By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog

CHARLESTON — Hello and welcome to West Virginia Watchdog 2012. We’d like to welcome back our regular readers, but also welcome new readers and explain who we are and what we do.

West Virginia Watchdog was created as place where the public can go for West Virginia-focused investigative stories and statehouse reporting. This is done through weekly print articles, video reports, blogs, and podcasts. West Virginia Watchdog also links to articles from other newspapers and media outlets that shine a light on government, both local and state.

West Virginia Watchdog is a project of The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia, an independent policy organization committed to individual liberty, the free market, and the proper role of government. The Foundation is a nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization that relies solely on voluntary support from individuals, private foundations and businesses, and as such neither accepts government funding nor conducts contract research.

We also receive support from the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which “promotes social welfare and civil betterment by undertaking programs that promote journalism and the education of the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, or taxpayer abuse by elected officials at all levels of government.”

My name is Steven Allen Adams and I’m the reporter and editor of this website. I have over six years of experience in journalism, working in the newspaper and radio industries. I’ve won two West Virginia Broadcasters Association awards for AM 1230 WVNT in Parkersburg for my election coverage. I was also named one of the 50 Best State-Based Political Reporters by The Washington Post in 2009.

West Virginia Watchdog’s stories have been used and cited by the National Review, The Daily Caller, WAJR-FM, WTRF-TV, WOWK-TV, WVNS-TV, West Virginia MetroNews, CNN, The Huffington Post, The Washington Examiner, The Charleston Gazette, MSNBC, Politico, Pajamas Media, The Washington Post, Slate, The Hill, Charleston Daily Mail, Sirius XM POTUS, The Washington Independent, and many others.

We’re gearing up for an exciting 2012, filled with more investigative reporting, more coverage of legislation, and more stories on this year’s elections. We want to focus more on what you, the taxpayer, are getting or not getting from your government. Is the government spending your money wisely? Will candidates for state offices spend your money wisely?

Know of any government waste and corruption? Send us an anonymous tip. Like what we’re doing? Send the Public Policy Foundation a tax-deductible donation so we can keep doing it. Want to use our stories, video, or audio? Go ahead, just give us credit. We’re here as a resource, both for the public and for those in the media.

Again, thanks for reading, both new readers and old readers.

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• Help Us Grow (westvirginia.watchdog.org)