We seem to be living – temporarily? – in an age of doom and gloom. That’s certainly true in the news. Yes, there have been big layoffs at the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, and serial cuts elsewhere, but this recent headline caught my eye: “Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction-Level Event?” Love the graphic – fire and dinosaurs!
Just prior to founding Lookout, I served as an analyst and speaker about the business of news, the highs of The New York Times’ renaissance and the lows of such hedge-fund-owned papers like the Santa Cruz Sentinel. I understand the doom and gloom but am gobsmacked that the national media, in this case The New Yorker, misses the bright spots in journalism — the local media revival.
Bright spots like Lookout — and other local news organizations such as the Daily Memphian, Colorado Sun, Long Beach Post, Baltimore Banner and Block Club Chicago, which join us in the Alliance for Sustainable Local News.
Just Monday, the Fredericksburg Free Press launched in Virginia, aiming to replace the chain-owned (and decimated) Free Lance-Star. So on Monday evening, I spoke with Scripps TV news on the state of the loss and gain in Virginia and nationwide, along with a Free Press co-founder, Mitzi Brown.
The movement toward sustainable local news is growing. Here’s what we have proved together: Informed, community-minded readers value and support news from dedicated journalists and community builders.
We all might be contrarians, but — together — we are leading a new way forward. Soon, I will share more on Lookout’s plans to expand.
Lookout’s election coverage
It’s democracy month here at Lookout. Helping to inform local democracy is a role we were built for and love to serve. As our Christopher Neely has pointed out, this primary is a sprint, as voters began to take notice after New Year’s Day and have lots of vital decisions to make by March 5.
We could have no greater understanding of our important role in that process than what we heard from Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley when he spoke to a Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce after-hours event at Lookout’s office in downtown Santa Cruz in January. Fred has served in so many political roles, including speaker pro tempore of the California State Assembly. He spoke of how he used to see lots of reporters from newspapers, TV and radio covering the politicos, and how that has dwindled over the years— until Lookout emerged on the scene.
“We used to have various outlets. And that disappeared. And in the dispersal of the newsroom, something got lost,” Keeley said. “When I walked in here at your open house, it just came flooding back to me how important it is. … And it isn’t just having reporters, but [people] who were talking to each other, people [who] were interacting. I don’t know how you value that or put a metric on it, but when I walked here and saw the newsroom, it meant a lot.”
We appreciate the mayor’s words, and we know as readers you do, too. It is the vitality of a local newsroom, one that is talking with you every day, that makes news sources indispensable. In the month leading up to the March 5 primary, we understand that value even more.
As readers, you’ve all seen how seriously we take the work of local democracy. We tackle the local elections four ways. First, you see all the Election 2024 news coverage, anchored by Chris and Max Chun, with the entire team contributing. Second, our three election forums filled the rooms at the Hotel Paradox over the past several weeks, and produced lots of video footage you can view. Third, Community Voices Opinion Editor Jody K. Biehl has shepherded the candidates’ own voices, focusing on their leadership pitches. Coming soon, Lookout will offer its endorsements, our editorial board’s recommendations on the candidates and measures to support, based on one-to-one interviews with all the candidates and wider knowledge of the issues.
All in all, we aim to supply you with all the tools you need to fulfill your most important citizen role: voter.
That’s why we make all our election coverage free. Our Lookout members, make that possible. And if you have not yet joined, please take this opportunity to become a member today.
New partnerships!
At Lookout, we love partnerships, ways to give you more news and information each month. In the past few months, we’ve added Jessica M. Pasko’s weekly business news coverage, Laurie Love’s wine columns and Thomas Frey’s prep sports coverage.
Now, we’ve added a new “Around the State” news feed. KQED editors pick the stories from independent local news outlets throughout California. At the start, that includes CalMatters, the Long Beach Post, Mission Local, the Times of San Diego, the Alameda Post and the Santa Monica Daily Press. That also means that Lookout stories will soon appear in all those publications.
The California independent press is growing, even as legacy papers continue to cut. Enjoy the new feature, which you’ll find on our home page.
Lookout reception: Charles Duhigg
We love using our new office space for community events and receptions, all of them ably maestroed by Jamie Garfield, our director of community and student engagement. Coming right up, we’re thrilled to host a reception for Charles Duhigg, currently a New Yorker writer and an alum of The New York Times. Charles is one of so many people of national standing who choose to call Santa Cruz home.
Join us for a pre-event reception to celebrate Charles’ newest book, “Supercommunicators,” on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 6-6:45 p.m. It’s right before his 7 p.m. Bookshop Santa Cruz reading.
Lookout is sponsoring the event and Wallace Baine will be on hand to introduce Charles. Have some cheese, a glass of wine and talk with the author at our new office on Pacific Avenue (right above Toque Blanche), then wander across the street for the reading at 7 p.m. It’s a free event with limited capacity, and spots are filling up fast, so please RSVP.
The choice is a tough one
I can’t decide on teal or black. Maybe I’ll take one of each.
Is there anything better for that cook in your life who follows Lily Belli religiously than a Lily Belli apron?
If you get Lily’s newsletter, but haven’t yet joined you as a Lookout member, use this link to become a member at a special one-year price and get your own apron included. As members, you can buy one for $30. Just go here to do that.
Lookout Santa Cruz journalism scholarship 2024
It’s time for the second annual Lookout journalism scholarship contest. Lookout in the Classroom is working with more than 100 high school teachers throughout the county on the contest. The top three winners will receive $500 each, while the top 10 will be published on our site. The deadline has been extended for one more week, with applications open until Feb. 29.
Any high school student can participate in this program individually, or it can be assigned as a class project. If you are a teacher and want your class to participate next year, please reach out to Jamie Garfield at jamie@lookoutlocal.com.
Our interns
At our forums and at our office, you’ll see our current team of interns learning local journalism and the journalism business. For the first time, we’re working with UC Santa Cruz’s The Humanities Institute on its special Public Fellows program, offering extended learning for its chosen students. Two fellows have joined us at Lookout.
Tae Yun Kang is our editorial fellow. She works on audience development, pushing Lookout stories out through a number of distribution channels. A UC Santa Cruz first-year student with a proposed literature major, she’s in the middle of many stories you read.
Eetai Shwartz is a third-year history and philosophy double major who is our educational programs assistant. He is helping run and develop educational newsletters, workshops and share Lookout’s work with local high school students, pushing the capabilities of our Lookout in the Classroom programming.
In addition to the fellows, Alia Naim is our social media intern and has been with us since last semester. She is a Cabrillo College student working on a communications major and hopes to pursue a career in marketing or public relations. She helps share the work of Lookout through our social channels, creating original content through Instagram reels as well.
Lookout: The next generation
We welcome Beau Philip Harmon, who came screaming into this world on Jan. 5, the son of Ashley Harmon, our senior director of audience and partnerships, and her husband, Kevin. While we can hardly wait for Ashley to return from her parental leave in the spring, we’re delighted to greet the new addition.