Correction: First Look at New News-Press
With apologies for the confusion...
(Editor’s note: Newsmakers should have known there would be some settling-in problems when we off-shored our vast copy desk operation to Tuvalu: here’s a corrected version of our lead item from the Thursday newsletter with the correct links embedded).
Newswell, the journalism non-profit working to resurrect the Santa Barbara News-Press, has activated a new website - a soft launch offering a glimpse of the vision the organization’s leaders have for a rejuvenated local news operation.
You can find it here.
The most remarkable feature of the new site is the historic name plate of the News-Press, which declared bankruptcy and stopped publishing in 2023. The masthead includes the old paper’s distinctive, hand-drawn replica of the Old Mission, with mountains in the background, and sailboats inexplicably gliding by on either side.
At this point, the new site’s content consists of a series of stories about the history of the paper, including one that describes how Newswell became its new publisher, most of them written by the veteran California journalist Chris Woodyard.
There are no actual news stories, because the organization’s leaders are still in the process of settling on a focus and strategy for the operation, including the hiring of a local editor, a major step as preparations for real-time news gathering proceed.
Next week, several Newswell executives are scheduled to be in town, seeking opinions and observations from local residents about what a reinvented News-Press should cover and aspire to, via a series of “listening sessions” in Santa Maria and Lompoc, as well as Santa Barbara.
“We’re warming it up and keeping people informed while we engage in the listening sessions,” said Newswell board member and journalism professor Mi-Ai Parrish. “We will keep sprinkling stories and updates there as we ramp.”
Newswell, a non-profit affiliated with Arizona State University, works to strengthen and support local news operations by providing “back-end operations and business strategies to help news sites become or remain sustainable,” according to its site. In California, the group currently operates news operations in Stockton and San Diego.
Full disclosure: Newsmakers’ genial host has agreed to serve as an informal advisor on the project of restoring the News-Press to life, and will gladly pass on any thoughts, questions or criticisms from our inimitable audience. Send them to newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com.
