Cityside Journalism Initiative

Cityside Journalism Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that meets the unique information needs of the Bay Area communities it serves — without a paywall. We have two newsrooms — Berkeleyside, founded in 2009, and The Oaklandside, founded in 2020 — that publish thousands of articles a year and reach over 600,000 unique monthly readers. We help fill a gap in hyperlocal news that is currently lacking. Cityside’s core activities are similar to those of a traditional local newspaper group in that we report on what is happening in local communities. However, we differ in a few key areas: our mission-driven determination to reach all corners of the communities we serve; the deep engagement we foster with our readers through different channels; and our collaborative rather than competitive approach. In the next couple years, we will continue to focus and improve upon our work in Berkeley and Oakland. There is much more to report on, and many more residents to connect with. Specifically, we aim to: - Continue our “listening tours” like the one we did ahead of the launch of The Oaklandside — spending months meeting with residents to ask them how local journalism could help make their daily lives better and help build a more informed, more equitable city. Do deeper reporting, underwriting more investigative journalism, publishing more wide-ranging coverage, and exploring different ways to deliver solutions-oriented information, such as text messaging, email newsletters, and short videos. Areas of coverage include: community health challenges from a systems lens (for example, the mental and physical impacts of trauma caused by escalating firearm violence, and unequal access to health care), climate and environmental issues, and local election coverage. - Build on our existing partnerships so our reporting can reach a broader audience. Our collaboration with El Timpano, a reporting platform that serves Oakland’s Latinx immigrants, and Laney College, a local community college, are two of many we plan on bolstering. - Our long-term goal is to continue to expand into other cities whose residents are lacking trustworthy sources of information. We believe this work is necessary, and the demand is there: not a week goes by without an individual or entity reaching out to ask us if we might come into their community to help meet their information needs. That said, expansion will not happen rapidly and for the sake of it, but strategically, thoughtfully and at the “speed of trust,” making sure to dialogue first with people in all parts of the communities we aim to serve.