About Us

Our Pledge to Readers

Because the world of journalism and communications is ever changing with new channels and ways to deliver information, we want to maintain as much transparency as possible.
 We strive to maintain high journalistic standards and will disclose any vested interests or relationships in stories and columns on saportareport.com.

Thought Leadership positions and corporate sponsorships are being sold on the site, but there will be no quid-pro-quo that Thought Leaders and sponsors will receive special treatment when publishing content. It is highly likely, however, that some of our Thought Leader and corporate sponsorship columns on the site will have views parallel to ours.

To keep the line between all of our published content clear, Paula Hovater (paula@saportareport.com) and Judith Service Montier (judith@saportareport.com) handle the selling of corporate sponsorships and Thought Leadership positions on the site. Please reach out if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Thought Leader or a corporate sponsor.

Our Story

Our Mission: Civic Journalism

For Atlanta to succeed, we must have a factual, nonpartisan, publicly accessible source of news, information and discussion about the region’s future. SaportaReport aims to be that source.

SaportaReport, founded in February 2009, is a trusted voice in metro Atlanta. Through the years we have become Atlanta’s authoritative civic website. Our readers are engaged in Atlanta’s most pressing issues and want to hear directly from leading companies and nonprofits in the region. We give those organizations a platform to share their messages and interact with informed Atlantans.

Meet the Team

Maria Saporta

Maria Saporta, executive editor, is a longtime Atlanta business, civic and urban affairs journalist with a deep knowledge of our city, our region and state. From 2008 to 2020, she wrote weekly columns and news stories for the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Prior to that, she spent 27 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, becoming its business columnist in 1991. Maria received her Master’s degree in urban studies from Georgia State and her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Maria was born in Atlanta to European parents and has two young adult children. She launched SaportaReport in February 2009.

Tom Baxter

Tom Baxter has written about politics and the South for more than four decades. He was national editor and chief political correspondent at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and later edited The Southern Political Report, an online publication, for four years. Tom was the consultant for the 2008 election night coverage sponsored jointly by Current TV, Digg and Twitter, and a 2011 fellow at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. He has written about the impact of Georgia’s and Alabama’s immigration laws in reports for the Center for American Progress. Tom and his wife, Lili, have three adult children and seven grandchildren.

Adrianne Murchison

Adrianne Murchison is an Atlanta-based freelance journalist with more than 20 years of experience. She joined SaportaReport in 2024 and also contributes to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. She previously served as a staff reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Drawing on her journalism experience and lifelong curiosity about people, Adrianne hosts and produces the Let’s Start Healing Podcast, a 2026 finalist for an Atlanta Press Club Award. Through thoughtful conversations, guests explore their spirituality, personal healing and the ways they seek to live authentically in their daily lives.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Adrianne is the author of “Kalieding on the Road to Happiness,” a nonfiction book exploring relationships between Black men and women. She is also a contributing author to “Women Who Rise,” part of a series celebrating stories of resilience and personal growth.

Passionate about humanity and spirituality, Adrianne finds joy in travel, meaningful conversation and discovering new perspectives on life.

Delaney Tarr

bio coming soon

Gabi Hart

Gabriella (Gabi) Hart is a contributor to SaportaReport and was a member of the inaugural cohort of interns for Atlanta Way 2.0 and SaportaReport during the summer of 2025. She earned a Master of Urban Studies degree from Georgia State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Colorado College.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Hart has always been curious about the forces shaping the city and the people who call it home. Through her writing, she hopes to help readers better understand the issues, people, and ideas shaping Atlanta while encouraging greater community engagement and connection.

Mark Lannaman

Mark Lannaman is a current graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds a B.A. from Georgia State University and an M.S. from Georgia Tech. He has previously worked with WABE as an intern for the Atlanta Press Club. Mark was a 2021 National Association of Hispanic Journalists mentee, 2021 Every Learner Everywhere fellow, & 2022 Society of Environmental Journalists fellow. He enjoys reporting on topics including sustainability, environment, education and urban development. Born and raised in Metro Atlanta, his family comes from Jamaica and Colombia. One of his favorite quotes is, “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” -André Gide.

Oli Turner

Oli Turner (she/her) is a journalist who combines written reporting with audiovisual storytelling. She served as the 2025-26 Atlanta Way 2.0 and SaportaReport Journalism Fellow and now holds roles at Atlanta Way 2.0, SaportaReport, The Atlanta Press Club, and WABE. She received her B.A. in English & Creative Writing from Emory University and grew up in Manchester, Mass. When she’s not writing, filming, or recording, you’ll probably find her crafting or exploring Atlanta, a city she loves very much.

Derek Prall

bio coming soon

Kelly Jordan

Kelly Jordan, who has lived in Atlanta since 1968, attended Emory University before he and partners revitalized Little Five Points into one of Atlanta’s most eclectic retail districts. In recent years, Kelly has been leading the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, and he has been active with a host of non-profit organizations. Decades ago, Kelly wrote architectural criticism for a weekly Atlanta newspaper, and his interest in cultural, natural and built environments is readily apparent in the photos he posts on SaportaReport.

Lance Russell

Lance Russell is an Atlanta-based filmmaker and media communicator who, for over three decades, has been entrusted by clients to tell their stories. A seasoned producer with an innate ability to cut to the heart of the matter, Lance’s instincts are tailor-made for today’s “media bite” culture. Brief, poignant and always entertaining, Lance’s current passion is bringing Atlanta’s colorful and inspiring past to life with his “rest of the story” style video series, Stories of Atlanta. “History’s best communicators,” says Lance, “have always been storytellers. It’s in our DNA. ‘Once upon a time’ is how we got to where we are now.”

Judith Service Montier

bio coming soon

Paula Hovater

For over 35 years, Paula has had the honor to represent some of the highest profile non-profits in Atlanta including Central Atlanta Progress, The Carter Center, and the Atlanta Press Club. She is especially thrilled to work as SaportaReport’s Civic Relationships Manager and with her longtime friend Maria Saporta, one of the most respected journalists in Atlanta. She is passionate about launching projects and maintaining corporate relationships. In 2018, she spearheaded SaportaReport’s first corporate sponsorship campaign. She and her husband Rod are active in their local congregation, Embry Hills church and their alma mater, Samford University.

Jennifer Russell

Jennifer Russell has managed social media and metrics for SaportaReport since 2016. A native Atlantan and Georgia State University graduate, Jennifer spent over a decade in film and video production management, honing her ability to keep complex projects organized, prepared, and running smoothly. Since 2011, she has also led research and project coordination for Stories of Atlanta, a YouTube-based video series chronicling the city’s history – now grown to nearly 2,000 subscribers.

An avid reader and a knowledgeable music and movie buff, Jennifer is happiest when she’s uncovering a new piece of Atlanta history – or planning her next trip.

Wendell G. Kensey

Wendell G. Kensey co-writes Common Chords for Saporta Report, an ongoing series exploring the albums, artists, and ideas that have shaped popular music. His essays trace unexpected connections across genres and generations, arguing that great records are not museum pieces but living conversations. He lives somewhere between the record shelf and the notebook, and remains convinced that the best music criticism sends readers back to the album, not the review.