Santa Cruz Local

Our mission is to produce fair and accurate local journalism that holds power to account. We believe that when we are all watching and engaged in our local government, our needs are addressed, democracy works better and our community is stronger. We value integrity, transparency, public trust, and quality over quantity. We aim for truth, depth, context and analysis rather than virality, online engagement and speed.

Santa Cruz Local is different from other local newsrooms. We respond to what residents tell us they need.

By answering your questions and digging into your story ideas, our work becomes more useful to residents. We seek people who are most affected by decisions in local government. We strive to reflect the diversity of Santa Cruz County in our journalism.

We look for solutions.

We look for approaches to problems in other cities and counties and dissect them. We unravel how those solutions work, where they fall short and what it would take to bring those models to Santa Cruz County.

We inform residents and get them involved in local government.

We let residents know about big upcoming decisions in local government and how to make their voice heard. We love to break down complex issues and make them digestible.

Our information is free.

We strive to serve a broader range of Santa Cruz County residents than other local media outlets. To strengthen our community, local news should be accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford it. Our news is easy to access via phone, email, Instagram and Whatsapp.

We are supported by readers.

Most of our funding comes from readers. Santa Cruz Local members keep our local news free for everyone.