Soon, Haap and Warner were joined by Justin Jeffre, multi-platinum recording artists turned political activist. Over time, Warner moved from Cincinnati to Columbus, where he now pursues street magic as opposed to political or media activism.
Haap and Jeffre continued to grow The Beacon, even at one time turning it into a monthly newspaper.
For a while, their reporting staff included Chris Johnson, who went on (due in part to experience gained at The Beacon), to work for Brave New Films.
Another stalwart investigator has been Michael Earl Patton, who writes regularly as well. His work gained him the title “Chief Analyst,” given the manner with which he delves into public data and records.
The Beacon is an entirely volunteer project. Meager annual fund-raising just covers the cost of hosting the website, and its writers are not paid. The team is driven by a desire to provide coverage of primarily local issues that would otherwise be ignored by area media.
