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www.mediaculture-online.de

1

Autor/en: Rosenthal, Robert J.

Titel: ReinvenngJournalism.AnUnexpectedPersonalJourneyfrom

JournalisttoPublisher.

Quelle: hp://californiawatch.org/project/reinvenng-journalism[13.11.2011].

DieVerentlichungerfolgtmitfreundlicherGenehmigungdesAutors.

DieZahlenineckigenKlammernkennzeichnendasSeitenendederOriginalausgabe.

Robert J. Rosenthal

Reinvenng Journalism.

An Unexpected Personal Journey from

Journalist to Publisher

In the spirit of journalisc transparency, Reinvenng Journalism is Robert J.

Rosenthals account of assuming leadership of the Center for Invesgave Reporng

and launching California Watch, its statewide reporng team. This report was

wrien at the request of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundaon with the aim of

helping fellow journalism organizaons, parcularly nonprot startups, learn from

CIRs experiences.

Acknowledgements:

Support for this report was provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundaon.

Christa Scharfenberg, Narda Zacchino and Mark Katches provided invaluable feedback

and eding support. Thanks to Nikki Frick for copy eding and Kate Jessup for organi-

zing the sidebars and for her research.

PART ONE:

Sustaining Invesgave Journalism Means Finding a New Model

ImnotsureIwouldhavebecometheexecuvedirectoroftheCenterforInvesga-

veRepornginJanuary2008ifIhadreallyunderstoodthechallengesaheadofme

andhadthoughtthemoutcarefully;IhadnoideawhatIwasgenginto.

WhenCIRapproachedme,Iwas59andunemployed.Forthesecondmeinsixyears,

Ihadle,orbeenaskedtoleave,high-leveledingposionsatlargemetropolitan

newspapers.Mostrecently,IhadbeenmanagingeditorattheSanFranciscoChronic-

le;beforethat,IwaseditorofThePhiladelphiaInquirer.Nearly40yearsworkingin


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2

newsroomslemewithsolidcorecompetencies.Iknewagoodstory,Iwaspassion-

ateandIgotgreatpersonalrewardfromenablingtalentedjournalistsdowhatthey

dobest.Butmanyoftheseskillswerenotveryusefuloutsideanewsroom.

Icouldalsolookback,knowingthatIhadbeenprivilegedtobeinvolvedwithgreat

journalistsandimportantjournalism.Asa22-year-old,Iwasaneditorialassistantat

TheNewYorkTimesandwasassignedtoworkonthePentagonPapersteam.At25,

asareporteratTheBostonGlobe,Iwaspartofanewspaper-wideeortthatwonthe

PulitzerPrizegoldmedalforpublicservice.

IlatermovedtotheInquirer,whereIwasareporterandeditorduringthat

newspapersgoldenage.Itwasademandingcultureinwhichreporterswereencou-

ragedtobeambiousandtakerisks.Wealsobelievedwecouldproducethebest

journalisminthecountry.Itwasasupporvesystemdrivenbystories,especially

thosethatcouldmakeadierence.Anditwasfun.

Thenewsroomculturesofthateranurturedyoung,talentedjournalists.Somanyof

themhadworkedtheirwayupfromcopyboyorclerkjobs,throughasystemthat

rewardedhardworkandtalent.Itwasanenvironmentwhereyoungjournalistswere

taughtbysomeofthemostskilledandexperiencedmenandwomeninthebusiness.

Thebesteditorsgavereportersroomtoourish,guidingandteachingalongtheway,

andtheyheldustorigorousstandards.

Ilearnedthatthebesteditors,andthebestnewsrooms,clearedthewayforyouto

succeedwhilelendingallthesupportneeded.Thiswasvividlyconveyedbyoneofmymostinuenalandpowerfulmentors,GeneRoberts,thentheeditorofthe

Inquirer.Hehadjusttoldmehewasgoingtonamemeforeigneditor,myrsteding

job.Iaskedhim,Whatdothebesteditorsdo?

Well,hedrawled,theyarelikeablockingbackinfootball.Theygothroughthe

line,knocksomebodydown,cleartheway,andlieinthemudsotheguywiththeball

canstepontheirbackandscore.

Theimagehasstuckwithme.Themostsuccessfuleditorsputtheirbetsonpeople

whocandeliverforthem.Whenareporterprovedheorshecouldproduceagreatstory,therewardwastogettodothenextone.Therewasanadrenaline-lled

urgencythatmadenewsroomscrackle.Thosestasrarelyworriedaboutwhowas

nanciallysustainingthework.Andtheyneverimaginedthatitmightend.

AttheInquirerandtheChronicle,IbelievedthatIcouldmakeadierenceinthese

newsroomsthat,likemanyothers,werebeginninganunprecedentedstrugglefor

survival.ButIwasdeeplyfrustratedbyalackofvision,ambionandpassiononthe

businesssidethatwasthrolingcreavityandunderminingthecrucialrolethatjour-

nalism,andespeciallyinvesgavereporng,playinourdemocracy.

Asaneditor,theprioritywasoncontentnotprot.Thatwastheresponsibilityofthebusinessside.Ineverhadtoworryaboutraisingadime.Manyconversaonswith


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3

publishersorcorporateocersfocusedonmoney.Iwasnevercomfortablewiththo-

sediscussions.Fartoooen,theseconversaonswereaboutcutbacksaimednotat

maintainingprot,butincreasingitattheexpenseofgoodjournalism.

Once,onavisittotheMiamicorporateheadquartersofKnightRidder(theownerof

theInquirer),Iwalkedintoanocetondtwoexecuvesdancingajig.Istoodthere,

embarrassed,whiletheylaughedandexplainedthatthesharepricehadhitanew

highthatday.Theywereabouttocashinsomestockopons.

Thatscenestuckwithmeandwasacrudereminderofthedisconnectinvaluesbet-

weenjournalistsandthecorporateoce.Therewasnothingwrongwithprot;those

protshadsupportedtheworkofjournalists,includingcost-intensiveinvesgave

reporng,fordecades.Butthedemandforever-increasingprotwasthesourceof

thedierencebetweenacreave,story-drivencultureandanumbersculture.

IrelatethatstorybecauseIseenowthateverydefeatandeverysuccessIvehad,

fromtherstdayIwalkedintoanewsroomin1969asasummerinterntotheday

Iexitedasaneditordecadeslater,hasinformedmydecisions.Theseexperiences

haveprovidedthefueltohelpmetransformand[1]growCIRandtocreateCalifornia

Watch,oursuccessfulstatewidereporngteam.

CIR, the Petri dish

Frustratedbytheconstraintsofcorporatemedia,reportersLowellBergman,Dan

NoyesandDavidWeirstartedCIRin1977.Overthreedecades,CIRsfortuneshadebbedandowed.Itproducedagreatdealofaward-winningwork,muchofitin

documentarylmswithpartnerslikePBSFrontlineand60Minutes.

IwasawareofCIRshistoryandhadworkedwiththeorganizaonononestoryatthe

Chronicle,butthatwastheextentofmyknowledge.WhenIbecameexecuvedirec-

tor,theorganizaonwasatrisk.Thenonprotinvesgavespaceisdrivenbyvalues

thatIhavealwayshadatmycore,butitssurvivalisperilous.WhatIsoonlearnedwas

thatthoseofuswhohavetakenonthesenewentrepreneurialandinnovaveroles

injournalismmustevolve.Forme,theevoluonwasintoaroleIneverimagined

playingapublisher.

BeforeIjoinedCIR,Iunderstoodthatforthefuturemodelsofjournalismtosucceed,

themoneysideandthecreavesidewouldhavetoalign.AndinCIRscase,that

alignmenthadtoresidewithinme.CIRhadjournalisccredibility,anditsboardalrea-

dyhadspenttwoyearslookingforanexecuvedirectorwhohadvisionandtheabili-

tytolead.Itistheoldestindependent,nonprotinvesgavereporngorganizaon

inthecountry.Butitsfuturewasunclear.Takingthisjobwasagreatrisk.Butitalso

providedanopportunitytobuildanorganizaon.Ihadaclearideaofwheretogo,

butgengtherewasuncharted.Inthesummerof2007,beforeCIRapproachedme,

NiemanReportsaskedmetowriteapersonalessayaboutthefutureofjournalism.

ThatprocesshelpedmefocusmythoughtsaboutwhatkindofnewsroomIhopedto


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4

build.IwasalsojustbeginningmyworkwiththeChaunceyBaileyProject,acollabo-

raonofBayAreajournalismoutlets.Wehadjoinedeortstotrytosolvethemurder

ofslainOaklandPostEditorChaunceyBaileyandtoconnuehiswork.Theessayfor

NiemanReportswaspublishedinthe2007winteredion.Init,Iwrote:

Thecrucialelementdeterminingsuccesswillbethestrengthofemerging

relaonshipsamongthosewhosemoneywillsupportthejournaliscenter-

priseandthosewhocreatetheproduct.

Theywillneedtoarriveatasenseofsharedvaluesandpassionaboutwhat

theirjournaliscenterpriseisandthevalueitholdsnotexpressedinmo-

netarytermsalone.Tousethetermnewsorganizaondoesnotbegin

todescribethepotenalopportuniesIseeaheadforthesenewventures.

Publishingpartnershipswillbeformedandcollaboraonsamongnews

organizaonsthoughthesemightlookverydierentthanwethinkofthem

todaywillbecrucial.

CreangtheseorganizaonsusinganewDNAwillbeeasierthantheslow

transionwearewitnessingtodaywiththeoldmodelorganizaons.Energy

increaseswhenwebecomeengagedinbuildingsomethingnewinsteadoffee-

lingdemoralizedasinstuonsweoncevaluedsohighlyarebeingdestroyed

byourowncannibalizaon.

Ihavefaiththatnewmodelsofjournalismaregoingtoyoutofthiswhirlpool

ofchangeandbesuccessful.Tenyearsago,Googlewasnteveninourvocabu-lary.DioCraigslistandFacebookandMySpaceandYouTube.

Journalism,aspraccedatnewspapers,isnotdead.Butjournalistswillneed

tosalvagewhatisessenal,gureouthowtotransformittothenewmedia,

andbecomeleadersinthisperiodofupheaval.Itwilltakemenandwomenof

visionanddeeppockets,whoseprimarycatalystisnotprot.

Asjournalists,weliveinameofcrisisoeringthepossibilityofhistoric

changeaswewitnessapillarofourdemocracybeingwoundedand

witheringaway.Greaturgencyandrisktakingiscalledfortostemthecollapseofwhatnewspapershavestoodforinourcountryspast.Wehavenoother

choice.

IdidntrealizethatafewmonthsaerIwrotethatessay,Iwouldbegiventheoppor-

tunitytoturnthisvisionintoreality.Linkedinmymindtotheseculturalvalueswas

theideathattheneworganizaonwouldbeamul-plaormcontentcreator,either

throughtheexperseofitsownstaorthroughcollaboraonswithothernewsorga-

nizaons.

Iusedtheimageofawheelsspokestoexplainthisnewmodelofstorytelling.Atthe

centerofthewheelisthestory,andeachspokerepresentsadierentplaormmostimportantly,adierentwayoftellingthestorywitheachplaormcomple-


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5

menngtheother.Inthisway,diverseaudienceswouldgetthestoryintheplaorm

ormediumtheyweremostcomfortablewith.[2]

Thiswayofworkingwasdierentfromhownewsroomstradionallywereorganized.

Creanganentythatcouldproducethisnewkindofstorytelling,andalsoexplaining

ittopotenalfunders,wasmyrstchallenge.

Mytransformaonfromjournalist/editortosalesman/evangelicalentrepreneurbe-

ganimmediatelyinthewinterof2008,withinweeksof

joiningCIR.Iwasbasicallystarngfromscratchwitha

staofsevenpeopleandabudgetaround$1.5million.

Muchofthatfundingwasdedicatedtoadocumentary

lmproject.Therewerenomajorfundsinanypipe-

line.Thenearlytwo-year-longsearchforanexecuve

directorhadbeenfrustranganddisappoinng.WhenI

washired,notalloftheboardmemberssupportedmy

vision.Theorganizaonformanyyearshadproduced

asmallnumberofhigh-qualityprojectsannually,fun-

dinginvesgaonsindividually.Somepeoplethought

itshouldremainthatway.Butthemewasrightfor

change.

The quest for funds

Howdoyouraisemoney?Iftherewasausefulguide-

book,Ineverfoundit.ButwhatIdidhavewasapassionforjournalism,avision,the

credibilityofCIRs30-yearhistoryandsurvivalinsncts.Myrstfocushadtobeon

sustainingCIR.Iknewhowtocrastoriesandstorieswerewhatmostofthejourna-

lismfunderswerecomfortablenancing.SoIbeganbyframingpitchesaroundpro-

jects.

IspentseveralrainyFebruarydaysinNewYorkvisingmajorfoundaonswithChrista

Scharfenberg,ourassociatedirector,whohadbeenwithCIRforveyearsandhad

beenacngexecuvedirectorfortheyearpriortomyhiring.Iexplainedthemul-plaormapproachwewantedtocreateandtalkedaboutafewmajorprojects,inclu-

dingworkassociatedwithIraqandAfghanistan,humanrights,theenvironment,and

statecoverageofCalifornia.Noonejumpedoutofhisorherseatwithexcitement.

Thereweredoubtsandchallengingquesonsaboutthenecessityofcreangnew

modelsoutofsmallexisngnonprots.

Then,weeksaertheNewYorktrip,wemetwiththeJamesIrvineFoundaon.The

programocerlistenedpaentlytomymul-plaormconceptandtoourstory

ideas,andthensheasked,CanyoudosomethingthatsfocusedonCalifornia?Our

fundingisfocusedonCalifornia.

Atthecenterofourreporng

anddistribuonmodelisthe

story.Thespokesrepresent

themul-plaormproduc-

onanddistribuon.


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6

Iwasthrilled:Apotenalmajorfunderwasinterested.Coveringthestate,witha

clearfocusoninvesgavereporng,didnotinmidateme.Ihadbeenastatehouse

reporterandrannewsroomswherestateandstatehousecoveragewerepriories.

California,inaddion,isnotonlybiggerthanmostcountries,butisferlegroundforinvesgavereporng.

TheprocessofcreangwhatwouldbecomeCaliforniaWatchtookoaerthat

conversaon.Alilewhilelater,IhadmyrstmeengwithstaoftheJohnS.

andJamesL.KnightFoundaon.Ilaidoutasimilarmenuandthemul-plaorm

approach.Theyalsorespondedposively.Theylikedtheideaaboutcreangajour-

naliscorganizaoninwhichusingtechnology,engagingthepublicandsustainingthe

eortwerecentraltothemission.

Wewereinterestedinengagingthepublicinreporng,anevolvingconcept.We

realizedthatitwasworthexploringthequesonreadersandviewersoenaskaer

aninvesgaonhasbeenpublished:Whatcanwedonow?Wewantedtondaway

tobuildthatintothejournalism,evenaroundthesensivesubjectsthatinvesgave

reporngexplores.

Howtomanageandengageanaudiencewassomethingwewouldhavetobuildinto

ourplanning.Wewantedtocreatenewstrategiestoshareinformaon,aswellas

explorenewdistribuonmodels.Socialmediawasexplodingandoeredsomenew

pathwaysforpublicengagementanddistribuon.Theabilityofstoriesandvideoto

goviralpresentedaclearopportunity.Wewantedtocreatecommuniesofinterestaroundsubjectsandgeography.Andwewantedtoinvolvethesecommuniesto

gatherinformaonandhelpndsoluons.

AtthesamemethatIwasformulangastateconcept,formerSanFranciscoChro-

niclestawriterLouisFreedberghadgoenseedmoneyfromtheIrvineFoundaon

andtheWilliamandFloraHewleFoundaontodevelopasimilarprogram.Freed-

bergandIhadseveraltalks,andwhilewehaddieringvisions,therewasreasonto

shareourplans.Webothknewthatfundswerelimitedandthat[3]itmightbepoint-

lesstocompete,especiallyinincreasinglydireeconomicmes.Wedecidedthatwe

wouldpursueourplansseparately,butleaveopenthepossibilityofjoiningforces.Aroundthisme,atalentedtelevisionproducerleCIR.Insteadofreplacingherwith

anotherjournalist,Idecidedtohiresomeonewhocouldhelppaythebills.Wenee-

dedtoraisemoney.

Throughafriend,Imetsomeonewithastrongfundraisingrsum,includingexpe-

rienceraisingmoneyforjournalism,ararecombinaongivenhowfewjournalism-

focusednonprotstherewereattheme.Inwhatprovedtobeacrucialdecision,

CherilynParsonswashiredasapart-medevelopmentdirector.Itwasalsoakeystep

inmyevoluonfromeditortopublisher.


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7

The Chauncey Bailey Project

TheChaunceyBaileyProjectbegan

undertheleadershipofDoriJ.May-nard,presidentandCEOoftheRobert

C.MaynardInstuteforJournalism

EducaoninOakland,andSandy

Close,execuveeditorofNewAmeri-

caMediainSanFrancisco.RobertRo-

senthalcoordinatedtheinvesgaon.

TheprojectwasfundedbytheJohnS.

andJamesL.KnightFoundaon,the

SocietyofProfessionalJournalistsSigmaDeltaChiFoundaon,theUC

BerkeleyGraduateSchoolofJourna-

lism,theGeorgeWashingtonWilliams

Fellowship,theNaonalAssociaon

ofBlackJournalists,TheNewspaper

GuildandTheCaliforniaEndowment.

Technicalassistancewasprovidedby

InvesgaveReportersandEditors,

Inc.

Contribung News Organizaons

AlamedaTimes-StarBay

AreaBlackJournalistsAssociaon

CenterforInvesgaveReporng

ContraCostaTimes

EastCountyTimes

The(Fremont)Argus

HaywardDailyReview

InvesgaveReportersandEditors

KGORadio

KGO-TVABC7

KQEDPublicRadio

KTVU-TV

MaynardInstuteforJournalism

Educaon

NewAmericaMedia

NewVoicesinIndependent

Journalism TheOaklandTribune

SanFranciscoBayGuardian

SanJoseMercuryNews SanMateoCountyTimes

SocietyofProfessionalJournalists

Tri-ValleyHerald

UCBerkeleyGraduateSchoolof

Journalism

ValleyTimes

Scholarly an industry white papers

PartnersofNecessity:TheCasefor

CollaboraoninLocalInvesgaveReporng

Report by Sandy Rowe, Shorenstein

Center Knight Fellow and former editor,

of The Oregonian

Re-ImaginingJournalism:LocalNews

foraNetworkedWorld

2011 policy paper by Michael R. Fancher,

former editor of The Seale Times and

co-convener of Journalism That MaersPacic Northwest

InformingCommunies:Sustaining

DemocracyintheDigitalAge

Knight Commission Report, 2009

Praise and press coverage

ChaunceyBaileyProjectshowsimpact

ofinvesgavereporng

Transcript of speech delivered by Eric

Newton, senior adviser to the president

of the Knight Foundaon, at the annual

convenon of Invesgave Reporters

and Editors, June 11, 2011

Juscewrieninink

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, June 18,

2011

Q&AwithMarnReynolds:OaklandTribuneeditortalksaboutTheChauncey


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8

Inmypastroleaseditorofabignewsroom,Iresentedwheneditorialresourceswere

cutwhilebusinessbudgetsincreased.Butnow,thinkingmorelikeapublisherthanan

editor,Iknewthatreplacingthedeparngjournalistwithanotherreporterwasnotan

opon.Ineededsomeonewhounderstoodtheworldoffoundaons,theirnuances

andinterests,andhadasensibilityaboutourjournaliscmission.With15yearsof

experienceinfundraising,muchofitwithjournalismnonprotsandtheAnnenberg

SchoolforCommunicaon&JournalismattheUniversityofSouthernCalifornia,

Parsonswasexactlywhatweneeded.

Learning collaborave distribuon

Inthespringof2008,reportersontheChaunceyBaileyProjectwerestaonedinour

smalloce.NewsorganizaonsthroughouttheBayAreahadteameduptoproduce

anddistributethesestories.Thesuccessofthatcollaboraveprojectwouldserveasa

modelforbuildingCaliforniaWatch,whichwassllintheplanningstages.[4]

TheBaileyProjectsmodelhadgainedagreatdealofposiveaenon.Itwasclear

thatwehadhittheppingpointthepointatwhichnewsorganizaonswithdispa-rateskillsandexperseandshrinkingresourceswerebeeroworkingtogether.We

BaileyProject

By Jane Kim, Columbia Journalism

Review, May 14, 2009

ArclesonEditorsKillingMadea

Dierence

By Tim Arango, The New York Times,

Feb. 22, 2009

Awards earned

McGillMedalforJournaliscCourage,

UniversityofGeorgia,2010

KnightAwardforPublicServiceandInvesgaveJournalismAwardin

theSmallSiteCategory,OnlineNews

Associaon,2009

CommunityServiceAward,BayArea

BlackJournalistsAssociaon,2009

NewMediaOnlineProject:Newsand

InvesgaveReporng,150,000+

circulaon,NaonalAssociaonof

BlackJournalists,2009

PaulTobenkinMemorialAward,Co -lumbiaUniversityGraduateSchoolof

Journalism,2009

CommunityServiceAward,Naonal

AssociaonofBlackJournalists,2009

Medium-sizednewspapers(100,000

to250,000),InvesgaveReporters

andEditors,2009

BestPraccesAward,NaonalAssoci-aonofBlackJournalists,2008

TomRennerAward,InvesgaveRe-

portersandEditors,2008

JamesMadisonFreedomofInforma-

onAward,SocietyofProfessional

JournalistsNorthernCalifornia

Chapter,2008


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9

knewthatweweredoinggreatjournalism,whichfeltgood,butthecollaboraonwas

necessarytokeeptheinvesgaongoing;itwasproducingstoriesthateventuallyled

toconviconsandreformsintheOaklandPoliceDepartment.

WiththeChaunceyBaileyProject,welearnedthatwecouldcontroldistribuon

throughasmanypartnerrelaonshipsaswecouldmanageprint,television,radio,

websitesandthattradionalconcernsaboutexclusivity,evenwith15or20organi-

zaonsinvolved,werelessrelevantifastorywasstrongandcompelling.Whilemost

editors,includingme,wouldhavedemandedexclusivityinthepast,theynowprefer-

redtobepartofsomethingbigratherthanbeexcluded.

EverynewsorganizaoninvolvedintheChaunceyBaileyProjecthadtherighttopost

eachstoryonitswebsiteatthesameme.Whatthismeantwasthatiftheembargo

mewas10p.m.,astorywentlivethenacrossallthenewsorganizaons.Television

staonswith10p.m.broadcastsreportedthestoryonairthen.Iftheirbroadcastwas

at11p.m.,itwasliveontheirwebsiteearlierandairedonTVlater.Fornewspapers,

itmeantwebrst,printinthemorning.Forradio,generally,itwaswebsitesrstand

broadcastatdrivemeinthemorning.Wecouldmethereleaseandcoordinateit

withmanynewsorganizaonsindierentmedia.Itsoundssimpletoday,butin2008,

itwasinnovave.Anditworked.

TheChaunceyBaileyProjectsstoriessaturatedtheBayArea.Itwasatremendous,

posivelesson,notonlyfortheproject,butfortheprofessionofjournalism.Thepro-

jectshapedwherewewereabouttogonext.

PART TWO

Diving into the world of fundraising brings many lessons

TheCenterforInvesgaveReporngwaspoisedtoundergoadramacrelaunch

inthespringof2008,takingusfullyintotheageoftheInternetandbeyond,butif

youvisitedourhumbleBerkeleyoce,itwouldhavebeenimpossibletoimaginethe

changesahead.

TheCIRworkplacewasinwhatwasoncetheloofanoldhorsestableinamixed-use

neighborhoodneartheoriginalBerkeleyBowl,alocallandmark.Withnocentralhea-

ngsystem,itcouldbebrutallyhotorcold.Thestaworkedwithscarves,ngerless

glovesandwoolcapsoncolddaysandinwarm,blowingwindgeneratedbyindustrial

fans,theircablescrisscrossingtheoor,inthewarmermonths.Wewereastruggling

nonprotwithnofrills.

Inthelatespring,thestabegantopulltogetherthedetailedplansforanewCalifor-

niaproject,aplantocreateastatewideinvesgavereporngteamcoveringmajor

issueslikeeducaon,theenvironmentandhealthcare.ThejobofpungthefundingproposalstogetherfelltoAssociateDirectorChristaScharfenbergandDevelopment


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10

OcerCherilynParsons.AsCIRsexecuvedirector,Ididanaleditandreview,

buttheirknowledgeandexperienceingrantwringandfoundaoninterestswere

invaluable.

Atthesameme,weweretryingtokeepCIRalive,fundingotherpotenalprojects

andmanagingexisngeditorialwork.Wewereintwosimultaneousmodes:survival

andgrowth.Inthemainstreamjournalismworld,thegungofnewsroomswasacce-

lerangandtheglobalnancialmarketswerebeginningtodestabilize.

Ihadnoexperiencewringaproposalandneverhadbeeninasituaoninwhich

thereweremulplepotenalfunderswithdieringmandates,programmacinte-

rests,personaliesandidiosyncrasies.Myexperiencewithbudgetsandplanning

documentshadbeenwithpublishersandcorporateexecuves.WhenIwaseditorof

ThePhiladelphiaInquirer,thenewsroomhadanarrayofresourcesthatseemedlimit-

lesscomparedwithwhereInowwas.

Andveryimportant,bycomparison,Iwasusedtodealingwithonedirectfunding

source,apublisherwhonegoatedwithcorporatebosses,occasionallywithmein

theroom.Whenthosemeengswereover,youknewwhereyoustood.Sll,asa

journalist,Iwasnevertrainedforthosekindsofnegoaons.Inthatworld,when

revenueandprotnumbersweremet,therewasrelavetranquility.Butwhenreve-

nueandprotsdropped,nothingelsemaeredbutmakingoradjusngthenancial

goals.Thatenvironmentwaslledwithanxiety,conict,distrustandshortsighted

soluons,alldrivenbytheboomline.Money-drivenconversaonswerenevercomfortableforme,buttheywerenowthe

centralandmostcrucialelementofmyroleinmovingCaliforniaWatchandCIRfor-

ward.Unlikethenewspaperindustry,however,dealingwithfoundaonswasnever

aboutmakinganumber;itwasaboutconvincingthemthatyoucouldleadanorgani-

zaonthatcouldmakeadierence,and,specically,convincingthemtoinvestinthe

Californiaproject.Afriendtoldme,Youaretheproduct.Thatitrestedsoheavily

onmetoselltheideaandvisiontopotenalfunderswasunseling.[5]

Withfoundaons,Iwassoontolearn,youoperatedontheircycleandattheirpace.

Theyhavemanysuitors.Theyhaveinternaldynamics,conictsandstachangesthatcanalteryourorganizaonslife,forbeerorworse.ButasIwasremindedagainand

again,thejoboffoundaonsistogiveawaymoney.Myjobwastopresentastrong

organizaonandargumentfortheirinvestments.

Therewasaherky-jerkyrhythmtothevariousfoundaonfundingcyclesandboard

schedules,whichleverylilemeformetodoalmostanythingelseatCIR.Face

mewithfunders,whichrequiredthemundaneschedulingandconrmingof

manymeengs,wasasessenalasunderstandingtheinterestsofeachfoundaon.

Itraveledfrequentlytomeetwithfoundaonstamembers,whichoeninvolved

three-daycross-countrytripswithasmanyasvemeengsaday.Genginthedoor

wasnotalwayseasy.TheexperienceofScharfenbergandParsonswascrucialtoope-


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11

ningdoors.Butthemeengswereimperavetodevelopingarapportwithverybusy

programocers.

Iwasanoviceatthis,buteverystepwasanewlesson.

Face me with a billionaire philanthropist

Themosteecveface-to-facemeengsoccurredwhenIwasabletoconveyourvisi-

onandmissionandrelaymypersonalstoryasajournalist.Parsonshadtobepresent

atmanyofthemeengstocoordinatefollow-upanddratheproposals.Juggling

mulplefoundaonrequestsandproposalsmeantsenguparigorousmanagement

systemforwhichScharfenbergandParsonshadresponsibility.Theyhadmytrust,and

theyhadmyback.Veryimportantforme,theypushedback,askedquesons,under-

stoodourmissionandturnedthatvisionintoclearprose.TheCaliforniaprojectand

CIRsfuturewereasreliantontheirskillsandpersistenceasanyones.

Aroundthisme,inthespringof2008,Ihadmyrstone-on-oneconversaonswith

philanthropists.Therststepisgenginthedoor.Somemes,thedoorcanbeope-

nedbychanceorbycontactmadethroughboardmembers,friendsoracquaintances.

Othermes,thedoorneveropens.Thereisnorealtrainingforthis.Youareselling

yourwits,personality,passionandvision;chemistryisessenal.

AfriendwhohadsecuredfundingfromGeorgeSorosforabusinessprojectyearsago

toldmethatinmeengapotenalgrantee,Soroswouldknowinacoupleofminu-

teswhetherhewouldfundyou.HesaidSorosmadethosedecisionswithhisgut.Throughanotherfriend,IwasabletomeetSanFranciscophilanthropistandbillio-

nairenancierWarrenHellman.WhenIaskedmoreexperiencedfundraisershowI

shouldprepareforthatmeeng,theconsensuswasbeyourself.

IwenttoHellmansoce.Hisclotheswererumpled;hisshoeswerewornandcom-

fortable-looking.Hetookohissportsjacketand,withoutlooking,tosseditinaheap

on a corner chair.

Idnevermetanyonewithhiswealth,andIknewhehadthecapacitytobeanancial

gamechangerforCIR.Iimmediatelyfeltcomfortablewithhim;Itoldhimaboutmybackground,wetalkedsports,andIeventuallylaunchedintowhereIhopedtotake

CIRandthekindsofjournalismwewoulddo.Ididnotfeellikeasalesman,thoughI

supposethatswhatIwas.

Aerafewminutesofmyvisiontalk,Hellmanstoppedme.

Wehavetofundthemother,hesaid.

Themother?Iresponded.Ihadnoideawhathemeant.

You,hesaid.Youneedthesupportaroundyoutodowhatyoucando.


12/38


12

Ididnotrealizeitatthemoment,buthegotthevision.Asabusinessmanandentre-

preneur,HellmanunderstoodtheconceptsIwaslayingout,andhewasthinking

abouthowtosupportthem,andme.

Icameoutofthemeengwithagoodfeeling.IlikedHellman,andhewantedtomeet

again.Ihadbeentoldthatdevelopinganindividualdonorcouldbealengthypro-

cess.Itwasaboutrelaonshipbuilding,andhereitwasinpracce.

Overthenextfewmonths,ImetwithHellmanseveralmes.Hesaidhewouldhelp

andmadea$100,000gifromhisfamilyfoundaon.Moreimportant,heoeredto

hostaluncheoninhisoceforpotenaldonors,someofhisfriendsandanyoneI

wantedtoinvite.Thiswasabigopportunity.Hisadvicetomewasnottotalkabout

stories, but about the new model.

Onthemorningoftheluncheon,theHearstCorp.announcedthatitmightsellorclosetheSanFranciscoChronicle.WhenIwalkedintoHellmansboardroom,he

walkeduptome,grabbedmyelbow,pulledmeaside,lookedmeintheeyeand

asked,ShouldIbuytheChronicle?

ItoldhimIdidntthinkitwouldbeagoodinvestment.

AshegotmoreinvolvedinseeinghowhecouldhelpstabilizeSanFranciscojourna-

lism,HellmansinterestinCIRwaned(thoughhedidconnuehisgeneroussupport

fortwomoreyears),andhisfocuswenttofundinghisownstartupproject,TheBay

Cizen,aSanFranciscoonlinenewssite.

Iunderstoodhisthinking,andIgreatlyappreciatedhissupport.Largeindividualgis

areacrucialpillarofthesustainabilityformulaforCIRandallsuccessfulnonprots.I

nowknewthatIcouldmakeaposiveim-[6]pressiononindividualphilanthropists.

ButIalsohadlearnedthatbuildingtheserelaonshipswouldntalwaystranslateinto

supportthatcouldprovidethetypeofnancialresourcesweneededtoreachour

vision.

AstheHellmaninterludeunfoldedandunraveled,wealsowereworkingwithmany

foundaons,largeandsmall.Itisimportanttohavemanylinesoutandbereadyto

evolveandadjustyourthinkingandstrategies.

Forexample,ininialconversaonsduringthespringof2008,weweretalkingabout

creangadesnaonwebsitefortheCaliforniaproject.Wewereconsidering

theideaofbeingthego-tositeforin-depthCalifornianews,includingourownin-

vesgaonsandaggregatedcontentfromaroundthestate.

Butatthesameme,theChaunceyBaileyProjectdemonstratedthestrengthof

collaboraverepornganddistribuon.Wehadcreatedtheconsistentabilityto

reachlargeaudiencesthroughmanysimultaneouspublishingandbroadcastpartners.

Itwouldhavebeenfoolishtoignorethatsuccessfullearningexperience.Throughtheprojectwhichrevealedashoddypoliceinvesgaonandledtotwomurdercon-


13/38


13

viconsin2011wesawthatlargeaudiencescouldbereachedthroughthemul-

plaorm,mul-partnerapproach.Thatexperienceulmatelysteeredusfromthe

desnaonwebsiteidea.Thecollaboravemodel,publishingthroughmanypartners

simultaneously,becamecentraltothevisionforCIRandCaliforniaWatch.

Nailing down foundaon grants

WorkwiththeprogramocersandconsultantswiththeJohnS.andJamesL.Knight

FoundaonandtheJamesIrvineFoundaonacceleratedaerthesummerof2008.In

thefall,wereceivedaplanninggrantfromtheIrvineFoundaonthatsupportedmore

sta,astheCaliforniaprojectbecamethefocusofourgrowthstrategy.

Asthenancialcrisisexploded,ouranxietymounted,asdidpressureonnewsrooms.

Ourprimaryargumentforthestateprojecthadbeentheprecipitousdeclineinthe

numberofjournalistscoveringSacramento.Bythefallof2008,thenumberofre-

portersinCaliforniascapitalhadbeenmorethanhalvedinveyears.Everynews

organizaoninthestatewasundergoingdramaccuts.Andwhencungisthefocus,

innovaonisnearlyimpossible.

Wehadtothinkandactdierently.Andforme,theChaunceyBaileyProjectcon-

nuedtobeaguide.Duringthisme,CIRboardmemberswerewatching.Theywere

notacvelyengagedinformulangastrategyorraisingmoney,buttheywere100

percentsupporveoftheconceptandoureorts.Bytheendof2008,thoughwehad

proposalsunderway,thefutureofCIRandtheCaliforniaprojectwereveryuncertain.Thecomplexityofourcollaborave,mul-plaormmulmediamodelwasgoing

tobeachallengetocreateandmanage.Addingtothechallengewasthefactthat

wesllhadnoguaranteeoffunding.Buttheconvergenceofthecollapseoflegacy

media,theavailabilityoftalentedyetfrustratedjournalists,advancesintechnology

andinterestedfunderscreatedopportunity.

Theunderpinningofthatopportunitywasasharedbeliefthatjournalistsandinves-

gaverepornghadplayedanimportantroleinourdemocracy,andthatrolehadto

evolveandbesupportedgoingforward.

ThepassionthatpushedusatCIRwasalsobornoutofpersonalconvicons.My

fatherhadstartedthejournalismprogramatTheCityCollegeofNewYorkinthe

1930s.Hediedatage95inthespringof2008,afewmonthsaerIstartedatCIR.

AsIwentthoughhislesaerhisdeath,Ifoundayellowedpieceofpaperwithtwo

typewrienparagraphs:

Why should freedom of speech and freedom of press be allowed? Why should

government, which is doing what it be lieves to be right, allow itself to be cricized? It

would not allow opposion by lethal weapons. Ideas are much more fatal things than

guns. Why should any man be allowed to buy a prinng press and disseminate perni-cious opinions calculated to embarrass the government?NikolaiLenin,1920


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14

The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very rst object

should be to keep that right; and were it le to me to decide whether we should have

a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should

not hesitate a moment to choose the laer.ThomasJeerson,1787

Wewereinadierentworldfromwhenthosestatementsweremade,butthewords

resonatedwithmeandsllrangtrue.

Duringthisme,formerSanFranciscoChroniclereporterLouisFreedbergwashaving

conversaonstheWilliamandFloraHewleFoundaonregardinghisownCalifornia

iniave,andIhadbeenaskedbytheIrvineFoundaontoconsiderworkingwith

him.HeandIhadtalkedaboutthisearlierandnowdecidedtoworktogetherrather

thancompeteforshrinkingfunds.Fundersclearlyprefercollaboraonamongpoten-

algranteesanotherlessonquicklylearned.[7]

Thenarraveforourproposalwastakingshapeaswehonedkeyprinciples.Todeve-

lopandtestthismodel,theCaliforniaprojectwould:

Developcollaboraonasakeystrategyforthenewsoperaonsofthefuture

Implementmulmediadistribuonaspartofeverystoryandtestnewdigital

technologies

Developinnovave,replicablestrategiesthatcangeneraterevenuefrommul-

mediacontentandhelpsustainoperaons

Duringthelastquarterof2008,wesubmiedtheproposalstotheIrvine,Hewle

andKnightfoundaons.ThetotaloriginalbudgetfortherstyearofCaliforniaWatch

wasnearly$1.5million.Thatwouldhavecovered14posionsandaporonofCIRs

coresta.Wehadbeenworkingverycloselywithprogramocersatallofthefoun-

daons.Eachhaditsownangleofinterestintheproject.Irvinesmissionistoexpand

opportunityforthepeopleofCaliforniatoparcipateinavibrant,successfuland

inclusivesociety.Thus,thatfoundaonsawthedeclineofstatereporngasaseri-

ousthreat.WeworkedwiththeeducaonprogramatHewle,whichwasseekingin-

creasedcoverageofeducaonissues.Knightisthesinglelargestfunderofjournalism

intheUnitedStates,withakeeninterestinhigh-qualityjournalism,newtechnologies

andcommunityengagement.

Eachofthepotenalfundersknewoftheothersinterestintheproject,andtheyall

conferredaboutourproject.Thatallowedustoensurethatthethreeproposalscom-

plementedeachotherandprovidedcomprehensiveandstaggeredsupportoverthe

projectsrstthreeyears.

Bytheendof2008,Irvinehadagreedtoa$1.2milliongrantoverthreeyears.In

March2009,HewlematchedIrvine.Freedbergbeganworkingwithusasdirector

oftheproject,andlongmejournalistandformerUCBerkeleyGraduateSchoolof

JournalismstamemberMarciaParkerwashiredtohelpwiththestartup.Knight,becauseofthechaosinthenancialmarkets,deferredadecisionunlitsJune2009


15/38


15

boardmeeng.Wedecidedtobeginplanningtolaunchtheproject,butnottoactu-

allylaunchitormakefurtherhiresunlweknewourfullfundingcommitment.

Knightwaspushingustobeasinnovaveaspossiblearounddistribuon,engage-

mentandsustainability.Iagreedwiththosecorestrategies,thoughIalsobelievedour

abilitytogeneratestrongstorieswouldbethebasisofoursuccessandcorecompe-

tency.Iwantedtoestablishtheprojectsjournalisccredibilityasquicklyaspossible.

Thatmeantweneededstrongeditorialleadership.Aswordspreadofourgoodfor-

tunewiththeIrvineandHewlefoundaons,journalistsbegancontacngus.

MarkKatches,aCalifornianwhohadbeenhiredbytheMilwaukeeJournalSennel

in2006tocreateandrunaninvesgavereporngteam,andImadecontactshortly

aertheIrvinegrantwasapproved.Healsosentmeaproposalthathehadput

togetheronhisownmonthsbeforeforaninvesgavereporngprojectbasedin

Sacramento.Histhinking,derivedfromyearsofreporngandedinginCaliforniaand

Sacramento,mainlyforTheOrangeCountyRegister,wasremarkablysimilartoours.

HecalledhisplanCaliforniaWatchandhadalreadyboughtthedomainnamewhich

helatertransferredtoCIR.

OurleadershipteammetwithKatches,andhewasaclearchoicetoruntheproject

ifwesecuredfunding.InJune,theKnightFoundaonawardedCIRatwo-year$1.3

milliongrantforCaliforniaWatch,bringingthetotalfundingfortheprojectto$3.7

millionoverthreeyears.KatcheswashiredwithastartdateofAug.1.Buthebegan

workingwithusimmediatelyfromMilwaukeeduringhisweekendsandeveningstonalizestangandbudget.

Building the team

KatchesandFreedbergcamefromverydierentbackgrounds,buttheysharedthe

beliefthattherewasanopportunityandneedforanewkindofjournalismorganiza-

oninCaliforniathatwouldservetheinterestsofthestatescizens.Eachhadenvisi-

onedhisownmodelforhowthisorganizaonmightwork.

Katches,whostartedhiscareerintheBayAreaandalsoworkedinSacramentoand

SouthernCalifornia,wasconsideredoneofthebestinvesgaveeditorsinthecoun-

try.Hehadastrongpersonalityandwasextremelyorganized.Althoughhehada

secureposioninMilwaukee,comingoaPulitzerPrizewinforhissta,hisfamily

grewredoftheharshWisconsinwinters.Hewasreadytogetbacktohishomestate

andbepartofbuildinganewmodelofjournalism.

Freedberg,anan-apartheidSouthAfricanave,hadseeninjuscersthand.He

hadalongcareerinCaliforniajournalismaswell,mostrecentlyattheChronicle.He

hadlethatnewspaperhopingtocreateamediacollaboraveinCalifornia.He

hadworkedinthenonprotjournalismsectorasayoungman,includingwiththe

legendarySandyClose,execuveeditorofPacicNewsServiceanditsospringthe

ethnicmediacollaboravesNewCaliforniaMediaandNewAmericaMedia.[8]


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16

InearlyJuly,wewerereadytostarthiring.Whilewehadalargeamountofmoney,

ithadtostretchoverthreeyears.Thebudgetwasght,andweneededtomaximize

it.Weweresengouttocoverthelargeststateinthecountry.Throughjournalism

employmentwebsites,weannouncedthatwewerehiringsixreportersandtwomulmediaproducers.Nearly700journalistsapplied.MarciaParkermanagedthe

onslaught.Aswebeganourearlystrategysessionsandthoughtaboutthequalies

wewereseekinginnewstamembers,therewasagreementthatwewouldbe

creangamul-plaorm,collaboravenewsorganizaonwhereeveryonehadto

thinkofhimselforherselfasapotenalentrepreneurinaddiontobeingajournalist.

Inconversaonswithseniorsta,allofwhomwereinvolvedintheinterviewprocess,

westressedtheneedtobeclearwithapplicantsthatthiswasafragile,butgreat,

opportunitytobuildsomethingunique.Wealsoemphasizedthateveryonewould

bepartoftheevoluonoftheproject,andtheyhadtobeopento,andcomfortablewith,collaboraoninternallyandexternally.Wealsoweredeterminedtohirea

diverse team.

Therangeofapplicantswasstriking,frommulplePulitzerPrizewinnersfromlegacy

newspaperstoyoungerjournalistswhohadworkedonlyforweb-basednewsorga-

nizaons.Katches,whohadbeenontheboardofInvesgaveReportersandEdi-

torsandinvolvedwithitsmentoringprogram,alsohadconneconstoanetworkof

young,talentedandambiousjournalists.

Therewasanabundanceofnewmulmediajournalistsonourlistandstrongcomputer-assistedreporngapplicants.Wealsowerelookingforpeoplewhohad

mulple-plaormstorytellingskillsandwerecomfortableusersofsocialmediaand

newtechnologies.Itwasclearthatmanyjournalistswereinterestedinbeingpartof

buildingsomethingnew.Evenwithouruncertainfuture,applicantswerewillingtobe

partofwhatweallsawasanobleexperiment.

Ournewteamwouldneedtheabilitytoadapttochangesandopportuniesintech-

nology.Ididnotwantachange-resistantcultureweddedtopastpracces.Wenee-

dedtohaveaexibleandnimbleorganizaon.Weneededtobeconstantlylooking

outwardtotheaudienceandourpartnersneeds.Katchescameonthescenewiththeauthoritytoshapetheeditorialteam,which

wouldbereporngtohim.Hehadtheexperience,credenalsandreputaontobuild

theunit.Intheend,wehiredtheteamwehadenvisioned:fromveteranCalifornia

journalistsLanceWilliams(SanFranciscoChronicle)andRobertSalladay(LosAngeles

Times);toyoungerreportersEricaPerez(MilwaukeeJournalSennel),Chrisna

Jewe(ProPublica),CoreyG.Johnson(TheFayeevilleObserver)andChaseDavis

(DesMoinesRegister);tomulmediaproducersMarkLuckie(10,000Words)andLisa

Picko-White(freelancer);todataanalystAgusnArmendariz(TheSanDiegoUnion-

Tribune).


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17

InJuly2010,CaliforniaWatchwasfoundbytheAmericanSocietyofNewsEditorsto

beoneofthemostdiverseonlinenewsroomsinthecountry.

Wewerepoisedtotakeo,buttherewouldbebumpsandchallengesahead.

PART THREE

California Watch Comes to Life

AsreportersandeditorsbegantoarrivefromaroundthecountryinAugust2009,we

hadtheenergy,andthechaos,ofastartup.

Inallmyyearsasaneditoratnewspapers,Ineverhadbeeninvolvedinastrategythat

actuallyaddedsta.Suddenly,theCenterforInvesgaveReporngwasexploding,

andsowerethechallengesandrewardsofmanaginggrowth.Asexecuvedirector,I

preferredthisscenario,butIquicklylearnedthatmanaginggrowthisaschallenging

asmanagingcutbacks.Downsizingcreatesanenvironmentofgloomandasenseof

failureinnewsrooms.Itisemoonallydistressingforeveryone,anditwaspersonally

brutalforme.Butwhenyouarebuildingandmorethandoublingyourorganizaon,

thesuddenaddionofstacreatesanexhilarangbutcomplicatedbrew.Issuesand

problemscomeyingatyoufromsomanydireconsthatdecisionshavetobemade

quicklyusingbothyourgutandyourhead.

Myroleduringthisinialperiodwastoinsllcondenceandtrustinthenewteam

andtosomehowmakesuretheculturewewerecreangwasasopenandexibleas

weenvisioned.Thismaysoundeasy,butIknewhowunpredictablethingscouldbe,as

withanyteam,whenyoufactorinpersonaliesandegos.

Whilewewerehiringandgengthenewstainplace,LouisFreedberg,whowas

partofthemanagementstaofCaliforniaWatch,traveledtovariouspartsofthe

state to discuss our [9]planswitheditorsandnewsdirectorsandtoassesstheir

potenalinterestinourstories.Therewasplentyofinterestmixedwithskepcism

abouthowournewmodelwouldtinthetradionaljournalismworldbutno

commitments.

ThroughtheChaunceyBaileyProject,IhadgoentoknowkeyleadersatKQED.The

inuenalpublicbroadcasngradiostaonintheBayAreahasstatewidereach,as

wellasstrongestoNaonalPublicRadio.WeapproachedKQEDsmanagementwith

anidea:WouldtheybewillingtopartnerandworkfullmewithCaliforniaWatch?

AproposalwasmadethatwesplitthesalaryandexpensesforMichaelMontgomery,

aveteranradioproducerwhohadahistoryofworkingwithbothorganizaons.We

wantedhimtohavefullaccesstoourinvesgaons.CaliforniaWatchandKQED

wouldcollaboravelymakethedecisionsonwhichstoriestopursue.

Wewouldnotimposecreavecontroloverradio;ourreportersandeditorswould

worktogether,andCIRwouldhavetheopportunitytoreviewnalscriptstomake


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18

surethatallofourfactsmatchedandthatimportantinterviewsconductedforradio

couldbewovenintoprintversionsofstories.Montgomerywouldworkoutofboth

ouroceandKQEDs,butneededtobeinKQEDsstudiostorecordhiswork.(Current

newspapercoveredthecollaboraon.)

ThepartnershipwithKQEDwasatremendousopportunityforustoconsistentlywork

withahighlyrespectedmediapartnerandreachastatewidebroadcastaudiencein

themillions.(KQEDsyndicatesitsCaliforniaReporttoeverypublicradiostaonin

thestate.)

WealsowantedtoreachbeyondthestatesEnglish-speakingresidents.Weknewwe

couldnotdeveloptherelaonshipsorstaturethatSandyClosesNewAmericaMedia

(NAM)hadwithethnicmedia.Anotherlessonwewerepungintopraccewasnot

toduplicatesomethingthatanotherorganizaonalreadydidwell.AndNAMdoes

whatitdoesreallywell.NAMsstawouldtranslateourstories,somemesforafee,

anddistributethemtotheirnetwork.Theydontdothisforeverystory,andgoing

forward,wecandoabeerjobofworkingwiththemonreporng.Butthemes

weveworkedtogetherhavebeensuccessful.

Allofthisacvitythenewdeal-making,theopportuniesandgrowthwaslikea

shotofadrenaline.Oursmalllowasabuzzwithenergy.Itwasexcingandcrowded.

Everyonecouldheareachothersphonecalls;internalcommunicaonsliterally

meantcallingacrosstheroom.WhenconsultantMarciaParkerpushedbackherchair

fromherdesk,shehitthechairofourchieffundraiser,CherilynParsons.Therefrige-

ratorwasoverowing.

Launching California Watch

Fromthebeginning,IknewwecouldnotcreatetwodisnctcultureswithinCIR

thenaonalreporngdesk,wherewehadafewprojectsunderway,andCalifornia

Watchthoughitwaschallengingtointegratethetwoenes.Therehadtobea

symbiosisbetweenCIRandourpotenallyformidablebaby.

WhatbeerwaytodothisthanthroughourinauguralCaliforniaWatchstory?G.W.

Schulz,aCIRstamember,hadbeenworkingonaprojectonstate-levelhomeland

securityacviesandspending.Hehadgatheredextensiveinformaonanddataon

everystate.AsawaytoquicklylaunchCaliforniaWatch,evenasthenewstawas

selingin,wedecidedtobreakoutastoryfocusedonCalifornia,lookingatwasteand

abusewithinthemulmillion-dollarhomelandsecuritygrantsystem.Thisstory,which

wouldbepeggedtotheanniversaryofSept.11,oeredasolidroadmapfortesngour

collaboravemodel.WhileSchulzcouldwritetheoverallstoryforthestate,healsohad

detaileddataforalmostanycountyorlocality,whichoeredagreatavenueforpartne-

ringwithmediaoutletsthroughoutCaliforniatolocalizethelargerinvesgaon.

Nowwehadtogureoutdistribuon.Wouldeditorsbeopentoaready-made,

unique9/11anniversarystory?Wouldtheydemandexclusivity?Wouldwechargefor


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19

thestory?Wedecidedwewouldestablishafeeifanewspaperwantedtopublishour

work.Ifweworkedtogetherwithanewsoutletfromincepon,wewouldnotcharge.

AswebegantonofypotenalpartnersinlateAugust,Ithoughtwe[10] would be

fortunateifwegottwotofournewsorganizaonstosignon.Freedberg,Parker,Ca-liforniaWatchEditorialDirectorMarkKatchesandIdividedupnewsorganizaonsin

thestateonthebasisofpersonalrelaonships.Betweenus,weknewmanyofthose

wewouldcallore-mail.Weneededdistribuon.Sowhatifsomeonesaidtheywould

notorcouldnotpay?Diddistribuontrumprevenue?Therewasinternaldisagree-

mentaboutthis.Somefeltweshouldestablishmarketvalue.Othersfeltweshould

trytoreachthebroadestaudiencepossible,whichwouldmeannegoanglower

pricesifnewsoutletsbalked.Wewouldaskthatthestorybepublishedonwebsites

aswell,withlinksbacktooursiteforsupporngstoriesordata.

Severalfactorshelpedussucceedinthisinialdistribuonchallenge.Personalrelaonshipsmaered.Weeachcouldgeteditorstorespondtousnearlyallofthe

me,andCIRhadcredibilityandaposivereputaonwithinedingcirclesforaccu-

rate,crediblereporng.Asweallcamefromtradionalnewsorganizaons,wewere

sensivetotheneedsandissuesofthesenewsroomswhoseeditorswewerecontac-

ng.Wewantedtomakethisprocessaseasyaspossibleforourclients.Theprocess

wasmeconsumingbutcrucial.

Freedberg,KatchesandIhaddieringcomfortlevelswiththesalespitch.We

establishedaroughpricingstructurethatwasexiblewhenitcametopushback.

Thepricingwasbasedoncirculaonofnewspapersandrangedfrom$50to$350for

thestory.(Wehavesinceincreasedourfeessignicantly.)Newswebsiteswouldget

California Watch Launch

Press coverage

CaliforniaWatchSaysYestoOpen,

NetworkedInvesgaveReports

PBS MediaShi, Dec. 17, 2009

FillingtheGap:CaliforniaWatch,a

newinvesgavereporngventure,

islaunchingabeefed-uponlineope-

raon

American Journalism Review, August/

September, 2009

CaliforniaWatchsrevenuemodel:

Chargenewsoutlets,targetdonors

Nieman Journalism Lab, Nov. 17, 2009

CaliforniaWatchsRevenueModel

The Nonprot Road, Nov. 17, 2009

PublicTV,RadioStaonstoIncrease

LocalInvesgaveCoverageasCo-

lumbiaReportAdvised

Poynter Online, Nov. 12, 2009

AmidNewsroomCutbacksAre

WatchdogsSllAwake?AndCan

OutsidersFilltheGaps?Editor & Publisher, Oct. 29, 2009


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20

thestoryforfree,aswouldothernonprotsandKQED.Withhindsight,theamount

ofbackandforthandouranxietyoverthesalespitchwascomical,giventherela-

velysmallamountsofmoneywewereseeking.Butitwasoutsideofourjournalisc

comfortzone.

Webeganmakingasmanycallsaswecould,describingCaliforniaWatchandCIRto

editors.Weexplainedthatwehadastoryinwhichtheymightbeinterested,descri-

binghowitcouldbelocalized,lengthemknowthatwewereoeringittoothers

aroundthestate,possiblyevenothermediaintheirmarket,tellingthemwewere

charging(cringe),anddescribingmingandplansforrelease.

Wehadnoideaifthiswouldwork,butitdid.Schulzsstoryranonthefrontpageof

abouttwodozennewspapers,reachingmorethan1.8millionsubscribers,andon

television,radio,newswebsitesandinethnicmediaoutletsthroughoutthestate.

Weproducedtheprintstoryatthreedierentlengthsandeditedcustomversions

forseveralnewsorganizaons.InSanFrancisco,KGO-TVproduceda5-minutepiece

basedonourreporngandfeaturingourreporter;theywereevenabletoconducta

keyinterviewthatwewereunabletoget,whichhelpedstrengthentheenreinves-

gaon.

TheMarinIndependentJournalassignedoneofitsphotographerstothestoryandthenallowedustodistributethosephotostoallofourpartners.Throughourpartner-

shipwithNewAmericaMedia,thestorywastranslatedanddistributedinChinese,

VietnameseandKorean.LaOpinioninLosAngelestranslatedthestoryintoSpanish,

publishedthestoryandallowedustodistributetheirtranslaontootherSpanish-

languageoutlets,anarrangementwehaveconnued.Wedidnotchargeanyofthese

keypartnersinexchangefortheircontribuonstotheproject.

Coordinangthereleasewasalogiscalfeat.Theembargowassettothemeofthe

KGO-TVeveningbroadcast,withallnewsoutletsfreetoposttotheirsitesandthen

publishorbroadcastontheirownschedule.Noonecomplained.Infact,theonly

California Watch in 2010

Selected press coverageCaliforniaWatchEditorialDirector:

ExclusivesNoLongerThatImportant

Mediabistro, July 28, 2010

CaliforniaWatchLaunchesSiteto

TrackGovCandidatesStatements

Mediabistro, June 21, 2010

TheNewInvesgators

Columbia Journalism Review, May/

June 2010

Cannewspapermuckrakingcarryon

innonprots?

Associated Press, Jan. 17, 2010


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21

cricismwasfromsomenewsorganizaonsaskingwhytheyhadntbeenpartofit.

Wewerestunned.Newsorganizaonswantedtobepartofthis.

Whatwassurprisingtouswashowtheneedforexclusivity,oncesosacrosanct

throughoutprintaswellasbroadcast,fellbythewayside.Ournewmodelwasbeing

widelyacceptedand,beeryet,adopted.Audiencesweresofragmentedthatnews

organizaonswouldrathershareagood,uniquestorythannothaveitandcedeitto

theircompeon.Andinthiseraofshrinkingrevenues,mostmediacouldnotaord

tonancethedepthofreporngCIRandCaliforniaWatchwantedtodo.Thatrst

[11]storytaughtusagreatdealaboutnotbeingafraidtotrynewthingsandtotake

risks.Ourclientsnewsorganizaonsandtheircontentuserswouldletusknow

what worked.

Reaching wider audiences

Asthrilledaswewerewiththereachofourrststory,italsogaveusalookatoneof

ourprimarychallengesgoingintothefuture:howtoengageandcaptureouraudien-

ces.Bypublishingthroughdozensofotheroutlets,wehadlimitedknowledgeabout,

oraccessto,ourreaders,viewersandlisteners.Movingforward,ourstoriesoen

wouldbethemostreadande-mailedonothernewssites,amassinghundredsof

readercommentsandtensofthousandsofpageviews.Theblessingandcurseofour

wideandnonexclusivedistribuonnetworkisthatittakesfulladvantageoftheweb

andnewmedia:Ourstoriestravel,sotheyreachhugeaudiences,butitisextremely

diculttoquanfy,captureandengagethosepeoplewhentheyessenallybelongtootheroutlets.Wevebecomemoresophiscatedintrackingthereachofour

content.Butwesllneedtogetbeeratitsothatwecanaccuratelymeasureour

audience.Knowingwhoourreaders,viewersandlistenersarehelpsusengagewith

ouraudiencedirectly.Itsalsoanimportantmetricforourfunders.

Thedistribuonofourrststoryexceededourwildestexpectaons.Wefollowedup

withtwomorepackagesinthefallof2009oneinNovemberonthefailureofapro-

gramtoreduceclasssizesinK-12schoolsandanotherinDecemberontheaninuen-

alcampaigndonor.Wealsoopenedourfour-personSacramentobureau,basedin

KQEDscapitaloce.SacramentoveteranBobSalladayworksasCIRssenioreditor

therewithreportersCoreyG.Johnson,ChrisnaJeweandChaseDavis.

ByJanuary2010,ourinvesgavereportersandastableofoutstandingfreelancers

hadmorethan35invesgaonsunderway.WithhelpfromconsultantSusanMernit,

wealsolaunchedtheCaliforniaWatchwebsite.Itfeaturedcloseto20searchable

databasesanddailybloggingbyourreportersandeditors.Wealsoestablishedan

aggressivesocialmediastrategy.Ourmodelwastoconnuetodistributethrough

others, but we wanted our site to showcase our work and not be dormant between

invesgavestories.


22/38


22

Wewereinaperiodofrelavefundingstability,andwemovedinJanuarytoalarger

oceinBerkeley,withthemodernconveniencesofheangandaircondioning,

sucientbandwidthtokeepourcomputersfromcrashing,andadeskforeveryone.

OurnewhomeislessexpensivethanSanFranciscoocespace,whichwealsocon-sidered,andisclosetoUCBerkeleyanditsGraduateSchoolofJournalism.Ourpro-

ximitytothejournalismschoolhasenabledsomeofustoteachorguestlecture

thereandtondwaystocollaboratewithstudents.

Whilesigningave-yearleaseatournewlocaongaveusalowerrate,therewas

alsoanelementofrisk;thereisnocertaintyoffundingthatfarintothefuture.Itwas

arollofthedice.Moreandmore,Iwaslearningthattheresalotofcrapshoongin

thedecisionmakingofanonprotleader.Yet,withouttakingrisks,youcannotgrow.

Asweadjustedtoournewworkspace,ourteamspersonalies,strengthsandweak-

nessesbecameclearer.Wefocusedonstoriesandcreangthemodeland,most

important,acultureinwhichmulpleplaormsandskillswereatthetablefromthe

beginningofaproject.Butourgapswereevident.Everynewspapereditorhashad

theexperienceofhavingadeeplyreportedstorycometoaclosewhensomeone

asks,Wherearethephotosandgraphics?Despiteourall-outaempttocoverour

mulmediabases,therewassomuchmorewewantedtobeabletodowitheach

storybuttherewasonlysomuchourstacoulddo.Someskillswerelacking.We

hadnophotographerorgraphicarstonourteam,forinstance.

Theeorttothinkwithaboutvisuals,mulmediaandaudioinvolvedaculturalre-educaonforsomeofourreporters.Weneededtoshedthetradionalmedia

pracceofkeepingstoriessecretfromallbuttopeditorsbeforepublicaon.

Instead,wewantedeveryonetoembracearouneofpresenngstories-in-progress

toagroupofcolleagueswhocouldhelpbuildinteracvegraphics,video,radioand

animaon.Thebroaderteamwouldnotonlyaskquesons,butalsothinkofways

totakethefactsanddataandusethemtotellthestoryintheirspecialty.Thiswas

vitaltoproducingmul-facetedstoriesacrossvariousplaormssothateachelement

couldbeinprocesssimultaneouslyasweheadedtoareleasedate.

Itwasmucheasiertocreateandshapethismodelfromthebeginningthanitwouldhavebeentotransformanentrenchedlegacynewsroom,wherechangewastypi-

callymetwithresistance.Inthisnewmodel,anyquesonwasagoodqueson,and

stamembershadtoberemindedandencouragedtotakerisksandthinkdierently

aboutstorytellingandreachingdisparateaudiences.

Moreandmoreofmymewasinvolvedinfundraisingandinternalissuesmainly

relatedtomanagingpersonalies,egosandtheconictsthatdidarise,astheywould

inanygrowingworkplace.IfeltfortunatethatIhadmanagementexperiencein

dealingwithpersonnelissuesinmypastroles,albeitinmuchlargerorganizaons.In

asmallerworkplace,suchissuesaremagniedandmustbedealtwithswilyortheycanbecomepoisonous.[12]


23/38


23

Solving distribuon conundrums

Asstoriesbegantobecompletedanddistributed,werenedtheedinganddistri-

buonprocesswehadestablishedwiththehomelandsecuritystory.Weknewfrom

thatexperiencethattherewasaneedtohelpnewsorganizaonslocalizeourstories.

Butwecouldnotmanagethatprocessforeverypartner.

Katchescameupwithasoluon.Heeditedthreetofourversionsofaprintstory,by

geography,whenpossible.WemighthaveSouthern,CentralandNorthernCalifornia

versions,forexample.Allofthesestoriesweredramacallyshorterthanthefull-

lengthversionwewouldpublishonourwebsite.Insomecases,3,000-wordstories

wouldbecutbytwo-thirdsfornewsorganizaonsthatcouldntaccommodate

lengthytextstories.Partnerswouldhaveaccesstoourdataandcouldcralocal

insertsoranewtopwithoursign-o.Theyalsocoulddotheirownsidebarswith

alocalfocus.Wedeliveredbudgetlinesasearlyaspossible,frequentlytwoweeks

aheadofthepublicaondate.

KQEDradioandMontgomery,oursharedreporter,wereinvolvedfromthebeginning

ofstories,decidinginconsultaonwhichoneshewouldfocusonforbroadcast.The

restofusquicklylearnedtheconceptofsound,justaswelearnedabouttheneedfor

videothroughourworkwithKGO-TVandothers.AgusnArmendariz,ourdataana-

lyst,createdsearchabledatabasesformanystories.

DistribuonwastakingupmoreofFreedbergsandmyme.Weknewweneededa

stamemberfocusedondistribuonandpartnermanagement.Wealsowantedtoaddahealthreporter,sowesetouttondaddionalfunding.Bythespringof2010,

TheCaliforniaEndowmentawardedusagrantforapublicengagementmanager

andacommunityhealthreporter.WiththesupportoftheEthicsandExcellencein

JournalismFoundaon,weaddedourdistribuonandonlinecommunitymanager,

MeghannFarnsworth,inAugust.

Farnsworthnotonlyplacesourworkwithpartners,butalsoisintegraltopushing

ourstoriesoutthroughnumeroussocialmediaplaorms.ShestartedwithFacebook

andTwierbutlaterbegantoexploreemergingandnicheplaormsandtools,such

asTumblrandStumbleUpon.Shekeepsabreastofalmostdailychangesinsocial

media,Internetsitesandemergingplaormsthatcanhelpusgrowandengagenew

audiences.Shehashelpedreportersexperimentwithnewstorytellingplaorms,such

asStorify.Shekeepstrackofwhereourworktravelsintheblogosphereandaends

conferencestoraiseawarenessofCaliforniaWatchandCIRinkeycommuniesthat

couldfurtherdistribuon.

Bytheendof2010,weproducedfarmorestoriesthanwasourgoalandreached

muchwideraudiencesthanweancipated.Wecompleted24in-depthinvesgaons,

distributedthroughourpartners.Inaddion,wehadpublished1,118blogposts.

Wenowcallthemnewspostsbecausesomanyofthemarefullyreportedstories.

Twenty-eightsearchabledatabasescomplementedourworkandhelpedthepublic


24/38


24

localizeandpersonalizebigissues.StoriesincludedalookatBPreceivingsmulus

funds,cesareanseconratesacrossCaliforniaandissuesrelatedtomaternalhealth,

andclimatechangelegislaoninCalifornia.

Ourstorieswerehavinganimpact:

Wedetailednumerouscitaonsforamajorretailerforsellingjewelrytaintedwith

lead,prompngtheretailertopullitemsfromstoreshelvesnaonwideandleading

topendingstatelegislaontomoreeecvelypreventsuchsales.

Weshowedhowhundredsofnursinghomeshadcutstaandreducedwages,even

astheytookmoneyfromataxpayerfunddesignedtodojusttheopposite.Aer

thestoryran,thegovernorannouncedaseriesofqualityandaccountabilityre-

formsthatwereapprovedbytheLegislatureandsignedintolaw.

WeshowedhowlawenforcementagencieswereincreasinglyusingDUIcheck-pointstoseizevehiclesfromunlicenseddrivers,mostlyimmigrants.Aerward,

basedonourwork,thecityofLosAngelesandsevenothercieshaltedtheprac-

ceofimpoundingvehicles.Thestoryalsoresultedinpublicprotests.Legislaon

wasintroducedtodramacallycurbimpoundingatcheckpoints.

Ourworkhasledtoindustryawards,includingageneralexcellenceawardfrom

theOnlineNewsAssociaonandJournalistsoftheYearandInvesgaveReporng

awardsfromtheNorthernCaliforniaChapteroftheSocietyofProfessionalJourna-

lists.OurCaliforniaWatchwebsitealsowonaNaonalHeadlinerAwardforbest

online-onlynewssite.

WithPublicEngagementManagerAshleyAlvaradoinplace,weproducedin-depth

React&Actmaterialsinconjunconwithmajorinvesgaons.Toenableour

audiencetotakeacononissuestheycareabout,AlvaradocreatedQ&As,fact

sheets,linkstogoodsourcesoffurtherinformaon,andcontactinformaonforkey

playersandgovernmentocials,allinoneeasy-to-navigateplace.Ourengagement

alsoextendedtodirectcommunitycontact,suchasfreeleadscreeningsfollowing

ourinvesgaonintocontaminatedcostumejewelry,andOpenNewsroomevents

inwhichwestaonreportersinWi-Fi-accessiblecafesaroundthestatetoexplain

CaliforniaWatchtothepublic.[13]

Inanothereorttoexpandourapproachtoreporngandengagement,California

WatchjoinedAmericanPublicMediasPublicInsightNetwork,which,amongother

funcons,enablesreporterstoaskquesonsandndknowledgeablesourcesfor

stories.

Inourrstyear,wepartneredwithnearly80newsorganizaonsandreachedan

audienceconservavelyesmatedat25million.Thiswasbasedonnewspapercircu-

laon(includingnewspaperwebsites)andrangsforTVandradiopartners.Butwe

knowthatthisrepresentsafraconofouractualaudience.


25/38


25

Ourownwebtracgrewmonthtomonth,andbytheendof2010,wehadmore

than200,000uniquevisitors.OurrevenuefromCaliforniaWatchstorieswas$27,375.

Notmuch,butwehadestablishedtheprincipleofpaymentforcontent.

PART FOUR

Business development strategies are key to future success

As2011began,theCenterforInvesgaveRepornganditsrobustnewcreaon,

CaliforniaWatch,wereingoodshape.Wehadreceivedagreatdealofposivepub-

licitythepreviousyearandearnedrecognionwithinthejournalismcommunity,

whichhelpedwithfundraising.Inthelast18months,thestahadquadrupledand

hadmorethan30projectsunderway.

Ourprojectedorganizaonalbudgetfortheyearwasupto$4.7million,with$2.3mil-

lionofthatforCaliforniaWatch.Wewerenotfullyfundedfortheyear,butwewere

cauouslyopmiscwewouldsuccessfullyobtainthefundingtomovetheorgani-

zaonintothefuture.ButIwasawarethatourfuturewasfarfromsecure.Wewere

notllingopenposionsandwerecloselywatchingourbudget.

TheevoluonofCIRandthecollaboraveculturewehadenvisioned,bothinsideand

outsidetheorganizaon,wereareality.Themul-plaormandnontradionaldis-

tribuonstrategiesworked.Andwewereposionedtotakeadvantageofchanging

technologies.

Public insight network

ThroughthePublicInsightNetwork,

CaliforniaWatchandCIRhaveac-

cesstomorethan125,000cizen

sourcesfromacrossthecountry.PIN

providesindividualsadirectchannel

forsharingtheirknowledge,expe-

rienceandinsightswithreporters.

WehaveissuedPINqueriesonto-

picsrangingfromimmigraonto

C-seconsandchildrensproleson

Facebook.Thequerieshavegarnered

hundredsofresponses.Wealsoare

beginningtousePINforcommunity

awarenesspurposes.Forinstance,

forourCaliforniaLostseries,which

examinesunderservedareasofthe

state,PublicEngagementManager

AshleyAlvaradohassuccessfullyused

PINviamobilephonesasameansof

connecngwithresidentswholack

computersorInternetaccess.Oncea

groupofpeopleinthesamecommu-

nityconnectstoPIN,theycaninform

CaliforniaWatchandeachother

aboutlocalcondions(likewater

orpoweroutagesorenvironmental

polluon)andtheresponses(orlack

thereof)fromareaulies,compa-

niesorgovernmentoces.


26/38


26

Strategiesthatwouldhelpincreaserevenuebecameourfocus.Webroughtonabusi-

nessdevelopmentconsultantwiththegoalofnalizingabusinessplanthatwould

focusonthreethings:growingouraudience,generangmorerevenueandincreasing

userengagement.Fromourfalteringeortsinthefallof2009,wehadbecomemorecondentaboutthevalueandpossibiliesofchargingforcontent.Goinginto2011,

EditorialDirectorMarkKatchesandDistribuonandOnlineCommunityManager

MeghannFarnsworthledtheiniavetocreateamembershipandsyndicaonmo-

delthatwouldgenerateaddionalrevenue.Figuringoutpricingandgengasense

ofwhatnewspaperswithshrinkingbudgetswouldpaywasarststep.Weknewthat

thevalueproposionforourstorieswasridiculouslycheapforourpartners.Justcom-

pungsalaryandbenetsforareporter,aswellasedingmeforastorythatwould

conservavelytakethreemonths,wouldcostanewsroomaminimumof$20,000.

Anewsorganizaonin2010,againbasedoncirculaonoraudiencesize,wouldpayus$75to$500forthatstory.True,wecouldchargemulplepartnersforthestory,

butthereturnswereminimalforuswhencomparedwithourcosts.Wewantedto

ndawaytoincreaseourrevenuetoosetatleastabitmoreoftheexpense.

Havingestablishedanappeteforourcontent,weknewwealsohadtooerother

elementstothepackage.We[14]developedarangeofoponsfromveto15

invesgaveormajorenterprisestories.Partnerscouldchoosetobuyournewsposts

asamonthlyfeedorpayalacarteprices.Allofthesestorieswouldbeavailableto

partneroutletstoprintandpostonwebsites.WenamedtheservicetheCalifornia

WatchMediaNetwork.Byspring,sevennewspapershadsignedonasmembersforatotalofmorethan$40,000annually.Priceswerebasedoncirculaon.Wemaintained

relaonshipswithothernewspapersandconnuedtooerandsellthemstories.

Ispentagreatdealofmymeonfundraisingandwideningournetwork

ofpeoplewhocouldhelpusnancially.Iwouldneverturndownanopportunity

tospeakaboutourworkorthechallengeofsustainingit.Whetherinfrontoflarge

groupsorsmallones,Iwasnervous.Myfocusandenergyhadtobethesameforve

peopleor500.AnexampleistheTEDxtalkIgavethisspring.

WhileIwasmeengscoresofpeople,therewereneverenoughdooropenersformeintermsoffundraising.Ourchieffundraiser,CherilynParsons,wasoverloadedwith

foundaonfundraising.Thoughwehadbroughtonapart-medevelopmentassis-

tant,wehadnoonefocusedonindividuallarge-gidonors.IpressedourCIRboard

membersandotherstointroducemetopeoplewhowereinterestedinjournalism

andwhomightconsidersupporngourwork.Theboardwasgoingthroughitsown

transionwithanewboardchairman,PhilBronstein,editor-at-largeforHearst

Newspapers.Theboardmembersweresupporve,butIfeltIneededmorehelpfrom

them,especiallyinthebusinessandfundraisingareas.


27/38


27

Finding breathing room

Butintherstquarterof2011,Ihadawonderfulsurprise.Ihadgivenatalkin2008

ataSanFranciscoFilmSocietyevent.ThelateGrahamLeggat,thevisionaryand

inspiraonalexecuvedirectorofthesocietyattheme,introducedmetoLarry

andSharonMalcolmson,acouplewhohadaninterestininvesgavereporngand

documentarylm.Wechaed,andtheycametoourlooceinBerkeley.Wemet

onadaywhenitwasbrutallyhot,andourstrugglingnonprotlookedandfeltlike

astrugglingnonprot.Theylesayingthatweneededtogureouthowtosustain

whatweweredoing.

Westayedintouch.Theycametohearmespeakatacoupleofevents,andwealways

hadanimated,intenseconversaons.Inlate2010,theytoldmetheyweregoingto

selltheirbusiness.Theywouldgetbacktomewhentheydid.Theyalsotoldmethat

theyhadbeenfollowingtheworkofCIRandCaliforniaWatchandwereimpressed.

InFebruary2011,SharonMalcolmsoncalled.Thecouplehadsoldtheircompanyand

askedifIcouldmeetforlunch.Whenwemetthenextweek,theyaskedmewhatwe

needed.Imenonedseveralthings.Ialsotoldthemthatwewerefacingashorall

fortheyear.

Thiswasawkwardforme.TheMalcolmsons,likephilanthropistandpreviousCIR

donorWarrenHellman,wereunpretenous,candidpeoplewithwhomIfeltcom-

fortable.Butmorethanthreeyearsintomyrole,itwassllhardtoaskdirectlyfor

money.Ididnotmenonadollargure.Nordidthey.LarryMalcolmsonsaidtheywouldmakeadonaontoCIRaerspeakingwiththeiraccountant.Ihadnoidea

whattheywerethinking.

Thenextweek,SharonMalcolmsoncalledandsaidhernephewwouldcomebythe

nextdaywithacheck.Isaidthankyou.

Thenshesaid,Itwillbeforamilliondollars.

I was stunned.

TheMalcolmsonsknewthattheirsupportwouldgiveusalilebreathingroom.Therewerenostringsaached.

Useittokeepthelightson,Mr.Malcolmsonsaid.Theybelievedwewerecapable

ofimportantwork,bothonstoriesandinourmodel,andtheyunderstoodhow

tenuousoursituaonwas.Theirsupporthasprovedtobealifelinethisyear

althoughwesllhaveotherholesinourbudgetthatwereaempngtoll.

TheMalcolmsonsweretwoincrediblygenerousandhonestpeople.Iwasableto

establisharelaonshipwiththem.Itscrucialtohavethatkindofrelaonshipwith

individualdonors.Whenitpayso,itisbasedonapersonalchemistryasmuchas

anythingelse.Individualdonorscantransformanorganizaon,andtheeorttondthem,culvatethemandworkwiththemisessenal.


28/38


28

TheMalcolmsonsknewthatbackin2010,Ihadbeguninternaldiscussionswith

Katches,CIRAssociateDirectorChristaScharfenbergandothersaboutaddingavideo

unit.Wewantedtobeabletoproducevideofordeliveryacrossmulpleplaorms,

broadcasttomobile.Weknewthattherewasaninsaableappeteforvideoandthatthereismorepotenalrevenuefromvideothananyotherplaorm.

Oneofourgoalswastoproduceshortvideopiecesthatcouldstandaloneorbeused

aselementsoflonger-formdocumentaries.Ourthinkingwastocreatecontentin

formsthattheenduserscouldaccessintheirownway.[15]Gengtothataudience

andseeinghowtogeneraterevenuefromvideowasachallengewewantedtotackle.

SharonTiller,whohadstartedandoverseenPBSFrontline/Worldfornineyears,

hadbeenCIRsexecuvedirectorinthe1990s.FrontlinewasendingFrontline/

World,andTillerledatalentedWestCoast-basedteamthatcouldbequicklyand

easilyintegratedintoCIR.Shebecameheadofdigitalmedia,andwithourteamsup-

porngher,sheheadedthefundraisingeort.Weputtogetheraplanwithabudget

totaling$500,000.Halfofthatwassecuredwithachallengegrantof$250,000from

theRevaandDavidLoganFoundaon,andTillerraisedtherestfromindividualsand

onefoundaon.

InApril,wealsosecuredfundingfromafamilyfoundaonfortwocrucialposions,

editorialdirectorforallofCIR,whichincludedCaliforniaWatch,andadirectorof

technology.Katcheswaspromotedtoeditorialdirectoroftheenreorganizaon,and

ChaseDavis,aCaliforniaWatchreporterwithanentrepreneurialstreakandaverystrongtrackrecordoftechnologicalinnovaon,waspromotedtothetechnologyposi-

on.Wenowwereabletointegrateallofourproduconandsupportoperaonsinto

amorecoordinatedandorganizedstructure.Katches,DavisandTillerallreporttome.

ThedayhejoinedCaliforniaWatchasoneofourrstreporterhires,Davisbrought

anunderstandingandknowledgeofthepowerofdataandtechnology.Buthehad

wantedtofocusonreporng.Inhisnewrole,hecouldtakehisjournaliscskillsand

applythemtonewtechnologies,creangweb-basedproductsoutofourstories,

dataandvideo.Healsowouldhavetheopportunitytomeetandengagetheinno-

vavethinkersandtechnologistswhosurroundusinNorthernCalifornia.Thisneworganizaonalstructurewasperfect:Wewanttobeknownasanorganizaonthat

createshigh-quality,unique,crediblecontentthatcanbedistributedandproduced

inalignmentwithevolvingandproventechnologies,whileDaviswantstoworkin

anopenenvironmentofinnovaonandexperimentaonandcreatehisownskunk

works.Itwasnotgoingtobediculttocomeupwithideas.Thechallengewouldbe

implemenng,buildingorfundinganynewideas.Sengandunderstandingpriories

andseeingwheretheytintoourgoalswassomethingwewerelearningtodo,and

sllmustmaster.

Ournewguidingtriadinthisstrategywouldbeaudiencegrowth,revenuegrowthandengagement.


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29

WithTilleronboard,wesetouttoreplicateourprintCaliforniaWatchMediaNet-

workwithtelevisionbroadcasters.WesignedcontentdealswithABCaliatesinSan

Francisco,LosAngles,SacramentoandSanDiego.Totalrevenuefromthatwasnearly

$30,000.Wewoulddelivervepiecesayeartoeachaliate.Thealiatesalsowouldhaveaccesstoallofourcontenttouseontheirwebsites.

Ourstrategywasbasedonrepurposingvideostoriesinotherwords,takea

CaliforniaWatchstoryanddoadierentversionforbroadcastinCaliforniaandfora

naonalorinternaonalpartner.

Harnessing innovave ideas

Ourseismicsafetyproject,OnShakyGround,inApril2011bestexhibitedthenew

mul-plaormmodel.Theproject,ledbyreportersCoreyG.JohnsonandEricaPerez,

wastheresultofa19-month-longinvesgaonintoregulatoryfailuresinconstrucon

ofCaliforniaschools.

Themul-partstoryranoverseveraldaysandwasbroadcastbyallthealiatesover

twoorthreedays.WealsoproducedaversionofthestoryforPBSNewsHourand

a30-minutespecialforKQEDtelevisionthatwasrebroadcaston13PBSaliatesin

thestate.KQEDradiodidthreelengthystories,and10newspaperspublishedvarious

versions.Nearly130ofAOLsPatch.comsitesacrossthestatealsoranit.NewAmerica

Mediahelpeddistributethestorytoethnicoutlets.

PublicEngagementManagerAshleyAlvaradowasinvolvedineveryplanningandedi-torialmeeng.Atonemeeng,Alvaradoaskedaboutatargetaudiencewehadnot

considered:theschoolchildren.Nooneelsethoughtofgengthestorytoan8-year-

old.Howwouldthisstoryreachthem,sheasked.Heranswer:acoloringbook.

Wehadfosteredawide-opencultureinwhichnewanddierentideaswereencou-

raged.Andthiswasnewanddierent.Alvaradoexplainedthatmostkidsdontknow

whattodowhenanearthquakehits,whetherinaschoolorathome.

Shegotthego-aheadtoproduceacoloringbook.Alvaradocollaboratedwiththe

AmericanRedCrossandelementaryschoolteacherstocreateausefulguide.Shethoughttheremightbeinterestin1,000books.Weeventuallyhadrequestsfornearly

40,000.Wemadecallsandgotunderwriters.ThebookwaspublishedinSpanish,

ChineseandVietnamese.Enreschooldistrictsorderedthem,andthebooksreached

childreninnearly100schoolsstatewide.Nothigh-tech,[16]butcertainlyinnovave.

Alvaradoevenbloggedabouttheexperience.WiththehelpofinternArianeWu,Alva-

radoalsoprovidedanInsidetheNewsroomvideoonthesubject.

Overthreedays,OnShakyGroundreached7millionpeople.Thisconservaveesmate

isbasedonnewspapercirculaonandtelevisionandradioaudiencenumbers.Butthesto-

riesappearedoneverypartnerswebsiteaswell,andtheywerepushedoutthroughsocialmediaandpickedupelsewhere.Wedidnothavetheabilitytocapturethosenumbers.


30/38


30

On Shaky Ground

OnShakyGround,thelargest

invesgaonCaliforniaWatchhasundertakentodate,examinedthe

seismicsafetyofK-12publicschools

statewide.Theprojectrevealedhow

CaliforniasDivisionoftheState

Architecthasrounelyfailedtofully

enforcethestateslandmarkearth-

quakesafetylawforpublicschools,

allowingchildrenandteachersto

occupybuildingswithstructuralaws

andpotenalsafetyhazards.

Stories

Laxoversightofschoolconstrucon-

raisesquakesafetydoubts

Corey G. Johnson, April 7, 2011

Construconlobbysmembersinclu-

dedstateseismicsafetyregulators


Troubledschoolinspectorsslip

throughstatesoversight

Erica Perez and Corey G. Johnson,

April 9, 2011

Restricveruleskeepschoolsfrom

statesseismicrepairfund


Underpressure,stateredrawsquakehazardmaps


Partners

BakerseldCalifornian

Berkeleyside

CenterforPublicIntegrity

ContraCostaTimes

TheFresnoBee

TheHungtonPost

KEMSTV

KGTVABCSanDiego

KQEDPublicRadios TheCaliforniaReport

KQEDPublicTelevision

KTSFTV

NewAmericaMedia

TheOaklandTribune

PBSNewsHour

The(Riverside)Press-Enterprise

TheSacramentoBee

SanFranciscoChronicle

SantaRosaPressDemocrat

SFKorean

WorldJournal(Chinese-language

newspaper)

Mulmedia

Searchabledatabasebycounty,

townandschooltodeterminepro-

ximitytofaultzonesorotherhazards

foreveryK-12publicschoolinCalifor-nia.

myFault,aniPhoneappthatuses

ocialmapsofseismichazardsinCa-

liforniatoidenfydangersthatones

home,schoolorworkplacecouldface

duringanearthquake.

ReadytoRumble,acoloringand

acvitybooktopreparekids,ages

5-10,foranearthquake.Availablein

English,Spanish,tradionalChinese,

simpliedChineseandVietnamese.

Anonlineresourceguideforreaders

togetinvolvedinearthquakesafetyin

theircommunity.


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31

Onereasonweneedtodevelopabeermethodofknowingthefullextentofour

audiencesissowecanbuildarevenue-sharingmodelwithpublishersthatuseour

stories.WeworkedwiththeAssociatedPressandAPNewsRegistry,atrackingtool

thatwouldallowustoembedcodeinourprintanddatastoriessothatwecould

gathertheanalycsonouraudienceonexternalsites,likeTheHungtonPostor

Yahoo.

ThroughtheAPNewsRegistrydashboard,wenowareabletotrackpageviewand

tracdataforourstoriesonotherpublisherssites.ThiswaslaunchedinAugust2011.

Impact

Changesinpublicpracceoccurred

beforewepublishedasingleword.

Thereporngprocessaloneledtoadramacreorganizaonofexecuve

sta,ruleschanges,andatleasttwo

separateinternalinvesgaonsat

theCaliforniastatearchitectsoce.

Ourexaminaonalsoconvincedstate

ocialstoreleaserecordsfortherst

mepertainingtoinspectorperfor-

mance,andstateconstruconof-

cialswereorderedtomakeiteasierforschoolswithpotenallydangerous

buildingstoqualifyforseismicrepair

funds.

InMay,ocialsvotedtochangestate

lawtoexpandaccesstothe$200

millionrepairfund.Inaddion,the

stateSenatesSelectCommieeon

EarthquakeandDisasterPrepared-

ness,ResponseandRecoveryhasmettoimprovebackgroundchecksfor

schoolconstruconinspectorsandto

invesgatewhysomanyschoolslack

safetycercaons.

Press coverage of the invesgaon:

CaliforniaWatchsengagement

eortsshowstaerswhathard-to-

reachaudienceswant

PoynterOnline,June23,2011

TrackingtheNames

AmericanJournalismReview,April29,

2011

Thenewsonomicsofasingleinves-

gavestory

ByKenDoctor,NiemanJournalism

Lab,April21,2011

CaliforniaWatchisWatching:Inves -

gaonrevealslaxoversightofseis-

micstandardsinschools

ColumbiaJournalismReview,April15,

2011

Invesgaveseriesonearthqua-

keregulaonsinCaliforniaspublic

schoolsrocksstatesfoundaons

KnightBlog,April11,2011

CaliforniaWatchndsanewconsu-mergroupforitsOnShakyGround

invesgaon:kids

NiemanJournalismLab,April8,2011

BerkeleyJournalistsShakeUp

CaliforniasPublicSchools

FishbowlLA,April8,2011[17]


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32

AttheendofJuly2011,wesignedacontractwithOoyala,avideodistribuonand

trackingplaormwithitsownadversingnetwork.Thiswillmakeitpossibleto

embedourvideoonpartnerswebsiteswithourbrand.Itwillbroadenourdistri-

buoncapabiliesandgeneraterevenue,thoughjusthowmuchisunclear.

WealsoarebeginningtoworkunderagrantfromGoogletouseitsAdWordsnet-

work.Thegrant,whichtotals$10,000ayear,oerstheopportunitytodrivemore

readerstooursiteswiththegoalofincreasingandmonezingourtrac.Wehave

tolearnhowtomanagethatconsistentlyandwell.Thebeerweshowthatwecan

drivetrac,themorefreeadversingisavailableonGooglessearchnetwork.

Thisspring,weredesignedtheCaliforniaWatchwebsite.Thereareadversements

onthesite,andweareprojecng$10,000inrevenuethisyear.Weareintheprocess

ofredesigningtheCIRsitetoreectallthecapabiliesoftheCaliforniaWatchsite,

whichnowincludesenhancedengagementfeatures.

Responding to opportunies

TwoyearsaerthelaunchofCaliforniaWatch,thereisonecertainty:Themarketand

ourclientsbringussurprisingideasandopportunies.Latelastyear,aneditoratone

ofthelargestCalifornianewspaperstoldusthatheandothereditorswithwhomhe

wasincontactwerefrustratedbythedownsizingofreporngstasinSacramento.

Hesaidthattheone-personbureausmanynewspapersmaintainedcouldntdomuch

morethanscrambleeverydayandwerenotdoingmuchworkofconsequence.OthernewsorganizaonsnolongerhadanyoneinSacramento.

HissuggesonwasthatCaliforniaWatchandCIRtakeoverthemanagementofhis

Sacramentoreporter,andothernewspapersreporters,ononesubjectthestate

budgetwiththegoalofcreangateamofjournalistswithamandateofdoing

strongenterpriseandinvesgavestories.Hissuggesonwasthatwemanageand

distributethestoriestoallthenewspapersthatbecameinvolved.Hehadplannedto

talktoothereditorswhohebelievedwouldsupporttheidea.

Weweresurprised.Aneditorwasoeringtogiveuphisreportertous.Hereasoned

that,throughcollaboraon,beerstorieswouldgetdone.Weagreewithhimand

realizewecouldmanagethisprocess,but,todoitright,wewouldneededingre-

sourceswedonothavenow.Itsanideawewouldliketorevisitatsomepoint.


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Thatconversaonledtooneoureditorialdirector,Katches,hadthisspringwithBetsy

Lumbye,editorofTheFresnoBee.Shewasinterested[18]inworkingwithusto

coverthehigh-speedrailissueinthestate.Katcheslikedtheideaandhelpedcoordi-

nateteamcoveragewithothermembersofourmedianetworktheSanFranciscoChronicle,TheSacramentoBee,TheOrangeCountyRegister,theBakerseldCaliforni-

an,theSanDiegoUnionTribuneandThePress-EnterpriseinRiverside.

Reporngontherailproject,whichtodatehasfocusedonskyrockengcostsalong

theproposedroute,isnowcoordinatedamongeditorsatallthenewspapersandhas

involvedmorethan20reportersandeditors.Thecollaboraonteamholdsregularly

scheduledconferencecalls,andthestoriesproducedcanbeusedbyanyofthe

newspapersandothernewsoutlets.

Whenwestarted,weviewedourorganizaonasacontentcreator.Butnow,some-

thingishappeningthatwehadneverimagined.Wealsoarebecomingacentralhub

forcoordinangtheworkofmulplenewsorganizaonsthatshareacommongoalof

doinghigh-qualityinvesgavereporng.

A child born, not reared

Aswelookahead,andlookback,Iseethelasttwoyearsinmanywaysasagestao-

nalperiod,ratherthanabirth.Yes,wehavebeensuccessful,grownrapidlyandcon-

nuallyinnovated.Wehavelearnedmanylessons.

Wehavelearnedwecandobeerandthereisnoroomforcomplacency.Wehavelearnedthatevenwithallwehavedonewell,thereisnoguaranteeofourfuturevia-

bility.Wehavelearnedthatwithmanydierentfunders,wemustbalancetheirneeds

withoursandworkdiligentlytoconnuetotellourstoryandshowwhatwehave

accomplished.

Ihavelearnedthatmyabilitytocommunicateouraccomplishmentsandourvisionto

theoutsideisasimportantascommunicangittoourstaontheinside.Andwhile

itisimportantforotherstoleadwithcondence,Imustbalancethatwithkeepingus

focusedonwhatwedobestevenasweconnuetochange.Flexibilityandchange

remaincentraltomymessagetothesta.Andinthisadapveculture,thereisalsoa

consistentmessagethatevenwithallthechange,ourworkmustberootedinjourna-

liscvaluesthatarethefoundaonofourcredibility.

Anotherlesson,perhapsobvioustoothers,butnotme,washowtoactinmyroleas

theleader.Leadinginanevolvingcultureinvolvesmanychallenges.Oneisstayingas

calmaspossibleintheworkplaceandfrequentlylisteningandlisteningandlistening.

Somemes,decisionshavetobemadequickly,butatothermes,problemsthat

seemsourgentwilldissipateandfadeaeraninialburstofanxiety.

Asthepublisher,albeitonewhoembodiesaneditorsvalues,myfocushastobeonwhatwillsupporttheenreinstuon,whatisbestfortheorganizaonwithinthe


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evolvingmatrixofinnovaon.Thisisnotaperiodofstability.Itisoneofrapidchange.

Inourownsmallway,wearepartoftheunprecedentedtorrentofchangeintechno-

logyandinformaon.

WhatIhavealsocometorealizeisthat,asareporterandeditor,Iwasatmybest

whenthingsweremostchaoc.Ihavetendedtoseethingsmoreclearlyinthose

urgentandfrancmomentsasdeadlinesapproached.WhatIfoundmostexhilarang

inmynewspaperdayswasthat,onanygivenday,thenewsroomcouldbeturnedinto

amadhouseofcreavityandfunbyunexpectedeventsintherealworld.

Perfect training for a startup

Withitstwo-yeargestaonperiod,CaliforniaWatchnowneedstoshoreupitsweak-

nesses.Wehavenothadtheinfrastructuretosupportthejournalismasstronglyas

wewouldhaveliked.Weneedmoreofthebasicseding,copyeding,webpro-

ducon,distribuonhelpandmorereporngbeats.Weneedtogureoutabeer

brandingandmarkengcampaignaroundallofourcontent.Weneedmorefund-

raisingsta.Andweneedtohavemoreskillsonstatondaddionalrevenuefrom

ourworksothatwecanhelpfundthefullpotenalofthisnewmodelforinvesga-

vejournalism.

Thisdoesnotmeanwehavewastedme.Wehavelargelydonethebestwecould

withtheresourceswehad.Butitwillbeincreasinglyimportantgoingforwardto

manageourmebeerandtosetprioriesthatarecentraltoandsupporveofourmission.

Inthepastsixmonths,agreatdealofourinternallearninghascomewhileworking

onourbusinessplan.Ithasnotbeenaneasyprocess.AlessonIknewfromthepast

wasthatwehadtoreachagreementonoursharedgoalsandacceptandcommitto

them as a team.

Oneofthesegoalsistoreduceourdependencyonfoundaonsbygenerangmore

revenuefromcontent.Inmeengswithbusinesspeopleandtechnologyentrepre-

neurs,Italkaboutproducingstoriesandexplainhoweachonehasbeendistributed

onmulpleplaorms.Manyofthesepeoplebelieveinjournalismandinvesgave

reporng,andtheygenerallyareimpressedbywhatwedo,howwedoitandhowwe

distributeourwork.ButwhenItalkaboutoureortstoraiserevenuefromourme-

diapartners,almosteveryoneof[19]themisabitconfused.Thatsbecausetheysee

thatphilanthropyappearstobeworkingforus,andtheywonderwhywedontfocus

solelyonphilanthropicsupport.Butwhatwerealizeisthatfoundaonsupportcan

disappear.

Thereareinherentconictsandchallengesforthenonprotlookingfornewrevenue

foritswork.Wehavemulplefunderseachwithitsowncoreinterests.Somefun-

derscareaboutaspecicissue.Otherscareaboutaparcularregion.Somewantus

tomeasureimpactbyaudienceandwanttoinformthepublic.Otherscaredeeply


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aboutengagementandimpact.Andsomefundersmaysimplybelieveinjournalism

andthevalueofinvesgavereporng.Itsnearlyimpossibletopleaseeveryone.

Wealsoquicklylearnedthatbringinginpeoplewithbusinessskillsiscostly,but

necessary.Wehavecometoknowwhatwedidntknow,andworkingonthebusiness

planreallymadethatclear:Wearejournalists,notMBAs.Asweworkedontheplan,

wedenedwhatwouldhelpsustainouraempttobuildahybridnonprotwitha

partofitsbraindrivenbyrevenue.

Thisledtoanunderstandingthatthereareawidevarietyofideasthatcouldhelpsus-

tainus:Important,uniquestoriesthatmakeadierencemaydomorethananything

elsetosustainus.Creangaproductfromourdatacontentthatcouldtakeoasa

mobileappmighthelpsustainus.Figuringoutthetoolsandknowledgetomaster

audienceengagementcanhelpsustainus.Choosingandexecungthestoriesthat

makeanimpactcanhelpsustainus.Addingstatoculvateindividualdonorscould

helpsustainus.Havingthestaorskillstomasteronlineandsocialmediamarkeng

andfundraisingcouldhelpsustainus.Curatedandaudience-targeteddatacouldhelp

sustainus.Co-produconandsyndicaonofourstoriescouldhelpsustainus.Itwill

bemulpleandvariedstreams,largeandsmall,thatcouldcreateariverofrevenue.

Ourplanisnotperfect,andourhopeisthatotherinvestorsandinnovatorswillhelp

ussharpenitaswemoveforward.Werealizeweneedpeopleandorganizaonswith

complementaryskillstowork,collaborateandmeldwithus.

Intwoyears,CIRandCaliforniaWatchhavemorphedandchanged.Asagroup,ourleadershipteamhasagreedtofocusonourthreepillarsofsustainabilityaudience

rosenthal cir

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