Ken Ward Jr. is a co-founder of Mountain State Spotlight[1] and former staff reporter for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and writes about the coal mining industry and its impacts on Appalachian communities. He is chairman of the Society of Environmental Journalists First Amendment Task Force, founded in 2002 "to address freedom-of-information, right-to-know, and other news gathering issues of concern to the pursuit of environmental journalism."[2] He announced on Monday, February 24, that this would be his last day.[year needed][citation needed]