The former owner of the online news organization The Roanoke Rambler said Monday that he feels “shocked, betrayed, angry and deeply saddened” by the termination of the Rambler’s three-person news staff less than two weeks after the publication was sold.
Henri Gendreau, a former reporter for The Roanoke Times who founded the Rambler in 2021, said in a statement that he sold the Rambler to entrepreneur Ollie Howie on March 30. Gendreau moved to New York earlier this year.
The Rambler’s journalists — managing editor Todd Jackson and reporters Jeff Sturgeon and Sinclair Holian — said in a joint statement Monday that after the sale, they were offered new contracts “which cut base pay and proposed other changes.”
The three chose not to sign the contracts, and on April 10, they “were informed their employment with The Rambler was terminated,” according to the statement.
“The former staff is deeply saddened to be unable to continue the mission of bringing high-quality investigative journalism to the community. Thank you readers, donors and advertisers for your support over the years,” the three said in the statement, which was provided by Sturgeon.
Gendreau said that last fall, he began working with a Roanoke-based broker from Transworld Business Advisors to find a buyer for the Rambler who would carry on its journalistic mission.
Gendreau said that before the sale closed, he felt assured that the staff would be retained at the same compensation and that the Rambler’s mission of providing local investigative journalism would continue.
“I shed blood, sweat and tears to try to leave The Roanoke Rambler in good hands; this is not at all what I anticipated,” he said in his statement.
Howie could not be reached for comment on Monday.
In an April 6 announcement about the sale, Howie said the acquisition was about “preserving a trusted community voice, strengthening local journalism, and ensuring residents stay informed and engaged.”
The sale price was not disclosed.
“I have always admired The Roanoke Rambler and the work they do to uncover stories for the Roanoke Valley. We hope this mission continues,” Howie said in the announcement.
Since the April 6 announcement, it appears the Rambler has not posted any new content except for an April 8 listing of local events.
The news talk radio station WFIR reported Monday that Howie remains scheduled to go on the air Wednesday morning to discuss his plans for the Rambler.
Howie, 30, is a graduate of William Fleming High School and earned a bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University, according to the announcement.
He is the founder and managing partner of Mount Auburn Venture Partners, which invests in startups and established companies, according to the firm’s website.
Howie serves on Roanoke’s economic development authority and was reappointed to a four-year term in October.
Gendreau, Jackson and Sturgeon previously worked as reporters for The Roanoke Times. Sturgeon joined the Rambler as an ad sales manager and reporter in 2024, while Jackson came on board as editor in 2025.
Holian joined the staff last year as part of Report for America, a national program that helps place journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues; her focus was on the impacts of segregation in Roanoke.
Kim Kleman, executive director of Report for America, said in a statement that the organization “continues to champion local news in Roanoke” and is “making every effort to support our corps members in the area.”
The publication, which is free to read, has more than 11,000 subscribers, according to its website. It has regularly featured work from freelance journalists in addition to its regular staff.
Through its website, weekly email newsletter and social media channels, the Rambler has provided poetry and fiction alongside its local news reporting. The publication’s tagline is: “Local. Investigative. Literary.”
Its recent news coverage includes stories on the Roanoke City Council races, staff turnover at City Hall and the potential water usage of a data center proposed for Botetourt County. The data center story led to Gendreau suing the Western Virginia Water Authority after it refused to provide certain records.
