital marketing programs, covering new-site traffic expectations, visitor behavior trends, and typical first-month audience ranges.
• Historical definitions of national, regional, and local newspapers preserved by the Library of Congress and codified in the U.S. Newspaper Directory, which classify outlets based on distribution reach, coverage focus, and sourcing.
• Industry-standard digital audience metrics used by analytics platforms to measure unique visitors, returning visitors, views per visitor, and international reach distribution.
• Circulation pass-along rate modeling long used by newspaper associations to estimate how many individuals read each physical or digital copy of a newspaper.

National Newspaper Definitions and Classifications

• THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
• U.S. NEWSPAPER DIRECTORY (LOC Chronicling America)
• LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERIAL AND GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
• U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
• LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

Industry Definitions of National Newspapers

• Poynter Institute
• Columbia Journalism Review
• Reuters Institute Digital News Report
• American Press Institute

West Virginia Press History Verification

• West Virginia Press Association
• West Virginia University Library Press Archives
• Marshall University Special Collections
• West Virginia State Archives
• Library of Congress Newspaper Directory, West Virginia Section
• Chronicling America, West Virginia Search Filters
• Historical West Virginia Newspapers in Wheeling, Charleston, Huntington, Beckley, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Bluefield, Martinsburg

Appalachian Belt Press History Verification

• Appalachian Regional Commission historical media data
• Library of Congress Appalachian Newspaper Directory
• Tennessee State Archives
• Kentucky State Archives
• North Carolina State Archives
• Virginia State Archives
• Appalachian Studies Association Library Guide
• University of Kentucky Special Collections
• East Tennessee State University Archives
• Virginia Tech Appalachian Studies Collection

Analytics and Industry Benchmarks

• Memo dot co article decay study
• O’Dwyer’s PR News readership timing data
• Press Gazette print versus digital time study
• National Newspaper Association circulation benchmarks
• Alliance for Audited Media circulation data
• Google Search documentation on SEO timelines
• New website traffic benchmarks from DataReportal, HubSpot, and SEMrush

ADDITIONAL ANALYTICS SOURCES PROVIDED BY GOOGLE

New Website Visitor Benchmarks and Traffic Patterns

• Quora community data on typical startup launch visitor numbers
• Good Creations article on new website SEO timelines
• Zozimus Agency analysis on organic traffic expectations for new websites
• AgencyAnalytics guide on website visit KPIs and healthy traffic indicators
• Medium article on SEO timelines and early website growth patterns
• Navattic analytics benchmarks on expected visitor ranges during week one, month one, and quarter one
• Medium article on small business website traffic averages
• AgencyAnalytics documentation on engagement and returning-visitor metrics