When we think about resources in short supply across California, our minds turn to things such as housing, water, and day care. But we also should think about the shortage of reliable news sources.
The newspaper industry has lost more than three-quarters of its jobs nationally, an evisceration mimicked in California. That’s not a good trend, given that democracy functions best when it’s fueled by accurate, actionable information. That’s not even counting losses that extend beyond policy, starving the space one devoted to storytelling; the repository of our collective memory.
It’s especially heartening, then, when the news universe expands, if even a little, as it appears to be doing in Santa Barbara. A nonprofit news organization, Newswell, has acquired and resuscitated the venerable Santa Barbara News-Press and this week announced it hired veteran local journalist Joshua Molina as editor.
For a paper that weathered a harrowing 21st century — with the staff for a time in open rebellion against an owner they considered overbearing — Molina’s arrival presents a pleasing symmetry.
The now 52-year-old newsman grew up locally, attended Dos Pueblos High School and began working as a News-Press intern while attending Santa Barbara City College, before going on to Cal State Northridge.
Molina impressed executives at Newswell, based at Arizona State University, with his multiple skills — a reporter, editor, photographer and videographer, who hosts his own podcast on Santa Barbara and has taught next-generation journalists at the city college and CSUN.
“Josh possesses the most important personal quality of every gifted journalist: He cares,” Jerry Roberts, a former editor of the News-Press, said in an interview with the outlet. “He understands what an honor and privilege it is to be entrusted with the real-life stories of real people.”
A newspaper rising from the ashes
A paper born in 1868, the second oldest in Southern California, the Santa Barbara News-Press had withered away before shutting down entirely in 2023, when its parent company declared bankruptcy. When the company’s assets went up for sale, locals feared they would be sold to an offshore content mill that had no stake in Santa Barbara.
Instead, up stepped locals, including William Belfiore, a recent Harvard grad who grew up in Santa Barbara. He wrote an op-ed in the Santa Barbara Independent. “Santa Barbara’s Collective Memory, Sold for Kindling,” read the headline. The story galvanized locals to submit a winning bid for the News-Press’s archives, which they promptly turned over to Newswell. The nonprofit, in turn, hired Belfiore as general manager to oversee the second coming of the News-Press.
Molina said he hopes in the first year to hire five reporters to cover not just the city but all of Santa Barbara County. Readers have said they want more in-depth coverage and investigations — a tall order, even with a much larger staff.
Newswell oversees news sites in two other parts of California, with outlets including the Times of San Diego and Stocktonia in Stockton. It supports the outlets with payroll, technical and other services, using funds collected from major donors such as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. News-Press leaders hope to survive with one-third of their funding from memberships, another third from advertising and the rest from foundations.
No shortage of news to cover
As a news ecosystem, Santa Barbara stands in much better shape than many places. It has the alternative-style Independent, a mostly user-generated site called Edhat and Noozhawk, a news site that sprang up as the News-Press declined. Molina said he wrote roughly 10 stories a week for Noozhawk over most of the last dozen years, before this week’s hop back to the News-Press.
The journalist rattled off the many topics that need coverage, including transportation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation raids and the effect of Space X launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. “We want to dive deeply into all those issues and more,” Molina said, “to provide more context.”
Though the News-Press is more than 150 years old, “it’s also very much a startup,” Molina said. “We’re going to try things. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else. We’re going to see what works.” He called his return to his journalism roots “the greatest role I could ever imagine.”
Today’s top stories 
Director Rob Reiner and his son Nick Reiner attend a 2016 event in New York for “Being Charlie,” a semi-autobiographical film exploring Nick’s struggle with heroin addiction and his fraught relationship with his famous father.
(Rommel Demano / Getty Images)
Reiner slayingsLos Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday announced murder charges against Nick Reiner for the killings of his parents, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.If Reiner is convicted on all murder counts, he faces life without parole or the death penalty.The suspect has retained a high-profile defense attorney but has not been “medically cleared” to appear in court.Here’s insight into Rob Reiner’s final weekend as he attended Conan O’Brien’s holiday party and planned to meet with former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle on Sunday.Rebuilding after the firesExtreme weather predicted in CaliforniaThe state could see lots of rain and snow around Christmas, bringing the risk of floods, landslides and chaotic travel.High winds and heavy rainfall or snowfall could result in power outages, according to officials.Recently burned areas are at risk and could see rapid flows of mud and debris. Newsom’s trolling of TrumpGov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new state-run website that tracks what his office calls the “criminal cronies” around President Trump.The website catalogs what it calls the top 10 criminal convictions — including Jan. 6 rioters and George Santos — that were followed by pardons from Trump, whom the website refers to as “criminal in chief.”What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readFor your downtime 
A sunset at the Kaweah Oaks Preserve in Visalia, Calif.
(Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What is your favorite Rob Reiner movie?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
After living in New Orleans for 54 years, Al and Nenette Alcazar have settled into their new retirement home, a tiny ADU in the backyard of their son Jay Alcazar and his partner, Andy Campbell.
(Naohmi Monroe / For The Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times contributor Naohmi Monroe at a retired couple’s ADU in Harbor Gateway, which took just 3½ months to build.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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