[13][14] Jeff Poor, a radio show host and Breitbart News contributor, was hired as a political editor in February 2022[11] and became the editor-in-chief in June 2023.

[12][16][17][18] Prior to the website's launch, Dawson said that the goals of 1819 News would include "hold[ing] leaders and politicians accountable while also celebrating the positive things Alabama has to offer".

[6][19][20] In February 2023, 1819 News first reported on leaked, profanity-laden recordings of Montgomery mayor Steven Reed making comments about Maxwell Air Force Base.

[26] Lee County Democratic Party chair Jamie Lowe condemned "the use of discriminatory and hateful rhetoric to target the personal lives of individuals".

[27] Conversely, conservative outlets and figures defended 1819 News, including Yellowhammer News[28] and political commentator Apryl Marie Fogel, who wrote in Alabama Today that the "villain" in the story was "not the reporter who brought the story to light or the outlet that published it" and that outside media reporting had failed "to present the complete and graphic details of [Copeland's] abusive behavior".