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Our news organization was a nonprofit a long time before our official transition to a 501(c)3 foundation in 2024. We were definitely not turning a profit, and paying our journalists became more difficult every month.
When the Pleasanton Weekly launched in 2000, the goal was to bring residents not just routine coverage, but the investigative journalism and analysis needed to make good decisions.
There was healthy competition with the Tri-Valley Herald and the East Bay Times. While they were reporting regional news, we were laser-focused on one community with five reporters and two editors.
Twenty-five years later we have three reporters and two editors covering five communities, the Times’ newsroom has been decimated and the Herald no longer exists.
The consequences of losing news organizations and journalists are devastating and should alarm people who believe in democratic values.
Advertising no longer supports the reporting resources necessary to do even basic meeting coverage, let alone investigative journalism and analysis. News organizations have closed, leaving “news deserts” – communities with little or no access to professional journalism and fact-based news coverage.
Others, like the Times’ parent company, have been purchased by hedge funds that don’t care about journalism or maintaining a strong press, which is essential to a strong democracy. They care about making money, so one of the first things they do when they buy a group is gut the newsroom, leaving behind understaffed ghost papers, publications that still exist but the quality and quantity of their news content have significantly declined.
We can’t do it without you.
While other news organizations are regrettably being dismantled, we are looking to the future. The transition to a nonprofit was the start of a long, arduous journey to rebuild a strong foundation for local news.
Our reporters and editors are working hard to keep our coverage consistent and quality high, but paying these journalists continues to be a challenge.
This is where you come in. The future of Embarcadero Media Foundation and local journalism relies on the community for its very existence.
If you believe as I do, that where local journalism thrives, democracy thrives, support independent news. If you feel a strong local press is imperative to an informed citizenry and healthy community, please consider becoming a member or making a one-time, tax-free donation today, as we continue our Spring Membership Drive.
Right now, you have a special opportunity to make your impact go twice as far. A generous donor has offered us a $50,000 matching grant — which means every dollar you give through May 25 will be doubled!
Thank you for your time and your support.
– Gina Channell Wilcox
President & Publisher, East Bay Division
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