Journalists are at heart idealists.
We believe our reporting leads to change. It holds power to account. It binds the community. It gives the people a means to speak and be heard.
Our work has made Long Beach better, and it is, without question, a public service.
Now, in a historic shift in the way we do business, the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal have organized in a way that embodies this critical mission.
After years of for-profit ownership, the publications are now public charities under a new nonprofit organization, the Long Beach Journalism Initiative.
We have fully separated from our former parent company, an LLC called Pacific Community Media, which is owned by the investment firm Pacific6. We are extremely grateful for the support of John Molina, the owner of Pacific6, and the significant financial investment in local journalism the company made over the past five years.
This is a huge change: It means local news is now in the hands of its readers. We are governed by a Board of Directors made up of Long Beach residents: Chair Matt Kinley, a local attorney; Treasurer Dora Jacildo, executive director of Child Lane; and Secretary Gwen Shaffer, a journalism professor at Cal State Long Beach.
This move will strengthen the journalism we produce every day, but it also means our financial support must come from you, our readers, our business partners, our foundations — all of our constituents.
In order to keep doing this work, here’s what we need:
- Donations. Any amount helps. For those with means to give more, we offer a range of giving levels that include touring our newsroom and sponsoring memberships for those who can’t afford the cost. Every donation goes directly to our journalism. (Please note: our 501(c)(3) status is pending, but all donations will be retroactively tax-deductible once this status is approved.)
- Become a member. If you’re not already a member, this is the easiest way to support us — and stay informed. Memberships start at as little as $8 a month on an annual plan.
- Become a business, foundation or organizational sponsor. We have a number of packages that include advertising, sponsored content and recognition on our nonprofit website, lbji.org.
In 2024, we will grow our mission of providing essential news and information even further by hosting a number of events, offering training and networking sessions for the public, expanding our voter information guides and working to promote media literacy among young people.
This is an exciting new era for journalism in Long Beach and part of a larger nationwide trend in the news industry. More than 500 other news organizations have either transitioned to nonprofit status or have sprung up in markets where residents don’t have reliable access to news and information.
We will keep doing the difficult yet vital work of journalism — asking questions, requesting documents, staying up late to watch the last speaker address the City Council — because we believe it matters.
At the Post and Business Journal, we know quality journalism is an engine for public good that drives positive change in our community.
We hope you believe this as much as we do.