Listening to San Diego: What community members want from local journalism and our next steps
Your voices are shaping the future of news in the region.
Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Since last August, we have been listening to what San Diegans want to see more — and less — of in local news.
Through a series of discussions throughout the region, we’ve chatted with Gen Z, Millennials and communities too often overlooked or misrepresented in mainstream media.
We held our first open session at Queen Bee's Art and Cultural Center in North Park, followed by chats with the San Diego API Coalition, The Meeting Place Clubhouse, and the Environmental Health Coalition. Community members also shared their ideas and concerns about local journalism during tabling events with the North Park Vegan Food Pop-up, Business for Good San Diego and the 2024 Youth Changemakers Summit.
We spoke with folks who get their news on social media, people actively avoiding the news, community members who are hyper-engaged in local media consumption and everyone in between. And what we heard was clear: people want news that is accessible, community-centered and reflective of their lived experiences.
Key Takeaways:
- Many attendees expressed a hunger for deeper reporting on issues that impact young and historically marginalized communities with follow-up stories tracking long term effects of local programs and policies.
- Attendees said that too often, local news stories focus on negative issues without including solutions for how they can help shape positive changes, such as through volunteer opportunities and community events.
- Many people are experiencing burnout from following back-to-back crises like the pandemic, war in Ukraine, genocide in Palestine, inflation and American politics in the ever-stressful news cycle.
- Many saw a need for more diverse voices in newsrooms and storytelling that truly represents and serves San Diego’s rich cultural diversity.
- There are many issues that San Diegans of all age groups feel passionate about. These include effective climate change policies, affordable housing, news that doesn’t reflect NIMBY (not in my backyard) sensationalism, finding places to socialize, voting guides and special education resources, to name a few.
- People want to be able to get their news in a variety of ways — on social media, in newsletters, through the airwaves of podcasts and by participating in community events.
With this feedback in mind, we’re building Daylight San Diego: a nonprofit news outlet dedicated to informing, engaging and empowering diverse communities throughout our region. But we’re just getting started, and we need your help.
What’s Next?
- We are launching our fundraising campaign on Givebutter with a goal of raising $50,000 by July 1, 2025 to support our journalism. This initial round of fundraising will support administrative costs, our website and office supplies, with the bulk of funding earmarked for paying our journalists to produce content for our website and social media accounts.
- Our next open listening session will be held virtually on March 10, 2025 at 7 p.m. Please RSVP ahead of time to reserve your spot.
- If you haven't already, please consider taking our Daylight San Diego Community Survey to help us shape upcoming news content.
- Want to stay up to date? Follow us on social media (Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook), sign up for newsletter updates on our website and share our page with your own community within the region.
Your voice matters. Thank you so much to everyone who has filled out our survey or shared their story during one of our listening sessions for being part of this journey to reshape local news for San Diego.
