Matthew Cardinale, 1981-2025, ¡PRESENTE!

Matthew Charles Cardinale, 44, passed away on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Cardinale was the founder and news editor of Atlanta Progressive News from 2005-2023 and a vocal advocate for transparency in the City of Atlanta. 

Cardinale founded Atlanta Progressive News soon after he arrived in Atlanta from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Over its 18-year run, he wrote 1,718 articles—nearly 100 per year. He held a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science, two master’s degrees in sociology and public administration, a Juris Doctor and a Master of Laws in environmental law.

Following in the footsteps of progressive outlets like The Great Speckled Bird of the Civil Rights Era, Cardinale’s Atlanta Progressive News was the generational anti-establishment outlet Atlanta needed, serving as a challenge to the Atlanta City Council and mayoral administrations. Its stated mission was “to empower our readers with information with which to make a meaningful difference in the democratic process.”

Cardinale was committed to challenging the entrenched norms of journalism. He once fired a reporter “because he held on to the notion that there was an objective reality that could be reported objectively, despite the fact that that was not our editorial policy at Atlanta Progressive News.”

His advocacy extended beyond writing. Cardinale sued the city on several occasions, including a lawsuit against the City of Atlanta over the Georgia Open Meetings Act. The lawsuit went all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2012. Cardinale—who had not yet earned a law degree and represented himself pro se—won that fight and ensured that City Council meeting minutes would record which council members voted against or abstained from voting on an issue. 

After earning his law degree in 2018, Cardinale continued to fight for government transparency through the court system. He won a Georgia Open Records Act lawsuit in 2022 that ensured private parties, not just the Georgia Attorney General, can pursue civil penalties for government officials who violate the act. His legal advocacy continued through this year, with a still-open lawsuit representing a resident against the City of Dunwoody over the Open Records Act. 

In 2019, Cardinale ran in a special election for the District 3 seat of the Atlanta City Council. Then-Municipal Clerk Forest Webb disqualified Cardinale from the ballot on the grounds that Cardinale had been staying in an Airbnb rental and did not qualify for residency. Cardinale argued the decision was “an abuse of discretion” and that Webb “made up his own legal principles.” A Fulton County Superior Court Judge ruled in Cardinale’s favor and ordered him back onto the ballot. He came in seventh. 

His work in journalism, transparency and advocacy earned the respect of his peers and colleagues. 

“I worked with Matthew some years ago on stories about suburban city councils dodging public input via secret pre-vote meetings. I found him to be sharp, funny, brave — and right,” said John Ruch, a peer of Cardinale’s in the accountability journalism world. “Atlanta should honor him for doing the work major media should have done. A fitting epitaph is the whining of the many politicians he forced to obey their own transparency laws.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bill Torpy once called Cardinale the “city gadfly,” a well-earned title. 

Atlanta Progressive News published several obituaries of progressive activists and advocates during its 18-year run, each with the headline “¡PRESENTE!” It is with that same spirit of honor and remembrance that we at the Atlanta Community Press Collective commemorate Cardinale’s life and work. 

Georgia State University holds a physical archive of Cardinale’s collected writings created between 2002-2012, which includes print copies of Atlanta Progressive News, papers on the demolition of public housing in Atlanta, scrapbooks and correspondence. 

Supporters are working to find a permanent home for the entire Atlanta Progressive News archive. 

Matthew Cardinale will be buried in Danville, Illinois, after a graveside service on Oct. 6. A memorial service will be held in Atlanta at a later date.