(Photo credit: Fredericksburg Advance)
Martin Davis, founder and editor-in-chief of the Fredericksburg Advance, announced his departure from the local Substack publication in a farewell column published today, along with managing editor and reporter Adele Uphaus-Conner.
Davis is launching a new statewide news outlet, Virginia Free Press, with a soft launch planned for early July. The publication is unaffiliated with the Fredericksburg Free Press.
Davis, who has more than 30 years in journalism, founded the Advance three-and-a-half years ago and built it into a prominent voice for independent local coverage. In his final column titled “From the Editor: Keep Pushing,” he reflected on his career journey and expressed mixed emotions about leaving the publication he called “my baby from the beginning.”
“Leaving the Advance was a tough call,” Davis wrote. “The Advance has been my baby from the beginning. It’s hard to say goodbye.” He added that he is “excited about what’s to come” and “exceptionally proud of the work that Adele Uphaus and I have produced,” noting the Advance’s role in breaking important stories, holding officials accountable, and fostering multi-partisan dialogue.
Uphaus-Conner, who has produced notable coverage of the Fredericksburg school board — including scrutiny of overspending on travel and conferences — is joining the Fredericksburg Free Press, according to multiple sources.
The Fredericksburg Advance will continue operations under publisher Leigh Anne Van Doren, who also publishes Fredericksburg Parent Magazine. Steve Watkins, a longtime freelancer for the Advance and editor/co-founder of Pie & Chai magazine, has been named the new editor.
The publication plans to expand coverage in key areas, including education, healthcare, local politics, and accountability reporting. It will also increase focus on defense contractors around Dahlgren and Quantico. Veteran journalist Hugh Lessig is joining the Advance to cover government contracting and defense issues.
Lessig brings 35 years of newspaper experience, including 23 years at the Daily Press in Newport News. He has covered local government, three Virginia governors — James Gilmore, Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine — and the Hampton Roads military community.
His career includes embedding with the U.S. Navy during the 2010 Haiti earthquake response and participating in a journalist exchange in pre-war Ukraine. After leaving newspapers in 2020, he spent five years in corporate communications for Newport News Shipbuilding before semi-retiring to Hampton.
Davis’s new venture, Virginia Free Press, will follow a “multi-partisan” model featuring a wide range of voices across the political spectrum. Conservative writer Shaun Kenney, known for his work with Bearing Drift, is involved, and the outlet plans to hire a social media coordinator. Davis will serve as editor-in-chief and intends to travel the state covering technology issues.
“Multi-partisanship has been key to the reporting I’ve done over the past five or six years,” said Davis, who leans politically left. “When you understand why people think what they think, it creates a better discussion and a more tolerable environment. It really changes the way people interact with each other.”
Davis declined to comment on funding for the Virginia Free Press. Multiple sources indicate that data center company STACK Infrastructure is backing the venture. STACK, a major global developer and operator of hyperscale data centers, has been a significant sponsor of the Fredericksburg Advance through grants supporting its opinion columns.
The company has undertaken several large-scale projects in Virginia, including a landmark 1+ gigawatt Stafford Technology Campus in Stafford County and a planned $73.5 billion data center development at the Berry Hill Megasite in Pittsylvania County.
Davis has extensively reported on data centers in Virginia, including their high electricity and water usage and the infrastructure costs often passed along to residents.
The Advance’s farewell column highlighted Davis’s unconventional path, from seminary studies in California to graduate work at Berkeley and the University of Chicago, and eventually to journalism in Washington, D.C. He trained at publications including National Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, and U.S. News & World Report before leading the opinion section at the Free Lance-Star newspaper in Fredericksburg and founding the Advance.
In his column, Davis expressed gratitude to readers: “Your support sustained me in difficult days, your criticism strengthened my thinking, and your willingness to sit with conversations and stories that you may disagree with was inspiring.”
