About
The State of Local Journalism
in the Central Valley
Local news coverage is essential to the future of the Central Valley, a diverse home to over 7.5 million people across nearly 20,000 square miles speaking 105 languages.
Launched by the James B. McClatchy Foundation (JBMF) in 2021, the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) is a new nonprofit infrastructure dedicated to keeping public service journalism thriving in California’s Central Valley, despite the collapse of the traditional media industry over the last 15 years, and the outright demise of independent, local news in many communities. JBMF is establishing this new journalism collaborative to fortify First Amendment press freedoms and strengthen diversity in journalism, both core to the Foundation’s own mission and vision.
A new platform for maintaining local journalism in the Central Valley is required and possible. Preserving civil society, empowering community opportunity, and protecting our constitutional rights all require a vibrant local press. Download the Feasibility Report on Developing a Central Valley Journalism Collaborative from JBMF to understand the risk of losing local journalism in the Central Valley.
A Destabilization of
the Industry:
Local newsrooms are experiencing a decline, on a local and national level...
Across the country, local newspapers are struggling to survive; ad revenue plummeted roughly 70% between 2000 and 2020. In turn, as of 2020, the industry employs half the journalists it did in 2010. And news deserts are expanding as more than one in four newspapers have gone out of business in the last 15 years.
- Within the last 20 years (2000-2020) ad revenue has gone down 70%
- Within the last 10 years the industry employs half of the journalists it did in 2010
- 1 in 4 newspapers have gone out of business in the last 15 years
49 Million
Decline of cumulative weekday newspaper circulation from 2004 to 2019
Under 50%
Percentage of newsroom employees employed by newspapers in 2020
62%
Percentage of newsroom employees employed by newspapers in 2008
58% & 77%
Percentage of digital advertising revenue attributed to Google and Facebook at the national and local levels, respectively in 2018
Central Valley Journalism Collaborative:
Revitalizing Local Journalism in the Central Valley
In order to ensure a lasting solution, the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative reimagines a new model of journalistic funding and philanthropic engagement that is symbiotic with local journalism’s roots in public service.
In various communities throughout the nation, nonprofit newsrooms have gained momentum and illustrate an opportunity for the Central Valley to engage with an alternative method for local coverage.
Nonprofit journalism is beneficial for the community because it prompts the development of resources for reporting, invites a diverse funder base, and promotes community dialogue.
The Central Valley Journalism Collaborative proposes a preventative infrastructure focused on funding and philanthropy to ensure the protection of local communities by developing solutions for obstacles pertaining to ownership, operating capacity, and resources.
A New Innovative Proposal
The model proposed by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative not only seeks to respond to the current conditions of local journalism in the Central Valley, but also targets foreseeable gaps regarding ownership, operating capacity, and resources.
Our proposal is guided by the following goals:
1.
Protect, sustain, and grow newsroom jobs and coverage capacity
2.
Increase diversity of leadership and reporting workforce to reflect the community
3.
Engage the next generation of consumers and stakeholders
4.
Support local journalism ecosystem innovation
5.
Expand philanthropic investment in the Central Valley
“The Third Force”
What is the third force?
A third party that works to protect jobs funded through philanthropy.
A model that mimics a nonprofit cooperative entity.
The James B. McClatchy Foundation understands that local journalism is deeply embedded into the social fabric of the community and echoes its voices, for without an authentic representation the community faces the loss of news independence, accountability, and transparency.
The JBMF responds to these challenges through the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, which introduces the third force- a journalism model designed to synthesize the need for innovation and, at its core, operates in the best interest of the community. This amalgamation molds itself around both nonprofit and commercial models, configuring the reciprocal relationship between funding and reporting.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a Core Value
“Like the nation itself, news organizations across the country are facing a racial reckoning, spurred by protests from their own journalists over portrayals of minority communities and the historically unequal treatment of nonwhite colleagues. The newsroom uprisings are partially about the lack of minority employees in key jobs and leadership positions — but also about how stories about race are reported and framed, and who gets to do the reporting and framing.”
By Paul Farhi and Sarah Ellison, for The Washington Post
Lack of equity or inclusion, fueled by systemic racism, presents generation-defining challenges that manifest within the industry. Though newsrooms are tasked with documenting these issues, gaps in coverage are pronounced, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.
In the Central Valley, growth in local coverage is indebted to a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion — representation that prompts an essential demand for resources. Central Valley Journalism Collaborative supports free-press and embeds the value of reporting within the community, by the community.
