A SNAPSHOT OF THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
2023
Dear readers, Happy holidays from all of us at the Santa Barbara Independent. This is traditionally the season when our staff reviews the work we have accomplished over the past year: the stories our journalists have reported in our print and online publications, the goals we have set for our growth and financial success, and the organizations and people in our community we have been able to serve. In the pages that follow, we are sharing with you a snapshot of this past year and seek to give you an insight into how your hometown paper operates. None of this would be possible without your continual readership, support, and feedback. As we go into the New Year, we look forward to expanding our coverage and engagement with all of Santa Barbara.
Brandi Rivera, Publisher
Marianne Partridge, Editor in Chief
BY THE NUMBERS: Revenue from Readers
The Santa Barbara Independent is driven by more than 750 advertisers and their loyal support. As this chart shows, much of our revenues are still tied to our print product. Newer lines of revenue, like our reader contributions through online subscriptions and our events and promotions, are continuing to grow.
Events & Promotions
3%
5%
10%
82%
Digital Print
Staff
Newsletters
Online
More than 32,000 subscribers
More than 940,000 pageviews per month
13 Editorial 25 Columnists & Contributors 8 Distributors
More than 400 online stories per month
8 different newsletter options
6 Sales 6 Web & Production 5 Business
Print 25,000 copies weekly distributed at more than 680 locations Return rate below 5%
CNPA Awards 2019-2022 Coverage 9 First-Place Awards 14 Second-Place Awards
NEW IN
2023 Indy Parenting
In July 2023, we launched a new online resource, Indy Parenting, presented by Cottage Health and sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation. Indy Parenting, is a comprehensive guide for our family-focused audience. Since launch, we have posted more than 30 stories. Visit indyparenting.com today.
WINE WEEK
Santa Barbara
18. Rincon Brewery * 19. Santa Barbara Wine Collective 1. Andersen’s Danish Bakery and 20. The Anchor Rose Restaurant 21. Valley to the Sea Winery 2. Bluewater Grill 22. Vino Divino Wine Experience 3. Bossie’s Kitchen 23. We Want the Funk 4. Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar 5. Fess Parker Funk Zone Tasting Room 24. Yellow Belly Tap 6. Frequency Wine Co. 7. Good Land Wine Shop & Bar 25. CAYA Restaurant 8. J. Wilkes 26. SAMsARA Wine Co. * 9. Jaffurs Wine Cellars 10. La Lieff Wines 11. Longoria on State 12. Margerum Wine Company 27. Sideways Lounge 13. Municipal Winemakers 28. Hitching Post 2/Hitching Post Wines 14. Opal Restaurant and Bar 15. Pali Wine Co. 16. Pearl Social 29. Clean Slate Wine Bar 17. Potek Winery 30. Kaena Wine Company *
Los olivos
Goleta
30
Buellton
26
32
31
27 30
Buellton
33
28 246
29
Santa Ynez 34
31. V Lounge
Los olivos 30. Kaena Wine Company * 32. Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café 26. SAMsARA Wine Co. *
Santa Ynez
33. Brander Vineyard 34. The Victor Restaurant and Bar
carpinteria
18. Rincon Brewery *
Solvang
Solvang
101 154
Goleta 26
7 days of $10 glasses of wine throughout santa barbara county
101
25
22 7
24
14 21 4
1
6
3
11 8
17
16
9 23
19 15
5 12 10 20 2
13
Santa Barbara
visit independent.com/wineweek for more!
18
carpinteria 18
* = 2 Locations
Wine Week Wine Week, presented by Visit the Santa Ynez Valley launched, in April 2023 joining our annual Burger Week (March) and Burrito Week (September). Our “2023 Weeks” were enjoyed by thousands of readers and supported by 70 restaurants and wineries.
HEAR FROM OUR REPORTERS On stories that they reported this year:
NICK WELSH: EXECUTIVE EDITOR A compressed version on the rise and collapse of the Santa Barbara News Press: This is a story I lived through. In fact, I wound up getting sued by Wendy McCaw for my coverage of the NewsPress melt-down, though in Wendy’s defense, I left myself wide by making a rookie mistake at the borderline of advanced decrepitude. Personal motivations —a nd pathologies —a side, the death of our daily newspaper was and remains a very big deal. I was hoping to show what the News-Press used to be. It didn’t merely record the history of Santa Barbara so much as it shaped it. I was hoping to remind readers of some of the things I’d long forgotten. Death of a Daily, Aug. 17
MATT KETTMANN: SENIOR WRITER In nearly a quarter-century of working as a journalist, I’ve never received as much meaningful feedback as I do in writing my Full Belly Files newsletter every week. Whether it’s people sharing their own memories of an apple farmer, thanking me for my thoughts on the death of a beloved chef, or saying they’re canceling their subscription because I ate a squirrel, the direct conversation with community members shows me how much our work matters in the everyday lives of Santa Barbarans. Full Belly Files Newsletter
LESLIE DINABERG: SENIOR EDITOR I love the opportunity to be able to highlight some of the amazing positive things going on in our community —e specially when they also have an impact on the broader world. The cover story I did featuring Sharon Allen and the World Health Initiative helped to shine the light on their incredible work around the globe. The idea that this small nonprofit —t hat was founded here in Santa Barbara and is based on technology created here in Santa Barbara —i s actually having a significant impact providing very low-cost healthcare around the world is so exciting. I’m thrilled to be able to amplify their work. Healthcare for All, May 4
TYLER HAYDEN: SENIOR EDITOR It’s not often that a reporter gets to see their work have an immediate and appreciable impact on an issue they’re covering. But that was the case this spring when I wrote an article about a Solvang City Councilmember who had successfully led the charge against the town displaying rainbow banners during Pride month. He had also privately referred to his LGBTQ constituents as “clowns,” “assholes,” and “woke poison.” During the next City Council meeting, residents filled the chambers to censure the councilmember and demand the banners be allowed to hang. Many referenced the article. The council ultimately reversed its vote, citing the overwhelming public response. Solvang City Council, April 2023
RYAN P. CRUZ: NEWS REPORTER When this story was written, there were very few people that had even heard the term “renoviction,” but this was one of the first major cases of a disastrous trend we have been seeing in the local rental market: a developer buying an entire apartment complex and kicking out all tenants under the guise of renovations to jack up the prices for higher paying renters. Since then, renovictions became so prevalent and the outcry against them so loud that both the city and county passed tenant protections making the practice much harder for landlords by requiring permits for any renovations that would require tenants to leave. I was glad to shed a light on renovictions and help foster a discussion on the housing crisis in Santa Barbara. Renovictions, Dec. 15
CALLIE FAUSEY: NEWS REPORTER I think literacy is important because it’s such a complex topic, but it’s vital for parents and the community to understand how kids learn how to read and how they’re being taught how to read in our community. It takes a village to teach a kid how to read. Getting a look inside the classroom —w here the real work is happening —i s invaluable to determining the success of school programs and curriculum! It rests on the shoulders of teachers, who deserve to be (but not often are) adequately trained so they may guide students in the right direction using the best tools and knowledge available to them. Literacy Cover, Nov. 18
TERRY ORTEGA: CALENDAR EDITOR Events are a very important part of life in our community. Providing readers with all that’s going on from the arts, music, and tourism to meetings for individual organizations and community-wide is fulfilling, but what I find most meaningful is creating our annual guides, especially our Summer Camp issue, in which we provide caregivers and families the information to assist them in finding the perfect summer activity for their children. I am proud to provide peace of mind to those living in our communities as well as highlight the amazing organizations that provide for and take care of our children. 2023 Annual Summer Camp Guide, March 30
JEAN YAMAMURA: OPINIONS EDITOR While a great amount of feedback comes from our housing stories —w hether it’s what’s for sale, the unaffordability of rents, ad hoc outdoor living, or the odd determination of a billionaire that windows were unnecessary to undergraduates —i ncidental stories about power outages, weather systems, traffic accidents, and road closures generate some lively comments. We often get photographs or personal accounts, and occasionally corrections to the compass points given, that fill out the picture of the event as our readers experienced it. Opinions Section
NOTES FROM READERS: The Independent played a critical role in raising and sustaining the public’s awareness of the Dormzilla project—thank you so much for deploying the power of the fourth estate. —Deb Callahan, 11/9/23
So glad to see Ryan Cruz as guest writer for the All Booked newsletter. I enjoyed reading his four recommendations, and three of the four are now on my list…next trip to Chaucer’s for sure. —Suzanne Peck, 6/24/23
Somebody should nominate Nick Welsh for a Pulitzer. His weekly commentaries are consistently thought-provoking, insightful, witty, and concise. Also, thankfully, a tad incendiary at times. In short, brilliant. So: Somebody out there who knows how to throw a dog a bone should treat the Angry Poodle and give him the belly rub he so richly deserves. —Michael Clear, 10/13/23
Kudos to Callie Fausey for her excellent article in the November 30 issue about the Santa Barbara Teachers Association and their struggle to get the attention of the school board. As a retired educator I was glad to be informed of all the many factors involved, not to mention that the community needs to know exactly what is going on in the S.B. school district. —Susan Shields,11/30/23
I subscribed to your publication in the last couple of months. I want you to know that I really enjoy your masterpiece! We have two authors in my family and I am an avid reader and your publication is very informative and enjoyable. Now I know why your publication has been around for so long! —Bill Bishop, 11/11/23
Hats off to Richard Ross, Caitlin Siggins, and the Juvenile Probation Division. What a great article in your November 30th edition. Tom DiGrazia and I were two young lawyers beginning to advocate in the courts for these changes over 50 years ago in which corporal punishment and tranquilizing drugs were ordered stopped in favor of rehabilitative treatment. It is difficult to believe that several states continue to impose the same inhuman and unconstitutional conditions today, rather than the excellent practices of the Juvenile Court, Probation Department, and private treatment programs here. —John Forhan, 12/4/23
The Santa Barbara Independent supports hundreds of organizations a year through sponsorships AHA! Alzheimer’s Association American Institute of Architects Santa Barbara Chapter (AIASB) Apples to Zucchini Cooking School AWC Santa Barbara Brawlin’ Betties / Mission City Roller Derby C.A.R.E. 4 Paws Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara Center Stage Theatre Children’s Creative Project- I Madonnari Community Arts Workshop, CAW, Community Environmental Council Ensemble Theatre Company Environmental Defense Center Explore Ecology, Art From Scrap Family Service Agency Flamenco Arts Festival Foodbank of Santa Barbara Fund for Santa Barbara Goleta Valley Historical Society Grace Fisher Foundation Habitat for Humanity Heal the Ocean Hospice of Santa Barbara Jewish Federation of Santa Barbara Jodi House Juneteenth Santa Barbara Land Trust of Santa Barbara Lobero Theater Foundation Mental Wellness Center
Move, Santa Barbara County NatureTrack Foundation New House Santa Barbara Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Ojai Film Festival Old Spanish Days Pacifica Graduate Insitute Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara PCPA Pacific Conservatory Theatre Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation Planned Parenthood Rincon Classic Santa Barbara Association of Realtors Santa Barbara Beautiful Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation Santa Barbara Foresters Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Barbara Historical Museum Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) Santa Barbara Museum of Art Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara Public Library Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce from Goleta to Carpinteria Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network
Santa Barbara Zoo Savie Health SB Fair & Expo SB Half Marathon SB International Orchid Show SBCC Foundation SBCC Theatre Group Surf Happens The Oaks Parent Child Workshop The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience The Santa Barbara Human Resources Association The Sea League (fiscal sponsor of The Wilderness Youth Project) Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara TV Santa Barbara UCSB Alumni Association Unite to Light Unity of Santa Barbara Unity Shoppe, Inc. Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation ( MOXI ) Los Olivos Rotary Club Foundation Music Academy of the West Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council Santa Barbara Studio Artists SB Blues Society Standing Together to End Sexual Assault, STESA State Street Ballet Stearns Wharf Merchants Association Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 218 Sarah House
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