Model and Strategy
The San Francisco Public Press is a noncommercial newsroom producing investigative and solutions journalism that addresses the city’s most urgent and under-covered issues. Its mission is to strengthen civic life by engaging diverse audiences, exposing inequities, and holding public institutions accountable.
The Public Press delivers its journalism across three platforms: its website (sfpublicpress.org), a community radio station (KSFP 102.5 FM), and its “Civic” podcast. Unlike traditional outlets focused on breaking news, the newsroom specializes in deeply reported, data-driven coverage of systemic issues such as housing affordability, homelessness, environmental justice, and public health, often exploring potential solutions and policy outcomes. Its multiplatform approach reaches both digital and offline audiences, ensuring that information is accessible to residents across neighborhoods and income levels.
Community engagement is central to the Public Press’s model. The newsroom convenes live events, public forums, and listening sessions that shape editorial priorities and foster direct dialogue between reporters and residents. Partnerships with public media outlets like KALW, publications like El Tecolote and Mission Local, and community organizations like the Chinese Cultural Center ensure multilingual access and cultural relevance, while co-publications with ProPublica, The Guardian, and Inside Climate News extend the reach of its reporting well beyond San Francisco.
“At the Public Press we ask reporters to take a step back, look at the big picture and situate the news in context. Who are the unseen stakeholders whose perspectives haven’t been included? What data or records could support or undermine early assumptions? Are these events unfolding from the top down, driven by organized power structures, or bottom up, by community members driven by their lived experience?” — Lila LaHood, Executive Director
Strategically, the Public Press is investing in long-term sustainability and newsroom growth. It is expanding membership and sponsorship programs, strengthening individual donor cultivation, and developing new community events to diversify revenue. Plans include hiring additional investigative editors, increasing translation capacity, and deepening partnerships that connect journalism with civic action.
What defines a “Public Press story,” as staff describe it, is accountability reporting rooted in local needs but resonant nationally—stories that give voice to historically underserved communities while questioning those in power, replace speculation with data, and create space for public dialogue and civic participation.
Impact
The San Francisco Public Press has built a reputation for deeply reported journalism that drives policy discussion, civic engagement, and community trust. Its investigations and collaborations have influenced public debate on housing, environmental justice, and government transparency—showing how local news, done differently, can make systems more accountable.
A defining example is “Exposed,” an investigative series uncovering the legacy of the U.S. Navy’s Cold War-era human radiation experiments at the Hunters Point Shipyard. Drawing on thousands of declassified federal records, the project revealed decades of government secrecy and environmental harm in San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods. The lead article was co-published with The Guardian (UK) and later republished by Public Health Watch, amplifying national attention to local contamination and accountability efforts. The series won the 2025 national Izzy Award from the Park Center for Independent Media. It continues to inform legal and policy advocacy, with community groups citing its findings in public hearings and environmental justice campaigns.
Environmental reporting has also spurred public action. In 2024, the Public Press analyzed more than 21,000 toxic sites across the Bay Area, revealing that cleanup delays disproportionately affect low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. The story was republished by Inside Climate News and the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper and cited by local officials in calls for stronger state oversight.
Other investigations have prompted tangible policy responses. Coverage of the city’s confiscation of unhoused residents’ property exposed widespread violations, leading to new scrutiny of City Hall’s enforcement practices. Reporting on San Francisco’s overdose crisis spotlighted gaps in culturally competent treatment for LGBTQ+ and immigrant residents, prompting service providers to expand targeted outreach. And the “Ride-Hailing’s Dark Data” series, which exposed secrecy around Uber and Lyft safety records, helped push the state to repeal a regulation that kept crash data hidden from the public.
Beyond investigations, the Public Press amplifies impact through education and capacity-building. Its Civic podcast and KSFP radio station reach listeners with in-depth interviews on local policy, while its training initiatives have prepared more than 100 early-career journalists for investigative and solutions reporting. Alumni have gone on to work at outlets such as KQED, Politico, and The Washington Post, carrying forward the newsroom’s values of rigor, equity, and accountability.
Leadership
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Lila LaHood
Executive Director
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Mel Baker
KSFP Station Manager
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Lisa Rudman
Development Director