Voice of San Diego: Difference between revisions
| Line 40: | Line 40: | ||
== Recognition == |
== Recognition == |
||
With the state of newspapers in flux and their business models failing, ''voiceofsandiego.org'' has been [http://www.governing.com/articles/12papers.htm looked] to as one of many [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Newspapers_24/The_emerging_online-only_local_paper.asp emerging models] to help journalism adapt to new technologies, reader behavior and advertising priorities. It has been used as a model for the [[MinnPost]] in Minneapolis and the [http://www.stlbeacon.org/ St. Louis Beacon], as well as similar endeavors being undertaken around the country. |
With the state of newspapers in flux and their business models failing, ''voiceofsandiego.org'' has been [http://www.governing.com/articles/12papers.htm looked] to as one of many [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Newspapers_24/The_emerging_online-only_local_paper.asp emerging models] to help journalism adapt to new technologies, reader behavior and advertising priorities. It has been used as a model for the [[MinnPost]] in Minneapolis and the [http://www.stlbeacon.org/ St. Louis Beacon], as well as similar endeavors being undertaken around the country. Its staff speaks frequently locally and nationally on its model and the future of journalism. |
||
Its staff has also garnered many awards for its journalism. Staff writer [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/author_lookup/?byline=will_carless Will Carless]' three-part [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/the_forbidden_city special report] on life in a makeshift migrant camp took home the Best of Show award at the 2006 San Diego Press Club awards and the 2007 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, beating out competition from the region's largest print organizations. To compose the piece, Carless spent a week living inside a migrant camp nestled into the hills around the region's million-dollar homes, providing readers with a vivid account of the lives of the men caught up in the national immigration debate. |
Its staff has also garnered many awards for its journalism. Staff writer [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/author_lookup/?byline=will_carless Will Carless]' three-part [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/the_forbidden_city special report] on life in a makeshift migrant camp took home the Best of Show award at the 2006 San Diego Press Club awards and the 2007 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, beating out competition from the region's largest print organizations. To compose the piece, Carless spent a week living inside a migrant camp nestled into the hills around the region's million-dollar homes, providing readers with a vivid account of the lives of the men caught up in the national immigration debate. |
||
Nationally, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded ''voiceofsandiego.org'''s [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/author_lookup/?byline=andrew_donohue Andrew Donohue] its Sigma Delta Chi award for online investigative reporting in 2007 for an [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2006/10/02/news/01affordable.txt investigation] into a local affordable housing agency. |
Nationally, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded ''voiceofsandiego.org'''s [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/author_lookup/?byline=andrew_donohue Andrew Donohue] its Sigma Delta Chi award for online investigative reporting in 2007 for an [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2006/10/02/news/01affordable.txt investigation] into a local affordable housing agency. [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/redevelopment_investigations/ An investigation] uncovering a clandestine bonus system and widespread conflicts of interest at the city of San Diego's redevelopment agencies earned Will Carless, Rob Davis and Donohue the prestigious [http://www.ire.org/resourcecenter/contest/ Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. 2008 award]. Emily Alpert garnered the Education Writers Association 2008 award for her [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/09/24/news/01hazelton092408.txt investigation] into the suspicious track record of a charter school finance official. |
||
Other ''voiceofsandiego.org'' special reports have included pieces on the [http://voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/03/31/news/01whales033108.txt thinning gray whale]; the police chief's [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/police_chief/lansdowne.txt false public statements] regarding crime statistics; questionable [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/valencia/valencia111307.txt redevelopment deals]; [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/no_ex-councilman_left_behind major] [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/v_and_e pension] [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/county_pension problems]; the [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/01/28/government/599water012408.txt personal water use] of a supposedly environmentalist politician; and probing profiles into [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/feldman/feldman.txt important] local [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/acle/acle.txt figures]. |
Other ''voiceofsandiego.org'' special reports have included pieces on the [http://voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/03/31/news/01whales033108.txt thinning gray whale]; the police chief's [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/police_chief/lansdowne.txt false public statements] regarding crime statistics; questionable [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/valencia/valencia111307.txt redevelopment deals]; [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/no_ex-councilman_left_behind major] [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/v_and_e pension] [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/county_pension problems]; the [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/01/28/government/599water012408.txt personal water use] of a supposedly environmentalist politician; and probing profiles into [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/feldman/feldman.txt important] local [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/acle/acle.txt figures]. It also [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/sommerset/ exposed] a widespread, multi-million mortgage fraud scheme with far reaching impacts throughout San Diego, the state and the nation. |
||
In 2008, it was [http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0212/p03s01-usgn.htm profiled] by the Christian Science Monitor, which wrote: |
In 2008, it was [http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0212/p03s01-usgn.htm profiled] by the Christian Science Monitor, which wrote: |
||
| Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
''The success of the tightly focused Voice, which relies on donors, offers a ray of hope for a troubled industry. Plagued by shrinking circulations and advertising, newspapers are shedding staff and downsizing their offerings. Even the pages have gotten smaller.''" |
''The success of the tightly focused Voice, which relies on donors, offers a ray of hope for a troubled industry. Plagued by shrinking circulations and advertising, newspapers are shedding staff and downsizing their offerings. Even the pages have gotten smaller.''" |
||
In July 2008, [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/07/11/government/509sedcbonuses070708.txt an investigation] by ''voiceofsandiego.org'' revealed a system of clandestine bonuses awarded to top officials of a city of San Diego redevelopment department, the Southeastern Economic Development Corp. The story, part of [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/voice_special_reports/sedc a series of investigations into SEDC], found the agency's top two officials had awarded themselves an estimated $250,000 in pay above their salaries over the course of four years, payments that were unknown to SEDC's board and the San Diego City Council. Mayor [[Jerry Sanders (politician)|Jerry Sanders]] has since [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/07/15/news/02sedcboard071508.txt shut off funding] to the agency, its president was [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/07/24/news/01smith072408.txt ousted], and an investigation is ongoing. |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
Revision as of 21:59, 5 May 2009
voiceofsandiego.org is a nonprofit, independent online newspaper focused on issues impacting the San Diego region.
The newspaper's mission is to consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region, to increase civic participation by giving citizens the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become informed advocates for good government and social progress.
| Type | daily news website, Monday through Saturday |
|---|---|
| Format | online |
| Owner(s) | nonprofit |
| Editor | Andrew Donohue and Scott Lewis (executive editors) |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Political alignment | nonpartisan |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California  United States |
| Website | voiceofsandiego.org |
History
voiceofsandiego.org is considered a pioneer in the burgeoning movement of nonprofit online dailies. Since its founding Feb. 9, 2005 by philanthropist Buzz Woolley and veteran newspaperman Neil Morgan, it has earned a reputation for aggressive investigative reporting, insightful commentary and its new media model. The Christian Science Monitor called it "a ray of hope for a troubled industry."
It was founded in part out of a growing dissatisfaction with the local coverage of The San Diego Union-Tribune, the region's major metropolitan daily newspaper. Since then, newspapers' financial model has collapsed and voiceofsandiego.org has has been looked to by national and international press and academics as one of the many possible funding models for journalism in the post-newspaper era.
voiceofsandiego.org focuses largely on local quality-of-life issues. It began primarily as a reporting source on local government and politics, and has slowly grown to include coverage of education, housing, environment, public safety, and science and technology. In addition to its in-depth news stories, produced by professional journalists, it also publishes house editorials, fact-based columns, contributions from community members, and a stable of regular blogs.
The online daily's news coverage focuses on in-depth, analytical and contextual stories, with an eye toward bright writing and investigative and enterprise stories. The site does not try to be what a traditional newspaper was by trying to cover everything and anything across a wide spectrum. Rather, it focuses on a specific number of issues and attempts to bring them great depth.
The site updates regularly throughout the day with breaking news and analysis via its news and commentary blogs, including Survival in San Diego, a news blog focused on local housing, job and economic concerns; This Just In, a running news blog kept by beat reporters; the SLOP blog, a commentary blog on local politics; Nerd's Eye View, a blog analyzing the local economy; and Cafe San Diego, a blog hosted daily by different community members. Each member of the editorial staff, including beat reporters and the photographer, also keep their own news blogs.
It began in 2005 with a staff of four. It now has a paid staff of 11. It is run jointly by CEO Scott Lewis and Editor Andrew Donohue and employs six beat reporters, a photographer, a website manager and a development manager. It relies on a funding mix of foundation grants, member donations and advertising.
On Nov. 17, 2008, a front page story in The New York Times profiled voiceofsandiego.org and the nonprofit journalism model, writing:
As America’s newspapers shrink and shed staff, and broadcast news outlets sink in the ratings, a new kind of Web-based news operation has arisen in several cities, forcing the papers to follow the stories they uncover.
Here it is VoiceofSanDiego.org, offering a brand of serious, original reporting by professional journalists — the province of the traditional media, but at a much lower cost of doing business. Since it began in 2005, similar operations have cropped up in New Haven, the Twin Cities, Seattle, St. Louis and Chicago. More are on the way.
Their news coverage and hard-digging investigative reporting stand out in an Internet landscape long dominated by partisan commentary, gossip, vitriol and citizen journalism posted by unpaid amateurs.
Recognition
With the state of newspapers in flux and their business models failing, voiceofsandiego.org has been looked to as one of many emerging models to help journalism adapt to new technologies, reader behavior and advertising priorities. It has been used as a model for the MinnPost in Minneapolis and the St. Louis Beacon, as well as similar endeavors being undertaken around the country. Its staff speaks frequently locally and nationally on its model and the future of journalism.
Its staff has also garnered many awards for its journalism. Staff writer Will Carless' three-part special report on life in a makeshift migrant camp took home the Best of Show award at the 2006 San Diego Press Club awards and the 2007 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, beating out competition from the region's largest print organizations. To compose the piece, Carless spent a week living inside a migrant camp nestled into the hills around the region's million-dollar homes, providing readers with a vivid account of the lives of the men caught up in the national immigration debate.
Nationally, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded voiceofsandiego.org's Andrew Donohue its Sigma Delta Chi award for online investigative reporting in 2007 for an investigation into a local affordable housing agency. An investigation uncovering a clandestine bonus system and widespread conflicts of interest at the city of San Diego's redevelopment agencies earned Will Carless, Rob Davis and Donohue the prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. 2008 award. Emily Alpert garnered the Education Writers Association 2008 award for her investigation into the suspicious track record of a charter school finance official.
Other voiceofsandiego.org special reports have included pieces on the thinning gray whale; the police chief's false public statements regarding crime statistics; questionable redevelopment deals; major pension problems; the personal water use of a supposedly environmentalist politician; and probing profiles into important local figures. It also exposed a widespread, multi-million mortgage fraud scheme with far reaching impacts throughout San Diego, the state and the nation.
In 2008, it was profiled by the Christian Science Monitor, which wrote:
"The police chief's rosy crime statistics were a lie, it turned out. The councilman who urged water conservation was discovered to use 80,000 gallons a month at his home, more than five of his colleagues put together. And the school board president, according to an investigation, spent a full third of his time out of town and out of touch.
The Voice of San Diego, a nonprofit online media outlet, doesn't have enough journalists to field a softball team. Yet it has managed to take on the powerful with the panache of a scrappy big-city paper.
It provides "the best coverage of city politics that we've had in years," raves Dean Nelson, a journalism professor at San Diego's Point Loma Nazarene University.
The success of the tightly focused Voice, which relies on donors, offers a ray of hope for a troubled industry. Plagued by shrinking circulations and advertising, newspapers are shedding staff and downsizing their offerings. Even the pages have gotten smaller."
External links
- Official site of voiceofsandiego.org
- [1] "Web Sites That Dig for News Rise as Watchdogs," The New York Times, Nov. 18, 2008]
- [2] "Nonprofit journalism on the rise," Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 12, 2008]
- "Black Out: Big City Newspapers Aren't Telling Their Readers the Things They Need to Know," Governing magazine, Dec. 2006
- "The Emerging, Online Only Local Paper," Media Life Magazine, Sept. 2007
- Official site of Minnpost.com