Photo by Meredith Jordan

An alliance of independent publishers from across California comes together to address local news sustainability.

Battling Goliath, a group of representatives from 50 independent newspapers across California gathered on Saturday, January 24, to tackle the many and varied threats to local news by big corporate media.

The daylong event was the second annual meeting of the California Independent News Alliance (CINA). Hosted by the Sun-Gazette Newspaper, owned by Mineral King Publishing in Visalia, the conference kicked off with opening remarks by Ojai Valley News publisher Laura Rearwin Ward, who founded CINA in 2024 and serves as its board chair.

Rearwin Ward pulled no punches in citing the clear threats to local independent news outlets: Big Tech monopolies, global corporate buyouts, billionaire nonprofits, government agencies that don’t want to be watched, and the high cost of housing and health care.

“There’s a lot stacked against us, and there always was going to be,” Rearwin Ward said, “because we’re reporting for the people. We’re not reporting for the government, the corporations or the oligarchs.”

The conference was the first for CINA with its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, 105 member news outlets and a seven-member board. As it grows, CINA advances its mission to seek support to protect, promote, and advocate for the business interests and editorial quality of California’s locally owned independent news outlets.

During the roundtable discussion at the conference, attendees from independent California news outlets and affiliate member California Black Media, represented by Regina Brown Wilson, agreed on the biggest threat to local news: Not surprisingly, it’s money.

Beyond the top category of sustaining revenue, concerns also include operations, reputation, public notices, audience development, chain media, government overreach, copyright protection, media literacy/misinformation, and getting time off.

After the roundtable, attendees broke into groups and developed possible responses to the threats.

Solutions presented by each group related to state legislation, public notice compliance, and new legislation, forming partnerships with affiliates, school education programs, developing grants and sponsorship sources, and creating a benefit corporation to continue to obtain advertising contracts for its members.

During lunch, the 2025 short documentary “Still in Print” was shown by Alluvium Films. The nine-minute film is about the Mariposa Gazette, a CINA member, and other media outlets. Attendees also spent time networking, sharing, and advising one another on successful business strategies.

“I gained valuable insights and no longer feel isolated in the struggle to preserve newspapers,” said Saskia Kennedy, editor of The Fullerton Observer newspaper, based in Fullerton, California, echoing many of her fellow conference attendees.

After it was over, Rearwin Ward said she was pleased with the event and with the direction that CINA is heading.

“The mission behind CINA is to work together to lift up California’s locally owned and operated independent news outlets, which in turn will grow meaningful professional journalism in our state and, in turn, the people’s power through factual information,” Rearwin Ward said.

“We are the stewards of California’s Fourth Estate, and we are at a crossroads where independents need to reach out to their communities to build the trust that has been lost by the big-chain media outlets,” she said. “It’s exciting to be at the beginning of something really important.”

To learn more about CINA, visit cina.news.