www.montereycountyweekly.com january 5-11, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 A June 29 hearing of the State Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee began with high-minded platitudes about the importance of journalism in protecting a functional democratic system. “In my view, nothing is more important to the survival of our democracy than a free press and that is what this bill is all about,” said Dan Weintraub, chief of staff to State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda. Glazer was the author of Senate Bill 911—a fitting number, Weintraub said, because it suggested the crisis that journalism as an industry is facing. The bill was meant to bolster the industry, conceived of as a direct public funding mechanism for legitimate news outlets as disinformation and misinformation are still on the rise. Nobody seemed to disagree with the platitudes: In short, journalism is facing a crisis, and democracy thrives better when the free press is thriving too. But there was disagreement about how, exactly, California should launch into publicly funding journalism. Could a state-appointed committee effectively choose how to allocate funding, or would there be political motivations in which outlets got money? Would startup outlets have an unfair advantage against long-standing, proven newspapers? As lawmakers and news organizations battled over these critical details, there was enough faith that something would be authored into existence that $25 million in surplus funds were allocated in the state budget for journalism—but then SB 911 died, so there was no bill through which to spend it. Where SB 911 left off is where a new state-funded journalism program picks up. Instead of going to media outlets, the funds will be administered by the California Local Journalism Fellowship Program out of UC Berkeley, and dollars will go directly to paying early-career journalists, starting this spring. The intent is not just to bolster newsrooms with more staff, but to train up the next generation of California’s journalists. “It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s ambitious in scope—but it’s a bit of a band-aid,” says Christa Scharfenberg, director of the fellowship program. “It’s not solving the crisis in journalism.” Of course no single strategy is going to solve an industry-wide crisis, but I am excited about this effort. It solves a few problems, including creating a pipeline and training new journalists. Finding a way to sustain them longer term is a different challenge. “I don’t think it would be a success if we create 120 local journalism jobs and then by 2028 they all disappear,” Scharfenberg says. For now there’s funding for three cohorts of up to 40 members each, launching each year for at least three years, starting in the spring of 2023. The program plans to bolster salaries with $50,000 stipends, with newsrooms contributing something as well. Positions will last up to three years. Scharfenberg is still ironing out the details of how it will work, but imagine a match program: Fellows apply for acceptance into the program, and newsrooms apply for acceptance to host a fellow, then they are matched. Fellows will receive coaching and mentorship in the newsrooms where they are placed, and also from the program itself. It’s designed for journalists either out of journalism school, or with one to five years of professional experience. They’ll be paid a living wage—something necessary in an industry that historically has relied on unpaid interns. “We want to set a higher standard for the industry and make it a career people can actually imagine themselves going into,” Scharfenberg says, “and also get the experience and training and mentoring they need.” I think the fellowship program—run out of an academic institution with a celebrated journalism school—is a great place for California’s $25 million in surplus money. While the original bill would have been more direct, it also raised some concerns, prompting a range of news professionals to oppose it, including the California News Publishers Association (of which the Weekly is a member). It’s not what Sen. Glazer originally proposed, but in some ways I think it will be better. Getting more journalists-in-training into newsrooms is good for newspapers, and it’s good for democracy. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com. Stop the Bleeding State invests in a journalism program that could become a template. By Sara Rubin Cryptic about Crypto…When it comes to banking, Squid keeps it simple: Put money in the piggy bank. No passwords to remember, plus it’s safe and secure unless Rosco P. Coltrane, Squid’s beloved bulldog, knocks the piggybank over. Still, that risk seems to Squid like one worth taking when compared to cryptocurrency. Exhibit A: The spectacular collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange formerly run by now-disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried, who on Jan. 3 pleaded no contest to a slew of fraud-related charges. Besides aspiring to reinvent the world of banking, Bankman-Fried also had a vision of reshaping how to be a corporate executive, by donating an immense amount of money to various causes. (Too bad the money he donated may well have come from a pyramid scheme.) That included campaign contributions to the political left, among them a $2,900 gift ito U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley. Bankman-Fried was not the only corporate executive to donate to Panetta. There’s $2,900 from Stewart Resnick of The Wonderful Company (behind POM Wonderful), $2,500 from Massachusetts-based Mike James of insurance company NFP and $1,000 from Los Gatos property manager Patrick Mockler of Rutherford Management Co. While it’s just a drop in the bucket of $2.6 million that Panetta raised during 2021 and 2022, that cash from Bankman-Fried still made Squid check on Squid’s piggy bank—all coins are still there. Ready, Set, Action…One of Squid’s favorite things every December is going to the movies (that included Avatar: The Way of Water, which Squid was offended not to be cast in). Perhaps in that end-of-year cinematic spirit, the Seaside Police Department released a video in mid-December on social media made in the style of a trailer for a Hollywood blockbuster: It begins with an opening shot of a galaxy, with dramatic music and the words “Seaside Police Studios.” The video goes on to show Seaside officers out in the community, confiscated firearms and Chief Nick Borges’ swearing-in ceremony, the full gamut. Throughout, it cuts back to the space background for the remaining text: “A group of public servants…on a quest for public safety and trust…will embark on a journey in the Seaside community…in search of peace, unity and safety…This new year, are you ready to join our team?” Perhaps the best part is the end, where it finishes with credits like a movie poster: “A Seaside Police Studios production in association with iMovie. A Chief Borges film: Seaside PD Now Hiring.” It may not be as entertaining as Reno 911!, but Squid appreciates the creativity and good vibes. If there’s a follow-up video, Squid knows a cephalopod who can help workshop the script for the price of shrimp-flavored popcorn. the local spin SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. In short, journalism is facing a crisis. Send Squid a tip: squid@mcweekly.com
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