California Black Media

Opinion: California’s Historic Partnership to Save Journalism Creates a Critical Way Forward for News Publishers

Published

4 weeks ago

September 11, 2024

Regina Wilson is the Executive Director of California Black Media.

By Regina Wilson, California Black Media

Last week, California arrived at a turning point in the decades-long quest to find a solution to the news crisis in our state.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) brokered a deal that promises to change the future of news in our state. This isn’t just another plan — it’s a unique collaboration that brings together the State of California, news publishers and tech companies, to give our newsrooms the financial support they desperately need.

It also includes the launching of a new National AI Accelerator to explore how artificial intelligence can help journalism thrive in today’s digital world.

This partnership couldn’t come at a more critical time. Local journalism is on life support across our state. Across the country, news outlets are shrinking or shutting down at an alarming rate, leaving communities without vital information. A recent study from Northwestern University found that two and a half newspapers in the U.S. close every week. Since 2005, we’ve lost two-thirds of our newspaper journalists. In California alone, over 100 newspapers have disappeared in the last decade.

Assemblymember Wicks, along with the state and other key players, have come up with a pragmatic way to address this crisis. They’ve created an agreement to revive local journalism in California by using tech industry and public resources — without raising taxes on Californians.

Over the next five years, more than $250 million in public and private funding will go to California’s newsrooms, especially small, local, and community-focused outlets. This isn’t just about saving what’s left. It’s about creating a future where journalism can be strengthened enough to resume its critical roles as interpreter of current events; watchdog of developments in business and public policy; and reliable source of news and information.

As the Executive Director of California Black Media, I can’t stress enough how important this initiative is for ethnic and community media outlets. We’ve always been the trusted voices for historically underrepresented communities, providing news and information that larger outlets often overlook or under-explore. For many of us, this funding could mean the difference between staying open and closing down.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support for this initiative, along with his backing of AB 1511, authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), demonstrates the administration’s strong commitment to local and underrepresented media. AB 1511 seeks to increase the state’s investment in marketing, advertising, and outreach dollars directed specifically to our local community news providers.

It’s important to note that this partnership is just the beginning. As Assemblymember Wicks said, this effort is about laying the foundation for a free and vibrant press in California.

As we move forward, I encourage all stakeholders — publishers, journalists, community leaders, and policymakers — to come together and make the most of this opportunity. The future of California’s media landscape is at a crossroads, and with the right support, we can ensure it is incrementally funded to become more diverse, dynamic, and democratic.

About the Author

Regina Wilson is the Executive Director of California Black Media.

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California Black Media

Study: UC 4-Year Grad Rate Doubles That of CSU

Graduation rates at the University of California have increased by 10 points over the last ten years putting the college system on track to achieve its 2030 graduation goals, according to a report on college completion in the state released by the Public Policy Institute of California. Recent data indicated that the UC system has a graduation rate of 73% for four-year students and a six-year graduation rate of 86%, according to the institution’s data. The system will increase the four-year graduation rate to 76% and the six-year rate to 90% by 2030. However, students at California State University are lagging behind with a graduation rate of 36% for four-year students and a 62% for six-year graduation rate. The graduation rates for students in the UC system are more than double that of students at CSU. Consequently, it is unlikely that CSU will meet its graduation goal of graduating 40% of four-year students and 70% of six-year students by 2025.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock Photo

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Recent data indicated that the UC system has a graduation rate of 73% for four-year students and a six-year graduation rate of 86%, according to the institution’s data. The system will increase the four-year graduation rate to 76% and the six-year rate to 90% by 2030.

However, students at California State University are lagging behind with a graduation rate of 36% for four-year students and a 62% for six-year graduation rate. The graduation rates for students in the UC system are more than double that of students at CSU. Consequently, it is unlikely that CSU will meet its graduation goal of graduating 40% of four-year students and 70% of six-year students by 2025.

The report revealed that nonprofit institutions have relatively high completion rates compared to a high number of for-profit and private colleges that have lower graduation rates.

Researchers stated that longstanding equity gaps in college completion persist indicating that Black and Latino students graduate at lower rates of 52% and 64% The data is varied in comparison to White and Asian students who graduate at higher rates of 75% and 83%, respectively.

Nonetheless, the report showed that Black students in the UC system graduated at a rate of 78% in four years, nearly double the graduation number of Black students in the CSU system with a rate of 47 percent.

“Campus and regional disparities are stark,” the report stated regarding the varying graduation rates at the different college locations.

“Despite progress, equity gaps at UC remain nearly as large as they were in 2018. At CSU, gaps have widened over time; however, many campuses have made progress in closing them,” the report stated about the equity gaps in the college systems.

The state has set a goal to achieve a graduation rate of 70% by 2030.

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Bay Area

State of Black California: Oakland Tour Stop Rescheduled

The 2024 State of Black California Tour stop in Oakland has been rescheduled from Sept. 28 to Dec. 13, at the Oakland Museum of California. Registration for the event is closed after reaching maximum capacity, according to CBBF’s website.   Registration for the Oct. 5 tour stop in Moreno Valley is closed as well. Al Sharpton will be a guest speaker at that event.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

At the State of Black California event in Sacramento on Sept. 14. From left to right: Asm. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), Asm. Chris Holden (D-Sacramento) and Asm. Mia Bonta (Oakland).

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The 2024 State of Black California Tour stop in Oakland has been rescheduled from Sept. 28 to Dec. 13, at the Oakland Museum of California. Registration for the event is closed after reaching maximum capacity, according to CBBF’s website.

Registration for the Oct. 5 tour stop in Moreno Valley is closed as well. Al Sharpton will be a guest speaker at that event.

The series, co-hosted by the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), has made stops in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Sacramento.

The State of Black California series creates space for Black Californians to engage the public and policymakers on the issues that impact the Black community. It will also provide conversations about the status of reparations legislation.

The CBFF is a five-year, $100 million measure to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustainable investments and effective resources needed to remove systemic and institutional racism. CBFF was the benefactor of $3.5 million in state funds last year, distributed to various Black networks in the state.

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California Black Media

Sen. Laphonza Butler Helps Secure Nomination of Central California Federal Judge Michelle Williams Court

Last week, U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped to secure the nomination of Judge Michelle Williams Court as Judge for the Central District of California with a vote of 49-44. In her new role, Court became the third Black woman and fifth in the court’s history to serve as an Article III Judge in the state’s Central District. Since 2012, Court worked for the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County.

Published

6 days ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Judge Michelle Williams Court. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

In her new role, Court became the third Black woman and fifth in the court’s history to serve as an Article III Judge in the state’s Central District.

Since 2012, Court worked for the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County.

In 2023, she was a supervising judge in the court’s civil division. Before being a judge, she worked as an attorney, then later became the vice president and general counsel at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm specializing in human rights and poverty justice.

Court dedicated her career as a lawyer to civil rights and social development. She led and contributed to several projects at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California. The judge earned her Juris Doctor in 1993 from the Loyola Law School at the Loyola Marymount University, and she received her bachelor’s in 1988 from Pomona College.

“The Central District of California serves roughly seventeen million people, making it the largest federal district by population in the entire United States. The judges who serve these Californians are currently facing an unprecedented number of filings, making the need to fill the court’s vacancies all that more urgent. It is commonly said that ‘justice delayed is justice denied,’ and at this moment the people of California’s Central District are indeed being denied justice as a direct result of these judicial vacancies,” said Butler in her statement on the Senate Floor urging her colleagues to approve Court’s nomination.

Butler also praised Court’s commitment to justice and track record of serving the state of California.

“Her nomination is an important step towards building trust in our legal system by ensuring that our federal courts reflect and represent the diversity of the people it serves,” he said regarding Judge Court’s career serving in the state’s justice system.