WABE, Appen Media Group/Decaturish sign new partnership agreement
WABE and Appen Media Group/Decaturish recently signed a new partnership agreement that will mean more collaboration between the two organizations.
The two companies are also discussing a multimedia collaboration to be determined.
Decaturish editor and founder Dan Whisenhunt led the effort to renew and expand a previous agreement with WABE to include Appen Media, which purchased Decaturish in July 2024.
“Our original agreement has served us well, but it hadn’t been revisited in a while and didn’t include Appen Media,” Whisenhunt said. “It was important to me that we create a new, comprehensive agreement that left the door open for future expansion.”
Whisenhunt notes the company’s other productive partnership with Atlanta News First, the local CBS affiliate.
“Our agreement with ANF and WABE is proof positive that collaborations, when carefully considered and managed, can be mutually beneficial,” he said. “Our readers have benefited from the expanded reach we achieved with access to articles provided by our content partners.”
Appen Media publisher Hans Appen said the agreement will benefit both organizations.
“The big winner here is our readers and the communities we serve,” he said. They will be exposed to high-quality journalism from WABE that they may not have seen otherwise, and the articles we write will reach more people through WABE.”
“Our partnership with Decaturish and Appen Media aligns perfectly with WABE’s mission to inform, inspire, reflect and empower our greater Atlanta community,” said Alex Helmick, Managing Editor of WABE News. “By amplifying Atlanta’s local stories through this collaboration, we’re strengthening our commitment to providing diverse, high-quality journalism that resonates with our audience and connects Atlantans to their city in meaningful ways.”
About Decaturish: Journalist Dan Whisenhunt founded Decaturish in 2013. He has extensive experience local journalism, including stints at the Anniston Star and Reporter Newspapers, now known as Rough Draft. The award-winning Decaturish website covers central DeKalb County and is supported by its 2,800 digital subscribers. Decaturish provides locally sourced news for thousands of readers and tells the untold stories of its community. The company is based in the Greater Decatur area.
Appen Media: Ray and Christina Appen founded Appen Media Group in 1990. Since its inception, AMG has focused on professionally produced local journalism in the areas of government, education, business, public safety, and lifestyle news and features. The AMG product portfolio includes a core of five weekly newspapers with a combined home-delivered circulation of 105,000 copies distributed in the most affluent region of Georgia, including the Atlanta suburbs of Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Roswell, Johns Creek, Milton, Sandy Springs and south Forsyth County.
About WABE: WABE is Atlanta’s original, independent, non-profit source for news and local stories and the choice for NPR and PBS. We deliver fact-based journalism and inclusive, engaging, cultural content that informs, inspires, reflects and empowers the millions who call the Greater Atlanta area home. WABE’s programs, podcasts and events make Atlanta’s stories and storytellers accessible and relevant across various platforms for our diverse audience. WABE original programming, along with national NPR and PBS content, is available on WABE 90.1FM, WABE.org, WABE TV (PBS-30), and WABE-HD1/ WABE-HD2, as well as streaming on multiple platforms.