Local news stays local,
WE offer support and strategy
NEWSWELL is growing a network of nonprofit newsrooms dedicated to their communities, made up of local journalists and supported by local community advisory boards. We offer shared services, innovative tools and diversified revenue strategies to help local news thrive.
As we assist newsrooms, we do it with the community, listening, learning and offering ways to get involved. Each newsroom is for and of the community it serves, the entire community.
WE ARE
NONPROFIT AND
FOR COMMUNITY

SAN DIEGO

SAN DIEGO
San Diego County is a study in size and contrast. The fifth most-populous county in the U.S., it’s home to as many people as Iowa and as large as Connecticut.
It is one of the leading producers of agricultural products and the world center for unmanned aircraft and smartphone technology. Its naval facilities and Marine installations make up the largest military concentration on Earth. And just south of San Diego is Tijuana, the world’s busiest border crossing.
As local media becomes more divided among specialized topics and paywalled sites, Times of San Diego serves this unique community with timely, comprehensive news that’s accessible to everyone.
Times of San Diego’s promise is to be both comprehensive – with every local story that matters – and quick, with daily news in brief, easy-to-read formats. If news affects San Diegans, whether it’s from Tijuana, Sacramento, Washington or overseas, the site promises to keep you informed.
The newsroom covers politics and crime, business and sports, education and arts, military and science, and health and life. It devotes coverage to the breadth of the region’s diverse communities. It partners with other news sources to deliver in-depth news on topics that matter to San Diego. And in 2024, Times of San Diego became a part of NEWSWELL, devoted to finding new ways to help local news – and local communities – thrive.
The San Diego Press Club has consistently recognized the Times of San Diego for excellence in journalism. Our contributing editors have picked up more than 165 individual awards, and the site has been named the best local news website eight times.
The Times of San Diego is led by Chris Jennewein, who has more than 35 years’ experience in online media. From 2001 to 2008, Jennewein led The San Diego Union-Tribune’s SignOnSanDiego.com, one of the most popular and profitable newspaper websites. Previously he was vice president of operations for Knight Ridder Digital in San Jose. Jennewein is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics. Visit the site here. Contact the newsroom at info@timesofsandiego.com.

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS
The Santa Barbara News-Press has been a fixture in the modern history of one of America’s most iconic cities. The newsroom began its early life under a series of nameplates, including the Santa Barbara Post, starting in the mid-1800s. Its honors since then include the industry’s most coveted award, a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
News-Press journalists witnessed the history and growth of the place often called the American Riviera: The first tourist hotel in 1875. The arrival of the railroad a few years later. The 1909 founding of a state Normal School, which would go on to become the University of California, Santa Barbara. The first missile launch from the nearby Air Force base in 1958.
Its journalists also covered the region’s precious natural resources, including one that became its most divisive: oil. The Santa Barbara coastline became the scene of some of the earliest offshore drilling efforts.
The newspaper, a family-owned dynasty for decades, was sold to different owners, and later to The New York Times Co. It returned to local ownership in 2000, but faced new conflicts between employees and management, and ultimately, bankruptcy. Early in 2024, the News-Press name and digital archives were purchased by investors who described themselves as “local kids who care about our history.” In 2025, they donated this legacy to NEWSWELL, a nonprofit devoted to finding new ways to help local news – and local communities – thrive.
Santa Barbara remains one of America’s most iconic places. Environmental activism and oil drilling both continue; climate change, wildfires and questions about water supplies still challenge communities; housing supplies and questions about growth and economics continue to challenge society. Space rockets, part of a new U.S. space race, still launch from nearby Vandenberg AFB. UC Santa Barbara is now one of the largest UC campuses and one of the region’s largest employers, and the American Riviera is now home to a growing bioscience and technology industry.
The News-Press, now a part of NEWSWELL, will once again tell those stories. Before we relaunch, we’re starting with listening tours in the community. What do the people of Santa Barbara need and want this historic news brand to be in its next chapter? What information needs can it help fill? How can the News-Press best serve Santa Barbara, more than 100 years after its founding, upholding the best long-standing journalism values while innovating for a sustainable future?
Join the conversation and sign up for updates here.

STOCKTONIA

STOCKTONIA
In 2021, a small group of local journalists in Stockton, California, recognized a growing problem.
Their hometown – some 320,000 people, in a county of nearly 800,000 – faced many of the most important issues in society. Its agricultural and shipping-port industries had faced a changing economy. Its civic institutions had faced controversies, budget shortfalls and historical inequities. But now Stockton also faced a critical lack of independent reporting on current events.
Legacy news sources continued to shrink, and unreliable information online was filling the void. There weren’t enough journalists to scrutinize government agencies and local elected officials.
Those journalists also envisioned the solution. It was a nonprofit, digital-native news source called Stocktonia. It would be devoted to the most important news in Stockton and San Joaquin County and guided by the best practices in journalism. After nearly two years of planning, Stocktonia launched in 2022.
The newsroom covered the ongoing turmoil of civic events: Changing oversight and policies on a rising wave of homelessness. Scathing new reports revealing evidence of misspending and public corruption. Oil spills and pollution in the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta – including the sinking and refloating of an iconic vintage cruise ship.
In 2024, Stocktonia became a part of NEWSWELL, devoted to finding new ways to help local news – and local communities – thrive. Today, this startup, digital-native website employs one of the largest teams of local journalists in the region. With community support, it continues to grow.
Editor Scott Linesburgh, who has worked as a journalist in Stockton for the past 35 years, leads a team that is proudly local and devoted to the city they call home. Visit the site here. Contact the newsroom at info@stocktonia.org.
HOW DOES THIS MODEL BENEFIT NEWSROOMS?
NEWSWELL news sites are nonprofit and for-community, meaning we exist to serve and assist local communities with factual, nonpartisan news and information as well as events and educational opportunities.
Hometown reporters and editors, those who know their communities best, report and publish the local news. NEWSWELL assists with membership and advertising services, innovative technologies, business strategies, professional development and operational support to enhance their journalism and accelerate audience and revenue growth.
As news sites prosper, revenues above expenses are reinvested back into local news.
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Your donation to NEWSWELL ensures a future for factual, nonpartisan journalism in America’s hometowns. We’re innovating a new business model that helps local newsrooms stay local, but get the services and strategy they need to thrive. Donate today to support reporting that holds the powerful accountable, informs and empowers residents and offers solutions to our shared problems.
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