Beyond the Headlines is our twice-weekly newsletter connecting subscribers directly to our journalists. We add context to major stories, go behind-the-scenes, highlight great work from other local outlets or provide more informal snapshots of our community.
In 2025, about 450,000 users came to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s website nearly 750,000 times to read local news. If each of those views were a person, that would be roughly equivalent to 12 sold-out football games at UVA’s Scott Stadium.
Some news organizations get the most readers on reports about national politics or things that take off on social media. These most-read stories in 2025 showed us that you are looking for local information that affects the communities we live in.
UVA Health CEO resigns after allegations from faculty
This February report helped keep you up to speed on important developments at our region’s largest health care provider.
Trump orders closure of federal agency supporting libraries — here’s how it will affect central Virginia branches
This report, one of many in our coverage of the local impacts of the changes in the federal government, gave an on-the-ground view of how policies affect people.
Judge’s ruling means Charlottesville has no zoning laws whatsoever right now
Legal chaos? You were all over it. Especially when it came to how it would affect your neighborhoods. By October, you got an important update about the lawsuit and what’s next.
She’s been around the world over the last year — but came back to Charlottesville because she sees people ready to lead
In the second half of the year, this vision by Emily Gorcenski, part of our Next 20 series to help us imagine the future, brought new ideas to many people.
Madison County residents demand stronger action after School Board member said Muslims ‘hate America’ and ‘will kill us when given the opportunity‘
We hear from many of you that you are seeking more coverage from our interconnected region. And your reading habits support that request! Closer to the end of the year, this December report from Madison County quickly became one of most read stories of the year.
You also showed up for the 2025 Voter Guide (there were almost 40,000 views of the guide), proving that local elections matter. You used the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Housing Resources Guide over 11,000 times. And more than 2,000 of you clicked on links in the “Take Action” boxes we include in our reporting, too. That number represents people who wanted to learn more, donate, show up for a neighbor, attend a meeting or support a central Virginia organization. In other words, it is a metric of community care.
The highlight for me this year, though, is that Democracy intern Alana Bittner’s first reported story was also among the most read this year. Her report on local government resignations in the Town of Louisa was in the top 20 stories on our website in 2025.
Here is my ask: If local journalism matters to you — if you feel these 750,000 views help our community get better informed — join your neighbors to support Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Happy new year, and here’s to tomorrow!
Leela Prasad, Data Lead
