Local News: East Bay Decline

Let's go a bit afield of our usual turf to examine an interesting piece from the AP.  Commenting on the state of local newspapers in the "tech capital" of the the East Bay, it notes

Gone is the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, The Daily Review of Hayward, The Argus of Fremont and the Tri-Valley Herald, among others. All had tens of thousands of readers during their heyday and served communities populous enough to be among the largest cities in many other states.  Ownership changes and consolidations have left the region known as the East Bay with just a single daily newspaper. The East Bay Times, based in Walnut Creek, attempts to cover a region nearly the size of Delaware with a fraction of the staff of the former dailies.

“It is really shocking that the place with the demographics and the business and the universities and the progressiveness, that this is a news desert ... ” said U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, a Democrat who represents a significant part of the East Bay.

Perhaps DeSaulnier should question whether the echo chamber of "progressiveness" across so many papers-- and the AP itself--might not account for a wide swath of the reading public choosing to get its news elsewhere.  As we approach 2020, I'm thankful that our two local papers, the Daily Journal and the Daily Post (when you can get one at the Broadway post office or the market on Oak Grove) are at least somewhat balanced.  The columnists span the spectrum and they use more than just the AP and the New York Times as sources for news pieces.  Here's hoping they stay financially healthy for a long time to come.

Comments

[resident]

I agree. You can almost use the Daily Journal as your main newspaper if you just want a surface exposure to national news. Lots of people are OK with that.

[Barking Dog]

Starbucks on Peninsula has the Post there daily.

[Joe]

The Post is also usually in the box in front of Celia's - also in San Mateo as is the Starbucks. Funny that they drop it in only 2-3 places in B'game. The box in front of the B'way post office is usually empty by 11am so there is demand.