Ardmore Leader is a new, locally-owned newsroom with the goal to Advance Local News in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

The project has ties back to 2022, when independent reporter Michael D. Smith started Carter Observer in an effort to compile local resources and provide reliable news reports from public meetings in the area. Part of the project tapped into his journalism background that has included print, photography and radio broadcast, while another part of the project included experimenting with live video replays of public events and short-form videos about local issues.

Meanwhile in Love County, Connor Choate was the fifth generation of his family taking the helm of The Marietta Monitor and beginning to refocus that weekly community newspaper into a digital news outlet that could begin leaning into multimedia news without paywalls. By 2024, the pair started to gauge the climate for a new way to gather news in Ardmore and the responses were a resounding “yes.”

As 2025 began, Ardmore Leader began working to turn the project into reality by beginning production of a weekly news podcast and developing a new website. As the year continues, expect more products to roll out that will not only provide Ardmoreites with a new way to gather local news, but a new way for local businesses to connect with the community through more than just another ad.