Hello! If you are new to Forward Kentucky, OR if you were familiar with us on our old site, here are some things you need to know.
A brief About
Forward Kentucky is a web site that is "the progressive voice for Kentucky politics." We were founded in 2016, and published over 4,000 stories before moving to this new site. (We have moved most of our archived articles to this site.)
We publish content by both our own contributors and other sources and contributors. The founder and publisher is Bruce Maples.
You can read a longer About page here.
Content types
We publish three main types of content: news, policy, and commentary. All three are clearly labeled, so you, the reader, can understand our approach and standards.
- News articles include both coverage of news and news analysis. When something is labeled as News, we try to honor journalistic standards of accuracy and objectivity. If the article also includes some opinion about the subject, we label that as well.
- Policy articles are research-based and data-driven, and are meant to show the most effective way to approach a particular issue.
- Commentary articles are just that: opinion pieces about a given topic, person, event, bill, or whatever. As you would expect, our editorial voice is progressive.
All the content types are indicated in the story card on the front page, and at the bottom of each article.
Using the site
- The latest three “featured” stories are at the top left and top center.
- The other latest posts will be on the right of the front page, under the Latest heading. To see all published content in order, click the Latest heading.
- Further down the front page are sections showing the last four articles in a given content type, like News or Commentary.
- Use the Index to view all stories of a certain type, or about a certain topic.
- You can use Search to find a particular article.
- Authors have a short bio at the bottom of each article. To read their full bio, go to the Contributors page.
- To get in touch with us, use the Shout Back page.
- Comments can be read by everyone, but you have to be logged in to post a comment.
- Finally, there is additional information about the site in the bottom navigation menu.
Membership types
If you are not a Forward Kentucky member (or are not logged in), you can read a certain number of articles in a month before hitting the paywall. (As of this writing, that number is five.) To read more than that, you have to become a member at one of these three levels. (Go to the Subscribe page to sign up.)
Friend
(Free)
– Read any article on the site at any time, rather than a limited number
– Add your comments to posts
– Receive the weekly newsletter w/ updates about the site, and links to that week’s content, unless you opt out
– Receive occasional Action Alerts, if you opt in
– Receive the Daily Story List, if you opt in
Patron
($5 a month)
Everything in the Friend level, plus:
— Access to the Bill Trackers
— Access to the Legislator Scorecard
— Access to Election Central
Partner
($9 a month)
Everything in the Patron level, plus:
— The daily General Assembly update, if you opt in
— Bruce’s “Daily Take” newsletter, if you opt in
— Your own custom bill sheet in the Bill Tracker, if you want one
— Special online events such as interviews with elected officials
— Online webinars and explainers (both live and recorded)
Welcome!
We hope you find value in our work. If you do, please share it with others, and sign up at the Friend level so you have access to all the articles.
And, if you believe the work we are doing is important and valuable, please become a Patron or a Partner. We do not accept ads, we don't get grants, and we are not independently funded by wealthy patrons. The work is entirely supported by our readers, so if you want to see it continue, become a paying member. Thanks!
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