The Los Angeles Times this week published a multipart series on the alarming loss of local journalism across the state — a trend that should worry anyone who cares about the influence of power and the health of local democracy.
The series included an analysis of the rise of misinformation and a case study in what happens when businesses and special interests control the news narrative.
It also looked at the legacy of journalism in Long Beach, and specifically the evolution of the Post — a “feisty” news outlet, as they describe us — that in 2018 supplanted the Press-Telegram as the city’s most-read publication.
A year ago the Post was owned by John Molina, who contributed millions in helping us build a strong brand and following. Those resources allowed us to spend time on high-impact investigative stories, as noted by the Times, that revealed the city’s police disproportionately pulled over Black drivers, that showed the humanity and underpinnings of the city’s homelessness crisis and that exposed the city’s lax oversight of the Queen Mary.
After moving to an independent nonprofit model in December, we are now on our own. Our budget is leaner and our staff is smaller.
The challenges of the past eight months, however, have only strengthened our resolve to stay and fight and be part of the solution. To that end, in the next few weeks we will be announcing new initiatives and requests, as it is clear that we will not stem the loss of quality news without readers believing in it enough to give generously.
For our part, we will also be disclosing more about our finances — both our successes and challenges — and will regularly disclose how we are using your tax deductible donations. We also will be asking what you’d like to see from us and our coverage.
A year ago we faced an existential choice: Either shut down or soldier on in spite of what we knew would be a difficult path. We decided to “scrape and fight and find a way to make it work,” as I told the Times, because what we’ve built at the Post is special. The change that I have witnessed as a result of this rare kind of journalism is worth fighting for.
I hope you agree.
Join us by becoming a member and defending the future of local news.
Sincerely,
Melissa Evans, CEO