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REPORT

Covering California: Perspectives on Media Coverage of California

In July and August 2007, with support from The James Irvine Foundation, the California Media Project conducted nearly 70 interviews with stakeholders around the state in order to:

  • identify positive and negative examples of California coverage;
  • identify the potential of new media to inform Californians about key policy issues;
  • gauge the potential for forging new partnerships between the media and a range of other institutions;
  • identify new strategies to enhance media coverage of the state.
The themes that emerged from the interviews were summarized in a report, “Covering California: Perspectives on the California Media.” The report is intended to be a starting point to help inform discussions about new strategies for California coverage. While there was not unanimity among all participants, some of the key findings of the report include the following:

Media transformations have had a disproportionately negative impact on coverage of statewide issues, at the same time the state has gained more influence over residents' lives. Despite declining readership and financial challenges, newspapers still have by far the most impact on policy decisions in the state compared to broadcast media and new media outlets.The new media have enormous potential to engage Californians, but do not necessarily promote civic participation or greater knowledge of key state issues. Multiple strategies will be needed to upgrade coverage of California issues.

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RESPONDENTS

Andy Donohue, Executive Editor, Voice of San Diego

Angela Blackwell, President, PolicyLink

Anthony Wright, Executive Director, California Health Access

Barry Krisberg, President, National Council on Crime and Delinquency

Betty Yee, Chairwoman, State Board of Equalization

Bill Davis, President, Southern California Public Radio

Bill McFadyen, founder, Noozhawk.com

Bill Ong Hing, Professor of Law and Asian American Studies UC Davis

Bob Page, Board Member, Voice of San Diego

Bruce Cain, Director, University of California Washington Center

Carl Guardino, President, Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center

Kathay Feng, Executive Director, Common Cause California

Charles Reed, Chancellor, California State University

Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor, West Sacramento

Dan Gillmor, Director, Center for Citizen Media

David Abel, Abel Consultants and founder, Metropolitan Forum Project

David Kirp, Goldman School of Public Policy - UC Berkeley

David Lesher, Public Policy Institute of California

David Welty, President, California State University – Fresno

Dorothy Kidd, Dept. of Media Studies, University of San Francisco

Dick Jackson, School of Public Health - UC Berkeley

Duf Sundheim, former chairman, California Republican Party

Henry Gardner, Executive Director, Association of Bay Area Governments

Hugo Morales, Station Manager, Radio Bilingue

Jaime Regalado, Executive Director, Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs

James O’Shea, Executive Editor, Los Angeles Times

Janet Holmgren, President, Mills College

Jean Ross, Executive Director, California Budget Project

Jim Bettinger, Director, Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists

Joe Simitian, Senator, D-Palo Alto

John Trasvina, President, MALDEF

Kevin Roderick, Founder and Editor, LAObserved.com

Kevin Starr, historian, USC

Leon Panetta, Director, Panetta Institute for Public Policy

Lew Butler, Founder, California Tomorrow

Lou Cannon, formerly Washington Post, author

Maria Blanco, Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights

Mark Smith, President, California Healthcare Foundation

Mary Bitterman, President, Bernard Osher Foundation

Mary Hughes, President, Staton Hughes

Mary Lou Fulton, Bakersfield Californian

Michael Parks, Director, USC Annenberg School of Journalism

Nancy Dobbs, President and CEO, KRCB TV

Pam David, Executive Director, Walter and Elise Haas Fund

Parker Blackman, Managing Director, Fenton Communications

Paul Glickman, News Director, KPCC Radio

Peter Pennekamp, President, Humboldt Area Foundation

Peter Schrag, author/columnist

Robert Long, News Director, KNBC-TV

Robert Reich, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy

Ruben Arminana, President, Sonoma State University

Russlyn Ali, Executive Director, Education Trust-West

Sandy Close, Executive Director, New America Media

Scott Shafer, host, “California Report”

Steve Leder, Senior Rabbi, Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Steve Pehanich, Executive Director, Catholic Charities

Stuart Kwoh, Executive Director, Asian-Pacific American Legal Center

Ted Lempert, Executive Director, California Now

Vilma Martinez, partner, Monger Toller and Olsen

Warren Hellman, Hellman & Friedman

Warren Olney, KCRW Radio

William Deverell, Director, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West

William Hauck, President, California Business Roundtable