Just a year ago, NEWSWELL began operating its first community newsrooms: Stocktonia, in Stockton, California, and Times of San Diego. In January, we added the Santa Barbara News-Press to the NEWSWELL network.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce another milestone: We have acquired the San Diego Community Newspaper Group, with seven local San Diego print publications. The San Diego Community Newspaper Group has been serving local neighborhoods for 40 years, and starting on May 21, you’ll see their trusted news delivered on seven distinct microsites and neighborhood-specific newsletters through the Times of San Diego.
That means in one year, NEWSWELL has grown to 10 news sites across California. That’s 10 communities we are serving with independent, fact-based journalism.
In each newsroom, we’re employing trusted local reporters and editors.
In each community, NEWSWELL’s team helps with critical operations and strategic guidance so the local journalists can focus on local news.
One year into operations, NEWSWELL is fully living our mission and our promise: Transform local news to help communities and democracy thrive.
This is a fresh new business model for local news, one backed by Arizona State University, the country’s largest and most innovative university.
To be clear, this is hard work.
But here’s the good news: It’s working.
This update originally appeared in our May 21, 2025, newsletter, which came from Nicole Carroll, NEWSWELL executive director. This version has been lightly edited for clarity.