Reboot, Rethink
CRISES BRING TIME FOR INTROSPECTION AND GROWTH
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n the past five months, two lifechanging events rocked the world. COVID-19 brought serious health challenges and is still taking far too many lives. The virus exposed our vulnerabilities, from hospital capacities to assisted-living safety protocols. Also exposed were the slender margins of our economic system. Then came the horrendous murder of George Floyd and the mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement. Millions peacefully protested against racial injustice in our city, state and nation.
CH By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk
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POC AUG n 20
These generational events have produced incredible displays of togetherness. The challenges have led many of us to re-examine our personal, business and civic lives. Our publishing business has been upended. The many small business advertisers who support bringing you Inside Sacramento each month are still reeling from closures. Many are gone forever. Our publishing model is unique. We don’t have a top-down editorial management structure that defines traditional news organizations. We don’t have reporters and photographers waiting for stories to break. Instead, our model relies on 100 percent local and original content. The stories you read in Inside “bubble up” from the community. Our freelance writers are independent. A small editorial team, working from home, manages the content. Our writers are chosen based upon their local expertise and ability to
write meaningfully about what they know best. This includes folks who specialize in arts, community and volunteer activities, development and neighborhood planning, transportation, food, gardening and local politics. They typically follow their own leads and develop their own stories. This approach provides a place for local voices and opinions unheard elsewhere. In an endless news cycle, our approach is different. It might be described as “slow news.” Since we rarely “break” news, our content involves unique stories built over time and presented with insight, analysis and—when appropriate—opinion. For example, I have received resoundingly positive responses from our focus on Sacramento’s homeless crisis. In May 2019, I wrote a column called “Is Sacramento Dying?” It laid out the utter failure of leaders in Seattle to prevent large numbers of people from living on the streets and wreaking havoc on the city’s neighborhoods. The column
drew comparisons between Seattle and our city. The response was so overwhelming that I vowed to present a different voice on the homeless problem each month until it is solved in Sacramento. (A longterm project for sure!) Our approach was designed to help local citizens and elected officials better understand the root causes of homelessness—addiction, mental illness and family breakdown. We try to present perspectives not often heard. We want to expose policies that don’t work and even make things worse. COVID-19 has added another layer to the crisis. This month, we feature an article on the process of converting the Hotel Berry into a homeless shelter. The protests to end racism inspired us to expand our freelance network and introduce new writers. This month, we are announcing a new program to recruit community journalists, especially writers of color who bring knowledge of neighborhoods
