The making of 'Definitely a King'
Finding my political voice after the fall
The year 2025 was a lot. For me, it was one of success and failure, and oppression and freedom. This year I lost my journalism job but gained a political movement. So, for the first time in my life, I’m telling stories my way - as a political podcaster and activist.
As the King behind this Substack homepage, I’ve joined the fight against a red state and fascist federal regime. I’m now meeting other activists and freedom fighters where they are - at rallies, candidate meet-and-greets, press conferences, resistance fairs, and even a spaghetti dinner - documenting and sharing the work so many of you are doing to move this fight forward.
For this last post of the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past six months of creating and maintaining this Substack homepage. I still can’t quite believe how quickly this new chapter in my life unfolded, but the timing felt right for me to step fully into this work.
How it all began
When I lost my job at the Toledo Free Press in July, I became a journalist without a story to tell. I had spent a year building that nonprofit, online newsroom from the ground up. Many of you probably know that the Free Press was founded in 2005 by former Blade employee Tom Pounds. But, in 2015, he was sued by the Blade, causing the Free Press to go dark for five years. When Tom and board member Sean Nestor decided to bring it back in 2024, they searched for an editor-in-chief and found me. I was hired in June to bring it back, but this time as a non-profit, online newsroom.
It took four months to build a website and hire freelancer writers/photographers, and in August we went live. But … my vision was not the same as Tom’s and some of the board members. He envisioned a newsroom that focused on business. Normally, I would have fully been on board with that, but this was a year of a new Trump regime, I was committed to localizing stories that highlighted the damage his administration, as well as Ohio’s Statehouse, was causing through their policies.
As editor-in-chief, I was proud of the stories we told about the trans community; Ohio’s SB-1 and DEI rollbacks; harm to our environment; the religious encroachment into public schools through the Bible-based LifeWise Academy; immigration fears; and reproductive health care.
All of our stories mattered, but, unfortunately, some of those stories weren’t always supported by the powers that be. So, when funding became unsustainable, I believe our reporting on social injustices was my downfall.
Journalism exists to hold power accountable, and to inform the public so people can make educated decisions about their lives and their government. Journalists have both a civic duty and a moral responsibility to challenge injustice and expose abuse of power — and that should never change. But what happens when news judgement and values don’t align? What happens when justice to one is injustice to another?
According to a Neiman Lab article about predictions in journalism for 2026, Rodney Gibbs wrote that “Fear of appearing biased, a rigid devotion to both-sidesism, or a frog-in-boiling-water tolerance for anti-democratic behavior have pushed too many newsrooms into retreat.”
His prediction is a huge wake up call because I don’t know how much more we can take of so many neutered newsrooms, like CBS.
‘My prediction for 2026 is that newsrooms will finally snap out of this crouch. More journalists, local outlets, and independent creators will reclaim the basics: free and fair elections, voting rights, effective government, and public institutions that function. These aren’t partisan positions. They’re the minimum operating standards of a healthy society — and the press is at its strongest when it defends them out loud.’ > Rodney Gibbs
Like he said, we need to go from both-sidesism to backbone, because although journalism should strive to be fair and balanced, sometimes things are unfair and definitely off balance, and as a Free Press editor I wasn’t totally free to call bullshit.
That said, the Free Press was not wrong in letting me go. There was no wrongdoing on either side. I know that funding was the primary reason for my dismissal, but because my vision didn’t align with the powers that be, they had every right to make that call.
Still, when I walked out of the office that day in July — unemployed and angry — reality hit hard. I was no longer a working journalist. The professional guardrails that required balance and impartiality were suddenly gone. And with that loss came an unexpected freedom: the freedom to speak openly, to post honestly, and to be fully my political self.
As I sat on a city bench near the office, I called my family to tell them the news. I called our freelancers to thank them and wish them luck with a new leader. And then I called Melissa Portala, a co-founder of Toledo Persists.
I told Melissa that it was time for me to become an activist, that I wanted to get involved with Toledo Persists. The following day, she texted me a flyer about the Good Trouble Lives On rally set for July 17, then wrote this:
Hi Lori, I hope you’re doing a little better today. I wanted to invite you to this - our next protest.
She mentioned a few more upcoming events, saying I could “join the fight,” and that all I needed to do was “start coming around — and you’ll figure out where your talents fit.”
So I did come around. I went to that No Trouble rally and made a video for Toledo Persists, and while I was there something clicked. There were so many No Kings signs, but I was definitely a King among them.
And that, my friends, is how the Definitely … a King podcast was born. On July 31, two weeks after I lost my job, I had a purpose again.
Eighteen podcast episodes later, Definitely… A King has become exactly what I hoped it would be — a space to document our movement, amplify the voices doing it, and remind people that real change starts locally and grows when we show up. This podcast exists because people trust me with their stories, their time and their fight.
When one door closed another opened — and I’m grateful to be walking through it with you. But there’s still so much more work to do, so I’ll see you in January.
Your support gives me confidence to continue my mission of giving voice to our like-minded community as we collectively fight for our democracy and personal freedoms, and against the tyranny of our current state and federal administrations.
Until then, happy holidays, and wishing you a joyful and hopeful New Year!
Things to come in the new year:
a new, additional podcast talk show called 2 Dem Dames, with co-host Paula Ashley. The debut date is TBA.
Ramped up social media presence with my new podcast equipment, to include YouTube
a redesigned logo
A podcast sponsor (TBA)
Podcast interviews with
United SHE Stands podcast hosts and Ohio feminists Ashley Kindsvatter and Sara Petrie
Eric Deggans, Knight Professor of Journalism and Ethics
Currently working with the Dr. Amy Acton campaign to land that interview