Studies show the U.S. has lost 3,200 newspapers since 2005 – more than one-third of all its newspapers. The decline in local news fosters the spread of disinformation, polarization and government corruption, and leads to a drop in civic participation and voting. The erosion of fact-based reporting undermines democratic processes and disproportionately hurts marginalized and underrepresented populations. 

As an independent nonprofit outlet, San José Spotlight is uniquely positioned to make a sustainable and transformative impact on the local journalism landscape.

“Local journalism is not just about reporting news. It is about uplifting communities, fostering engagement, and safeguarding democracy,” said Ramona Giwargis, Co-Founder and CEO of San José Spotlight. “By partnering with Omar Habbas, we are taking a critical step in building the future of journalism in Silicon Valley by investing in the youth.”  

The first-of-its-kind program supported by Mr. Habbas aims to cultivate a pipeline of local reporters through hands-on training with a focus on journalists from underrepresented communities. 

“The law and journalism share a common mission: to seek truth and ensure justice for all,” said Omar Habbas, Founder of Habbas & Associates. “I am honored to join San José Spotlight and make a difference in the delivery of objective, honest, and reliable news through this educational initiative.” 

Along with the investment from Mr. Habbas, San José Spotlight is seeking funding from philanthropic partners and foundations to expand the program. To make a gift in support of this new educational initiative, please contact Thi Tran, San José Spotlight’s Director of Development, at thi@sanjosespotlight.com.

About San José Spotlight

Founded in 2019, San José Spotlight is a national leader among nonprofit newsrooms, dedicated to fearless journalism that disrupts the status quo, uplifts marginalized voices, holds power to account and paves the way for change. San José Spotlight is changing the face of local journalism by building a community-supported newsroom that ignites civic engagement, educates residents and strengthens our democracy. For more information, see https://sanjosespotlight.com/.

About Habbas & Associates

Backed by over 200 years of collective experience and hundreds of millions of dollars in case successes, Habbas & Associates is dedicated to helping clients who have been injured due to negligence. The firm has offices across Northern California, specifically San Jose, Oakland, Modesto, Rocklin, and San Francisco. Habbas & Associates provides legal services for personal injuries, including car accidents, wrongful death, brain injuries, and more. For additional information, see https://www.habbaslaw.com/.

The post San José Spotlight and Omar Habbas launch new educational initiative to support the future of local news appeared first on San José Spotlight.

The Washington Bureau Initiative is powered by the Allbritton Journalism Institute — the brainchild behind NOTUS,  a leading news organization covering Washington, D.C. and Capitol Hill. NOTUS reporters closely cover state delegations and key federal agencies for an audience of Washington influencers. With this new initiative, NOTUS is partnering with local and regional outlets to provide much-needed journalistic oversight and reporting for local audiences across the country.

The network will place a highly-trained journalist to report on Silicon Valley’s congressional leaders, key policy decisions and explain how they affect the lives of South Bay residents. The D.C.-based fellow’s work will be published by both news organizations.

Similar to San José Spotlight, NOTUS is a nonprofit, independent and nonpartisan newsroom.

“At a consequential moment in national politics, we’re pleased to partner with Allbritton Journalism Institute to bring our readers high-quality reporting from Washington, D.C. that searches for truth and sheds light on the halls of power,” Ramona Giwargis, co-founder and CEO of San José Spotlight, said. “This first of its kind partnership allows both organizations to elevate our mission-driven journalism to foster civic engagement and strengthen our democracy.”

The other newsrooms joining the effort are Oklahoma Watch, Times of San Diego, Santa Barbara News-Press & Stocktonia from NewsWell, and Verite News from Deep South Today.

“We’re thrilled that NOTUS continues to grow and reach more readers across the country,” Tim Grieve, NOTUS editor in chief, said. “Members of Congress are already reading our reporting — now the voters back home will be keeping tabs, too.”

The opportunity to keep tabs on what’s happening in Washington comes at a perfect time for Silicon Valley.

San Jose voters just elected a locally-based congressman — Rep. Sam Liccardo — who served as the city’s mayor for eight years. Local readers are watching closely as Congress navigates change under a new president and the countless executive orders and policies that could dramatically shift their lives. The emergence of artificial intelligence and Silicon Valley’s role as the hub of technology and innovation puts the region at the forefront of tech policies and oversight.

The two fellows covering California are Mark Alfred and Sam Larreal. Born and raised in San Diego, Alfred has been a contributing writer for Noozhawk and an intern at the Pacific Coast Business Times and The Daily Beast. Larreal worked as a bilingual fact-checker at the Miami Herald, interned at NBC4 Washington and Telemundo 44, and was a 2024 election correspondent at Teen Vogue. He was born and raised in Venezuela.

“While our newsroom keeps tabs on the inner workings of local government and politics in Silicon Valley, this partnership will ensure our congressional leaders are held accountable when they’re away from home,” said Nick Preciado, an editor at San José Spotlight.

Each participating newsroom will invest financially in the initiative to help cover some reporting costs. In addition, the NOTUS Washington Bureau Initiative is made possible by founding grants from The Allbritton Foundation, Google News Initiative, The Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, and the Sandpiper Fund.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on X.

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What we didn’t expect is San Jose City Hall would respond to the scandal under its roof by asking me — a journalist for nearly two decades — to reveal my confidential sources.

It’s highly unusual, unethical and alarming.

This morning, I received a call from Carolina Camarena, the city’s public information officer. Camarena has worked in communications for decades and has strong relationships with reporters across Silicon Valley, including me. She sounded uncomfortable as she asked me something she’s never had to ask a reporter before.

She asked me to reveal who’s been providing information to San José Spotlight about the Torres investigation. She claimed people say it’s the San Jose Police Officers’ Association — and asked if I would say whether that was true.

It took a minute for what was happening to sink in. A public official, whose salary is funded by taxpayers, asking a reporter to expose her sources — on the record. The city is using taxpayer dollars to uncover a journalist’s sources, investigate so-called “leaks” and stifle information about a potential criminal case.

I have never revealed a source in my career, and I told Camarena I wouldn’t do so now.

She said she understood and would let her bosses know. She could not say who directed her to make the phone call and ask what we both knew was a highly inappropriate question.

“I have high regard and respect for (journalists) and the news media,” Camarena said. “In my close to 30 years of working in public information, I have sought to be a source of truth so we may get critical news and lifesaving resources to the public in a timely manner. As part of an internal investigation, I was asked to inquire about the general source of the criminal investigation details provided to media. In retrospect, I should have sought clarity on the request. It is never my intent to compromise the relationship between a journalist and the source. I seek to learn from this experience.”

It’s hard to blame Camarena — she is a public official put in an impossible position. But what about the person who directed her to make the phone call? It’s stunning that officials in the highest positions of power at San Jose City Hall are more concerned about finding “leaks” than whether their elected official allegedly sexually abused minors.

A source told San José Spotlight that a city administrator attempted to question police detectives working on the Torres investigation in an attempt to find the leak.

Tom Saggau, a spokesperson for the police officers association, called the claims from the city unfounded and reckless. The officers would never impede or interfere with an ongoing investigation, he added.

“City management clearly have their priorities in the wrong order, instead of trying to identify whistleblowers who may have knowledge of alleged vile criminal acts they should be focused on protecting children by encouraging full and complete cooperation with the investigation,” Saggau said. “They should also immediately institute mandated reporter training for all city staff so that they immediately contact the police when they become aware of, or suspect, potential sexual abuse of minors.”

City Manager Jennifer Maguire said San Jose takes criminal investigations seriously.

“Details into a criminal investigation of a member of the San Jose City Council were made public by an undisclosed source, potentially compromising a criminal investigation,” Maguire said. “To protect the integrity of all criminal investigations, the city has launched an internal investigation into the potential source of the information. The investigation was moving quickly and, unfortunately, there was a miscommunication regarding the city’s inquiries. Freedom of the press is important to the city. We apologize regarding our communication error and are committed to learning from it.”

Make no mistake: This move by San Jose City Hall is intended to have a dangerous chilling effect. It’s intended to stifle the truth and silence whistleblowers.

A public agency is accountable to the people it serves — people who deserve to know the truth about Torres and the countless other things journalists investigate every day to hold power to account. What happened today is an abuse of power by a government agency and misappropriation of taxpayer money.

“A government has absolutely no business asking a newspaper to give up sources. Full stop,” David Loy, the legal director of the First Amendment Coalition which protects the public’s right to know, said. “That is information that is 100% protected by reporter shield laws and the First Amendment. A public agency has no business asking the media to give up their sources.”

Loy said he’s never heard of a public agency asking journalists to expose their sources.

“It’s sending the wrong message to the public that this is an acceptable topic of conversation,” he said. “It’s not a position that any reporter or editor should be placed in to have to say no to that question.”

Mayor Matt Mahan’s office issued a statement acknowledging the administration’s mistake.

“There’s a reason why we have freedom of the press in this country,” said Tasha Dean, chief communications officer for Mahan and the city. “And part of that freedom includes maintaining the integrity of a journalist’s sources.”

As concerns mount over the city’s push to uncover confidential sources, Saggau encouraged anyone with information about the Torres case to contact SJPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit at 408-277-3214. He said the police union will help city employees who fear retaliation find legal counsel.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.

The post San Jose City Hall abuses its power by asking for confidential sources appeared first on San José Spotlight.

I once had an editor who assured me that if I wasn’t ticking them off, I wasn’t doing my job. It’s expected and it’s not uncommon.

What is uncommon, however, is when a politician denies voters an opportunity to ask questions and hear his platform before a consequential election because he doesn’t like a news organization’s coverage. Coverage that’s been accurate but critical of his decisions while in elected office. That politician is former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, and the story of his so-called “thin skin” is nothing new to journalists in the South Bay.

Liccardo is running for the open Congressional District 16 seat against Assemblymember Evan Low.

Since its launch in 2019, San José Spotlight has hosted more than 40 policy discussions and candidate forums with people who want to represent you. These events are core to our mission. They ignite civic engagement and empower communities to advocate for themselves, participate in policymaking, to show up at the polls and demand solutions to the region’s problems. Our panels explain how government works, why representation matters and help readers make informed decisions at the ballot box. They ensure marginalized communities have a seat at the table.

Despite assurance from Liccardo’s campaign team that he’d participate in a candidate forum this year, his spokesman Orrin Evans inexplicably pulled the plug earlier this month. When we asked why, Evans complained that he didn’t like our coverage of the race.

Meanwhile, Liccardo’s opponent agreed to show up and has never wavered on that commitment.

“It’s unfortunate that Sam Liccardo is refusing to participate in a candidate forum held by a local news organization. Voters want to know where the two candidates stand on the issues,” a spokesperson for Low’s campaign said.

It’s no secret our publication has been critical of Liccardo. The former San Jose mayor shielded thousands of pages of public records by using his personal Gmail account to skirt public disclosure. We filed a lawsuit to force the release of the records pertaining to city business, including emails about public health policies, economic development, a massive Google project and homelessness. A judge ruled last year that Liccardo violated state sunshine laws by failing to search for those records.

Our transparency work inspired state legislation, headlined panel discussions at legal and journalism conferences and won two major awards.

Nothing we’ve reported has been inaccurate. But it has been inconvenient for Liccardo.

We revealed how Liccardo is linked to a political consultant who requested a controversial recount in his congressional race — despite Liccardo saying he had no hand in the recount. We followed the money to show how the recount was funded, leading to two federal complaints about dark money. We exposed how that same consultant and Liccardo had ties to California Waste Solutions — a recycling hauler at the center of a major FBI investigation.

We’ve been watching as the ex-mayor quietly planned his moves. We were first to report on a political action committee he formed while in office to influence elections — including his successor Mayor Matt Mahan — igniting criticism from his colleagues. We explained how Liccardo’s close friend, lobbyist Carl Guardino, helped write a city policy that benefitted Guardino’s energy company. We chronicled Liccardo’s ties to a tech executive who threatened to “crush” a woman in a heinous eBay stalking campaign.

Liccardo responds to inconvenient facts with Trump-style attacks on the press — he’s called San José Spotlight a “blog” in an attempt to discredit our news organization. Our publication has earned 30 journalism awards from our peers and now reaches a quarter million readers a month, netting more than half a million pageviews.

But this isn’t about us or a self-serving attempt to change Liccardo’s mind. This is about our readers and the people who will miss an opportunity to hear from a man asking for their votes. This is about transparency and access. It’s about allowing people from all walks of life — including those who access our free events and paywall-free journalism — to ask a question, shake a politician’s hand and hear their ideas and plans.

These readers are not the enemy, regardless of what Liccardo thinks of San José Spotlight. The readers, in fact, are the reason we fight the good fight each day. Our loyalty is to them.

Our readers are voters in the congressional district Liccardo is trying to represent. The misguided decision to bail on a public discussion hurts them.

As voters head to the polls this November, they’ll be bombarded by lots of political messaging. Whether they vote for Liccardo or Low, they deserve access to facts, transparency and truth — Liccardo owes them that.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight or follow @RamonaGiwargis on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post From the CEO: Ex-San Jose mayor hurts voters by ditching public forum appeared first on San José Spotlight.

For the second year, my co-founder Josh Barousse and I were among those national thought leaders at the Knight Media Forum and shared how the work we’re doing in San Jose is shaping and impacting our community. San José Spotlight is part of a larger ecosystem of nonprofit newsrooms at the forefront of a movement to build sustainable business models for local news.

Over the years newspapers across the country have faced devastating layoffs — and even here at home. It isn’t all bad news: There’s more philanthropic support for local news today than I’ve seen in my lifetime.

But being a nonprofit isn’t enough. While I believe nonprofit journalism is the future of our industry and the best alternative to corporate, hedge fund or billionaire newspaper owners, it’s only a tax status. It is not a business model. Nonprofits must find ways to sustain and grow our newsrooms — and we face similar pressures and risks as corporate media.

Philanthropy is finally catching up. It’s acknowledging journalism as a civic service and public good — a cause worth supporting, just like museums and theaters. Foundations can no longer say “we don’t fund journalism” because any cause they care about — from climate to housing — hinges on the role journalism plays to shed light on the issues, spark civic engagement, uncover a common set of facts and pave the way for change.

“It is time now for philanthropy to move at the speed of news,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, Knight Foundation’s new president and CEO.

Being in Miami energized and inspired me to absorb what’s happening in local journalism across the U.S. — and to bring those ideas and solutions to my hometown. Here are three takeaways from the Knight Media Forum and what philanthropic leaders are doing to sustain local news.

National funding isn’t enough. The announcement last year of Press Forward, a national initiative to infuse $500 million into local newsrooms, was an extraordinary moment for journalism. It’s the first time we’ve seen a collective of national funders band together and make a significant investment in what we do.

But it alone is not enough. While much of the conversation in Miami centered around Press Forward, the real catalyst for change will be if local funders step up and essentially match what’s happening nationally. This initiative is called Press Forward Locals, and with chapters in more than 17 communities across the country we’re seeing a shift in institutional support for journalism at a local level. Foundations from Wichita to Chicago are putting their dollars into a local fund to support newsrooms in their regions, inspired and incentivized by Press Forward.

Here at home, we’re having conversations with funders in Silicon Valley to capitalize on this opportunity and create a sustainable funding stream for local newsrooms like San José Spotlight.

We’re also ensuring any local efforts include the voices of minority-led and ethnic media.

Journalism is king. Sustaining a newsroom and making it a core part of its community goes back to the impact of its work. Philanthropy will fund journalism that matters to a community, and that’s making a difference in its region.

Our mission-driven journalism has made an remarkable impact in Silicon Valley. Our stories have sparked new laws. They’ve cost politicians their jobs and ruffled powerful feathers. Most importantly, our watchdog reporting has brought justice. It’s building a more equitable Silicon Valley for those often left behind — homeless people, people of color, working families, immigrants and other marginalized communities.

We exposed how San Jose and former Mayor Sam Liccardo violated state sunshine laws and sued for withholding public records. Our victory forced the release of records dealing with the public’s business and sparked legislation from state Sen. Dave Cortese inspired by our lawsuit to bolster government transparency statewide.

Our reporting highlighted a troubling lack of diversity on a critical government panel, forcing reforms and the appointment of two Latino leaders. We revealed how a tech mogul sexually harassed a staffer. We uncovered ties between elite politicians and a disgraced eBay executive involved in a vicious stalking scheme. We shed light on a public hospital system that serves poor people, saved a food bank from closure and helped homeless seniors stay housed. We recently uncovered mold at a homeless housing project — sparking change and efforts to clean it up.

These stories would not be told without San José Spotlight. As we create sustainable revenue streams for journalism, we’re using existing resources to double down on journalistic efforts, invest in reporters who can build relationships with diverse communities and fearlessly pursue stories that make a difference. We’re obsessed with the quality of our journalism. Good journalism is worthy of investment — and philanthropy should be watching.

Collaboration is the future. I cut my teeth in competitive news markets facing the pressure of “being first” or angling for the best shot or quote. But as newsrooms across the U.S. face financial uncertainty and competition for eyeballs from Facebook (and others), we have to work together. We can do more with less if we pool our resources and collaborate.

In nonprofit journalism, we see meaningful partnerships emerge every day. Chalkbeat, a national nonprofit focused on education, has made partnerships a core part of its business model and recognizes how they strengthen the entire news ecosystem.

At San José Spotlight, we’re exploring a collaboration with a longtime media organization now, and we’ve already partnered with Bay City News and Local News Matters to allow their Bay Area media partners to republish our work — at no cost. We see how the right partnerships allow us to reach more readers and maximize our impact.

No one has it figured out. And just when we think we do, things change again. But with the leadership of philanthropic leaders who care about journalism — including Knight Foundation’s new San Jose Director Allan Madoc — we are one step closer.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post From the CEO: Philanthropy’s role in supporting local journalism is critical appeared first on San José Spotlight.

We hear almost daily from readers who hope our impactful journalism can serve other South Bay cities. While our commitment to our hometown of San Jose is unwavering, we know residents of Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Cupertino and Los Gatos are hungry for high-quality local news coverage.

Now, with major support from two funding opportunities, we’re launching an ambitious expansion plan into several new cities.

Our efforts began with months of listening to residents and gathering feedback. We launched citywide surveys, community meetings, one-on-one interviews and house parties in these cities. Our surveys revealed nearly 71% of respondents in Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Cupertino and Los Gatos have heard of San José Spotlight. The majority of respondents expressed a high likelihood of following our coverage in their city.

Residents in these cities understand the critical role independent journalism plays in sparking civic engagement and strengthening our democracy.

In Sunnyvale, we heard deep concerns about housing affordability and homelessness. Milpitas residents voiced worries about the housing crisis, traffic congestion, road conditions and the environment. In Cupertino, the impact of tech giant Apple, development stagnation, concerns with school leaders and quality of education loomed large. Los Gatans said public safety concerns, racist rhetoric and housing development keep them up at night.

In Los Gatos, a house party hosted by our board member Ann Ravel welcomed dozens of attendees eager for San José Spotlight’s local news coverage—from elected officials to nonprofit, business and education leaders.

Each of these cities deserves a reliable source for civic-minded journalism and a trusted team of reporters committed to shedding light on wrongdoing, uplifting voices of marginalized communities and holding power to account.

A generous grant from the Google News Initiative to support our expansion over two years will fund the audience, marketing and product development to build readership, distribution and revenue in these new cities. The funding is critical to support the infrastructure to make this expansion possible, including new pages for each city on our website, an improved mobile app, podcast episodes and newsletters dedicated to each city.

With support from the California Local News Fellowship, we hired reporter B. Sakura Cannestra this month to begin immediate coverage of Sunnyvale and Milpitas. In just a few short weeks, she sat down for an exclusive interview with Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein to discuss his priorities and explained how Milpitas’ little-known rideshare program for residents is at risk of disappearing.

“Having grown up in the South Bay, I’m excited to learn more about the region from a journalist’s perspective,” Cannestra said. “People’s lived experiences are so vastly different, even across this region, so I know I’ll be doing a lot of learning and am looking forward to engaging with different communities.”

We’re applying for additional funding to support a second reporter to focus on the West Valley cities of Cupertino, Los Gatos, Campbell and Saratoga.

We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to expand our work into more South Bay cities and we invite you to join us. What stories matter to you? What issues should we pay attention to? Send an email to the address below.

As always, our award-winning journalism will never go behind a paywall and our stories are free to consume—but they’re not free to produce. Support from readers is vital to sustain our work and fuel our growth. We’re building an organization that will scale and serve the South Bay for years to come. Learn how to support us.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post From the CEO: San José Spotlight is expanding its reach appeared first on San José Spotlight.

A quick refresher: former Mayor Sam Liccardo deleted a government email and persuaded a resident to contact his private account to skirt disclosure. The city claimed no emails from that thread existed—until we showed them copies we had. The deleted record never turned up from the city. We learned that Liccardo almost exclusively used his personal Gmail for city business. City officials improperly withheld or heavily blacked out records that they later released only because of our lawsuit. Hundreds of withheld emails pertained to things you deserve to know about, such as Google’s massive development, housing plans for the homeless and the city’s budget.

And some emails—such as last-minute lobbying attempts by Liccardo’s pal Carl Guardino to exempt his company from a natural gas ban—still haven’t surfaced. We’ve asked for them multiple times over the past several years.

Yet the city is claiming in its latest court filing that “no actual controversy exists”—nothing to see here—over the issue of using private accounts or retaining records because Liccardo is out of office, and our new mayor and some of his colleagues promised not to delete public records, refrain from using private accounts for city business or copy a government server if they do.

The city seems to think a campaign promise is good enough. As if no politician ever breaks those.

It’s true that Mayor Matt Mahan and four new councilmembers—Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, Bien Doan, Omar Torres and Peter Ortiz—answered “yes”  to the following questions asked by San José Spotlight last July, four months before the November election:

Would you commit to not deleting your emails for at least two years?

Would you commit to not using a private email to conduct public business?

If you do use a private account, would you commit to copying a government server, as encouraged by the California Supreme Court?

But when San José Spotlight recently asked the court to require city officials to “use or copy” a government server when communicating about public business—the same thing the mayor and councilmembers said yes to for our article in July—the city opposed us in court.

With Liccardo gone, the city seems to imply the violations have stopped and no policy changes are needed. It’s claiming everyone left at City Hall is going to follow the rules.

But most elected officials still use their personal devices to text about city business—just like Liccardo did. In fact, they usually communicate with reporters that way.

And Mahan’s current chief of staff, Jim Reed, who served as Liccardo’s chief for eight years, is deeply involved with the past behavior. Mahan hired nearly a dozen senior officials who worked for his predecessor, including Reed.

As we dug into Liccardo’s rampant use of private email and texts last year, we spoke to four of his former employees on condition of anonymity. These employees worked under Reed and the former mayor for years, and have seen firsthand how business is conducted on the top floor of City Hall.

Two of them said they were encouraged to purge and delete public emails, text messages and call logs at least once a week—and the office even coined a term for it: “Email hygiene.”

To practice “good email hygiene,” these Liccardo staffers were urged to regularly delete public records—in direct violation of the city’s own policy to retain important communications for at least two years. Two of the ex-employees said Reed, along with other top administrators, encouraged this practice. So, how can San Jose’s attorneys expect anyone to follow the rules when the same people who violated them still work in top leadership positions? Or when the current council still uses private devices and accounts to conduct public business?

The city’s argument falls flat and San Jose residents deserve an honest, transparent and effective government. We’ll continue to fight for it.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.

The post From the CEO: San Jose turns a blind eye to transparency appeared first on San José Spotlight.

This person, who I’m not naming to respect their privacy, was angry about our election coverage. In particular, one name came up – Johnny Khamis.

The former San Jose councilmember unsuccessfully ran for a county supervisor seat last year. He lost to former Councilmember Sylvia Arenas in November and this person was convinced we treated Khamis poorly during the election cycle. Unfairly.

I mentioned an article we wrote that debunked campaign lies and attacks from Arenas and her labor-backed supporters about Khamis—including that he is a pro-Trump MAGA enthusiast.

The caller’s voice softened on the phone. But I could tell they remained unconvinced.

Less than a week later, I heard from a source I’ve known for seven years. They were calling to cancel their donation to San José Spotlight following our election coverage. A bit surprised, I tried to figure out why.

And I heard those familiar words again. Johnny Khamis.

“You were too favorable to Johnny,” this person lamented, pointing to a reporter calling him a  “moderate” in a recent article. “He is anything but a moderate. He is a conservative.”

In one week, I’d received two angry phone calls from opposite sides of the political spectrum about the same person. One said we were unfair to him. The other said we were too nice to him. The only person I didn’t hear from about our election coverage? Johnny Khamis.

This experience isn’t new. My partner and co-founder Josh and I field angry phone calls and emails a few times a week. But it made me realize something—there’s uncertainty about what we do as journalists and how we maintain balance and fairness. This was heightened during the divisive election cycle.

So I decided to explain how the sausage is made—how we do our journalism—and to introduce a new idea to ensure we’re meeting our goals of objectivity. I’d like to understand why people perceive local news media the way that they do and to explain how we remain neutral—during an election year or not.

First, people always ask us—how do we get our news?

Story ideas can come from our local reporters who have their ears (and boots) to the ground. They regularly meet with sources for coffee and build relationships in the community. Ideas sometimes come from public meeting agendas, news conferences or press releases. They even come from readers like you who email or call to ask a question or provide a news tip that leads to a larger investigation.

San José Spotlight has made community engagement a core part of its mission from day one. That means we host town halls and coffee events with the editors and reporters, we have reader panels and multiple community advisory boards stacked with diverse leaders. We also survey our readers each year (we just launched this year’s survey, please check it out). We want to figure out what we’re doing well and what needs improvement. What are our blind spots? We are constantly seeking feedback and listening to our community.

How do we remain unbiased?

We ensure all sides have a voice. We fact-check everything we’re told and seek out alternative viewpoints. Our editors ensure reporters give each perspective an equal amount of space and representation in an article. We always give people a chance to respond to allegations against them – sometimes we even hold stories for days (or weeks) to ensure we can track someone down.

Do we always get it right? Of course not. Our reporters and editors are human. No one is infallible. And we’re often working under the pressure of daily deadlines. But when we make a mistake, we own up to it. We fix it immediately and we write an editor’s note to disclose the error to readers.

As a nonprofit news organization, we rely on community support and donations to sustain our work. We’ve adopted policies to ensure there’s a firewall between editorial coverage and revenue—and we do not engage in pay to play.

No matter how much anyone donates to us (or whether they do), they do not have a say in our editorial content or coverage. They don’t get to tell us what to write or how to write it. In fact, as members of the Institute for Nonprofit News, we’ve adopted a policy of editorial independence and donor transparency.

Both are on our website on the About Us page.

Lastly, we are concerned with the amount of abuse and vitriol that has overwhelmed our comments sections. As we seek to remove hate speech from the conversation, we’re considering how to regulate (or possibly discontinue) our website’s comments section. While I’m a firm believer in free speech and giving a platform for civic discussion, this forum has attracted divisive rhetoric despite our best efforts to moderate it.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other ways to reach us. You can submit a news tip here. The reporters list their emails at the end of every story.

Now it’s your turn.

As we kick off 2023 (our fifth year!), I want to keep improving San José Spotlight to ensure we’re meeting these goals. I’ve decided to host listening sessions with readers to learn more about how we can achieve fairness and objectivity in everything we do.

Would you like to join a session? It’s all off-the-record because I want candid feedback. Email me to join: ramona@sanjosespotlight.com.

And as I wrap this up, I owe a thank you to Johnny Khamis for helping to spark this column, whether he knows it or not.

Every learning experience—and angry phone call—is an opportunity to serve San Jose better.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.

The post From the CEO: How do we remain unbiased? appeared first on San José Spotlight.

San Jose voters may have recently seen political mailers boasting our San José Spotlight logo along with quotes from our articles. While we are glad to see our journalism resonating with folks, it’s critical we make one thing clear—we do not endorse candidates. As a 501c(3) nonprofit news organization, we simply cannot do so.

The campaign mailer in question came from San Jose City Council candidate Irene Smith. She is running to replace downtown Councilmember Raul Peralez who terms out in December. She faces community college trustee Omar Torres in the November matchup.

Once contacted by us, Smith immediately agreed to stop using our logo in her campaign materials.

But this incident provided me an opportunity to explain how and why we do not endorse—beyond our tax status limitations.

At San José Spotlight, we strongly believe in giving you the facts and the truth—then letting you decide. We are here to answer questions, to introduce you to the candidates during our live forums, to investigate wrongdoing and ask the tough questions. We are here to follow the money and reveal how special interests and lobbyists are attempting to shape the election. We are here to fact-check claims from the campaign trail and to dispel mistruths. We are here to call out racist rhetoric that has plagued Silicon Valley elections for years.

But we are not here to tell you how to vote.

I personally believe endorsements from news organizations are antiquated. They tend to create division in an already-divisive political climate. They create a conflict for reporters who have nothing to do with the editorial board’s decision but face angry candidates who were snubbed (I was that reporter!). And to be honest, endorsements—whether from a news agency or another organization—are often meaningless to everyday voters. If people do weigh endorsements before filling out their ballots, it is likely one of many factors they consider—the bigger ones usually being, “how will this person make my life better?”

As members of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a coalition of more than 400 nonprofit newsrooms across the country, we adhere to ethical standards that encourage a level of editorial independence and transparency.

“Nonprofit news organizations do not endorse candidates and, under IRS guidelines, should not favor any candidate for public office in coverage or other action,” the organization’s standards say.

So, to put it simply—don’t be fooled if you see our news organization’s logo or quotes in campaign literature. We let our readers think for themselves, and we are here to fill in the gaps when you need it.

Speaking of filling your information needs, check out this explainer about how to vote. What else do you want to know about the election? What are your unanswered questions? Contact me at ramona@sanjosespotlight.com.

The post From the CEO: Why we don’t endorse political candidates appeared first on San José Spotlight.

We want to know what your top pritoties are as you head to the polls in June and November. What do you want to see in your next mayor? What city issues do you hope they will address?

Join our reader panel and make your voice heard. We’re looking for a dozen readers who represent diversity in thought and opinion, as well as racial, socioeconomic and geographic diversity. Our reader panel provides an opportuntiy to discuss the top issues this election season and hear from San Jose residents from different parts of the city and all walks of life.

To qualify for the panel, you must live in San Jose, respect a diversity of viewpoints and commit to attending a series of virtual meetings.

If you’re interested in joining our reader panel, please email ramona@sanjosespotlight.com with “reader panel” in the subject line.

The post Help Wanted: An election reader panel for San José Spotlight appeared first on San José Spotlight.