What Others Are Saying

"Americans often take our free media for granted, assuming it will always be there to serve us — and it has been, especially during the pandemic. Newsrooms are working around-the-clock to provide readers with the latest information on how and where the virus is spreading and what health experts are recommending to protect the public. But their economic crisis reminds us that just as any other Main Street company, newspapers must also keep the lights on and the doors open."

- Tracy Hernandez | Founding Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Business Federation

20

Aug 20

⭑ The Mercury News: Opinion: Community newspapers are key to a more inclusive America

More than 50 years have passed since President Lyndon Johnson heralded ethnic newspapers for their role in building American unity. “Your publications represent one of the most American of all our American institutions,” Johnson told a roomful of publishers in the East Room of the White House.
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18

Aug 20

The Bay Area Reporter: Guest Opinion: For readers’ sake, #savelocaljournalism

A brand management and crisis communication professor I know at a leading university contends that brands reside in the minds of customers, not at company headquarters. So, when crisis strikes, he argues, protecting the brand boils down to this: protecting your customers.
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13

Aug 20

Monterey County Weekly: As newspapers face unprecedented challenges, the state legislature has a chance to extend a lifeline.

The California Legislature is wrapping up the 2019-2020 legislative session at the end of this month, making decisions in what is one of the most challenging periods in recent history.
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12

Aug 20

⭑ Black Voice News: Save Local Journalism

On Monday August 10, 2010 Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D- Baldwin Park) announced the introduction of Assembly Bill 323 (AB323), the Save Local Journalism Act.
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30

Jul 20

⭑ Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: AB 5 and COVID-19 are dire threats to California newspapers serving communities of color

In this moment of reckoning with systemic racial injustice, our country’s ethnic media outlets are serving an important role that mainstream media alone cannot fill. Throughout the years, these outlets have spoken for marginalized and vulnerable communities, serving to improve civic engagement and support cross-cultural communication within American society.
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7

Jul 20

The Mercury News: Opinion: Newspapers are essential for our recovery, and they need help

The personal and economic toll of the pandemic is painfully clear. Tragically, we have lost more than 100,000 Americans, and many businesses have eliminated jobs. Local newspapers have kept citizens and consumers informed throughout the crisis, but these outlets also suffered due to COVID-19 and need support to continue to provide valuable information in these uncertain times.
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25

Jun 20

Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara City Attorney Ariel Calonne Supports Local Journalism

I support local journalism because the Constitution demands a free press to protect our democracy. That sounds very big and conceptual, so let me break it down to what I understand and why I care. My career inside local government has taken me to four great cities — Palo Alto, Boulder, Ventura, and Santa Barbara. The common thread between these diverse cities is an enlightened populace that actively participates in their city government. In other words, cities work and communities thrive when the people control local government, never the other way around. “Of the people, by the people, for the people” means we are accountable to ourselves, as Santa Barbarans and Americans, for building a great community.
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17

Jun 20

San Francisco Chronicle: California Legislature must pass the Save Local Journalism Act

We are living in a time when accessible, accurate information is extraordinarily important. Local news outlets are foundational to that purpose. They illuminate the details of a protest movement determined to overwhelm historic oppression. They provide critical updates and context about a deadly pandemic that’s transformed how we live. Local news outlets reflect change. And they effect change as well.
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24

May 20

Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Local newspapers are dying. Here’s how we can save them

Last month, the Baltimore Sun won a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for uncovering a scheme in which the mayor of Baltimore sold thousands of copies (in some cases, nonexistent copies) of a children’s book she had self-published to Maryland’s flagship hospital network, which she helped oversee. The mayor resigned.
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13

May 20

The Sacramento Bee: Steinberg to judge: The Bee needs to ‘be bolstered and rebuilt, not milked’

For nearly as long as there has been a city of Sacramento, journalists from The Sacramento Bee have been keeping a watchful eye on what we do inside City Hall. In my current job as mayor of Sacramento, and in my former role as President Pro Tem of the California State Senate, I have experienced firsthand the paper’s important role in exposing local and state officials who don’t sufficiently safeguard the public treasury or the public trust.
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For more information on how you can help contact Brittney Barsotti at 916-288-6006 or [email protected].