Local sports reporters Mike Guardabascio and JJ Fidler turned their newsroom friendship into a sports empire, creating the city’s first nonprofit news outlet in 2018. The562 represents more than just a scoreboard; it is a community-driven outlet built around a love for the city of Long Beach.
The562 was early to the nonprofit model that many newsrooms now survive on, but community has always been a part of its core. Guardabascio and Fidler met at Long Beach State’s student newspaper Union Weekly in 2004, where Fidler started the paper’s first-ever sports section. Together at the Union, they covered men’s basketball, men’s volleyball, and more.
After graduating, they found themselves in stable, well-paying jobs that lacked a sense of fulfillment. Driven by a desire to do something new and youthful flexibility, in 2008 they once again launched a new sports section, this time for the recently-established Long Beach Post.
“We just kind of thought, we’re young and we can be poor right now, let’s do something fun and try something different,” Guardabascio said.
Mike Guardabascio has dedicated hundreds of hours of his life covering Long Beach sports with grace and care.
(Courtesy of John Napalan)
At the time, the Long Beach Post was heavily focused on politics, but Guardabascio and Fidler saw an untapped market. Long Beach was a city filled with passionate sports fans who lacked a dedicated digital home. When they pitched the idea to Robert Garcia and Sean Labaski, the founders took a chance on the then-23-year-olds, leading to the creation of the Long Beach Post’s sports page.
The duo’s career trajectory initially followed a traditional, though varied path through Long Beach publications. They eventually took over the sports section at the Grunion Gazette and were later hired to run sports coverage for the Press-Telegram. However, the unpredictability of the industry caught up with them when the Press-Telegram’s parent company laid off their entire local sports staff in 2018.
“It’s cool for me to have gone from covering this awesome community and obviously being born and raised here … now getting to see how great the sports community is from the perspective of a coach and a father, not just writing about it,” Guardabascio said.
Without Guardabascio and Fidler, a vital source of local sports coverage vanished. It was during this period of uncertainty that the idea for The562 originated.
“It became very clear to me when we got laid off, that as a city, we are going to have to do this for ourselves or it’s not going to happen,” Guardabascio said.
The562 launched a little over eight years ago, built on the radical idea of local control. Publisher Andy Kerr volunteered to handle the complex 501(c)(3) paperwork, when the team decided to pursue a nonprofit route to ensure the outlet’s longevity and independence.
Guardabascio’s role has evolved into a more traditional 9-to-5 schedule, where he focuses on features, breaking news, fundraising and business management, while the rest of the staff handles nightly game coverage. The organization is powered by Long Beach natives who truly care about the community and who are dedicated to their long-term success. This local connection is the outlet’s greatest strength; the staff understands the city’s desires because they were born and raised in the area.
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“It’s cool for me to have gone from covering this awesome community and obviously being born and raised here … now getting to see how great the sports community is from the perspective of a coach and a father, not just writing about it,” Guardabascio said.
Guardabascio has covered everything from global spectacles to intimate local triumphs. One of the high points was when he and Fidler traveled to the 2012 London Olympics to cover roughly 30 athletes from Long Beach, a three-week assignment funded by their boss at the Gazette, Simon Grieve. He has also witnessed local history, covering three Long Beach State men’s volleyball national championships.
The most emotionally satisfying part of the job for Guardabascio is often the stories that don’t make national headlines. He has served as the beat writer for the Long Beach Poly High School football team for nearly 20 years, covering future NFL stars and kids who stop playing after their senior year with equal gravity.
One story that stands out to him during his time at The562 is a feature on Ray Graham, a running back for Long Beach Poly. Graham’s spirit remained undiminished through all the hardships he endured, a trait that Guardabascio described as a daily inspiration for himself. The feature eventually received national recognition, validating the importance of deep, empathetic local reporting.
Mike Guardabascio handles every student athlete interview with the same gravity, whether the athlete is bound for the pros or hanging up their jersey after high school.
(Courtesy of John Napalan)
The562 is not just documenting the present; it is actively building the future of journalism through its high school internship program. This program was started by Tyler Hendrickson, initially under a five-year agreement with the Long Beach Unified School District, but has since flourished into a successful program that is funded at a level that allows all student interns to be paid.
The high schoolers receive professional training from The562’s staff photographers and writers. Guardabascio notes that this program has produced an incredible talent pool, with many students returning to work as freelancers after their internships conclude or continuing to pursue journalism in college. Guardabascio considers this program one his favorite parts about the job.
Guardabascio emphasizes that the future of The562, remains tied to the people it serves.
“The truth is… we won’t have any news media at Long Beach if people don’t support it,” Guardabascio said.
He said the era of relying on outside corporations to tell the city’s story is over. Fittingly, The562 thrives off the support of monthly subscribers and donors. The mission remains clear for Guardabascio and his team: Long Beach is a city that must tell its own story, and as long as the community stands behind them, there will always be a story to tell.
See the latest in Long Beach sports coverage at the562.org. Make a donation to keep this kind of coverage alive at the562.org/support-the562-org/.
Angelina AzcuéReporter
Angelina Azcué is a journalism student at California State University- Long Beach. She has experience writing for on campus media such as DIG Magazine and Long Beach Current with topics ranging from Arts & Life, News and is currently focusing articles pertaining to the College of the Arts. She enjoys covering topics related to local news, event coverage and features. In her free time, she enjoys trying out new food places, attending fitness classes and taking day trips with her friends.
