CALIFORNIA

Battling Goliath, a group of representatives from 50 independent newspapers across California gathered on Saturday, Jan. 24, to tackle the many and varied threats to local news by big corporate media.

The daylong event was the second annual meeting of the California Independent News Alliance (CINA). Hosted by the Sun-Gazette Newspaper, owned by Mineral King Publishing in Visalia, the conference kicked off with opening remarks by Ojai Valley News publisher Laura Rearwin Ward, who founded CINA in 2024 and serves as its board chair.

Rearwin Ward pulled no punches in citing the clear threats to local independent news outlets: Big Tech monopolies, global corporate buyouts, billionaire nonprofits, government agencies that don’t want to be watched, and the high cost of housing and health care. “There’s a lot stacked against us, and there always was going to be,” Rearwin Ward said, “because we’re reporting for the people. We’re not reporting for the government, the corporations or the oligarchs.”

The conference was the first for CINA with its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, 105 member news outlets — including Moonshine Ink — and a seven-member board. As it grows, CINA advances its causes of seeking support of protecting, promoting and advocating for the business interests and editorial quality of California’s locally owned independent news outlets.

During the roundtable discussion at the conference, attendees from independent California news outlets and affiliate member California Black Media, represented by Regina Brown Wilson, agreed on the biggest threat to local news: Not surprisingly, it’s money.

To learn more about CINA, visit cina.news.

~ California Independent News Alliance press release