Lexington Blogger Takes Job With LEO Weekly

Alternative newspaper LEO Weekly has hired added a Lexington-based blogger as a staff writer.Joe Sonka founded Barefoot and Progressive three years ago and will replace city reporter Jonathan Meador on Monday. Meador has taken a job with the Nashville Scene, another alternative weekly owned by LEO's parent company, SouthComm.Sonka recently held a fundraiser to update his blog but says he's happy to make the move from the web to print, largely because he can leave the business obligations of running his own site behind."I'm also just doing writing, just doing reporting. Whereas if I stayed with Barefoot and Progressive I'd have to spend so much time doing other things just to get by, basically," he says.LEO Editor Sarah Kelley says she's not concerned that readers will think Sonka is biased, since his site routinely criticized politicians of all parties and ideologies. All while Sonka has written opinion pieces, he does so fairly, she adds."It's made clear when any news reporter is brought on board there are certain standards that news writers are to provide accurate reporting and, when appropriate, analysis," says Kelley. "And those same standards will apply to Joe."Sonka will write about city and state politics.