Amplifying community-driven newsrooms in San Francisco and the Bay Area

Local newsrooms are a key part of the civic fabric of a region. Unfortunately every newsroom in the Bay Area is struggling. As part of a nationwide trend in the decline of local news, Bay Area newsrooms struggle to find a sustainable business model and many are at risk or have already shut down. Student journalism programs are also severely impacted.

Our Goals

Amplify local news in San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area.
Elevate student journalism programs in San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area.
Establish and improve neighborhood and resident relationships with local newsrooms
Elevate local newsrooms during SF Good Neighbor Week
Support innovation in local news

What we’ve done so far:

Awarded the weekly SF Readers Choice Award to local news stories (2021-2022).
Hosted Neighborhood Feedback Days in partnership with local newsrooms to gather community input on neighborhood bulletin boards that feature local news.
Drafted the Bay Area Local Journalism Directory.
Crowdsourced local newsroom updates at 2025 SPJ Norcal spring convening.
Encouraged local newsroom participation in inaugural SF Good Neighbor Week.

Priorities for 2026:

Continue building out the local journalism directory, with a focus on student journalism programs.
Promote student newsroom content on community bulletin boards.
Communicate the broken journalism pipeline, including the shuttering of student journalism programs, internships and the dire financial situation facing every Bay Area college journalism program.
Highlight newsrooms and college programs at risk of shutting down
Increase newsroom participation in community listening sessions during 2026 SF Good Neighbor Week.