The Bay Citizen
Encyclopedia
The Bay Citizen is a non-profit news organization covering the San Francisco Bay Area
. It was founded as the Bay Area News Project in January 2010 with money provided by Warren Hellman
's Hellman Family Foundation. On May 26, 2010 the organization launched the website, baycitizen.org. In June 2010 The Bay Citizen began producing content for the newly added biweekly two-page Bay Area Report published in The New York Times
.
The Bay Citizen is part of a small but growing number of similar news organizations across the country dedicated to locally-focused public service journalism, including Voice of San Diego
, Texas Tribune, and MinnPost.
Lisa Frazier, formerly the head of McKinsey & Company
’s West Coast Media and Entertainment practice, was appointed President and CEO. Jonathan Weber, formerly of The Industry Standard
was recruited to lead the newsroom.
In addition to Weber, editorial staff includes Managing Editor for News Steve Fainaru, previously an investigative journalist with the Washington Post; Jeanne Carstensen, formerly of Salon.com
, and SFGate.com, and 11 full-time journalists. Weber claims he received over 500 resumes for the editorial positions.
On March 23, 2010 the organization changed their name to "The Bay Citizen" and added the slogan "News/Culture/Community." Lisa Frazier, the CEO said in a press release that the new name was chosen because "Our mission is to provide news and information that helps create more 'Bay Citizens.'"
According to the SF Business Times, The Bay Citizen raised $3.7 million from foundations and families. Don Fisher, Gap founder, and Value Act CEO Jeff Ubben donated $1 million each, but the site also raised money from less wealthy and prominent donors. The site received a $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which gives money to journalism projects. This came on top of the Hellman Family Foundation's $5 million in seed money.
The Bay Citizen alongside the The Texas Tribune
also recently received a joint $975,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to develop an open source publishing platform tailored for nonprofit news organizations. The system, named Armstrong
, is based on technology The Bay Citizen has previously been employing.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. It was founded as the Bay Area News Project in January 2010 with money provided by Warren Hellman
Warren Hellman
F. Warren Hellman is a private equity investor and co-founder of Hellman & Friedman, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm...
's Hellman Family Foundation. On May 26, 2010 the organization launched the website, baycitizen.org. In June 2010 The Bay Citizen began producing content for the newly added biweekly two-page Bay Area Report published in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
The Bay Citizen is part of a small but growing number of similar news organizations across the country dedicated to locally-focused public service journalism, including Voice of San Diego
Voice of San Diego
Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news organization focused on issues affecting the San Diego region.The organization's mission is to "To consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region...
, Texas Tribune, and MinnPost.
History
In early 2009 billionaire investor and Bay Area philanthropist Warren Hellman convened an advisory committee to explore a solution to the lack of strong local journalism. In January 2010, The Bay Area News Project was founded.Lisa Frazier, formerly the head of McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
’s West Coast Media and Entertainment practice, was appointed President and CEO. Jonathan Weber, formerly of The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard is a news web site dedicated to technology business news, part of InfoWorld, a news web site covering technology in general...
was recruited to lead the newsroom.
In addition to Weber, editorial staff includes Managing Editor for News Steve Fainaru, previously an investigative journalist with the Washington Post; Jeanne Carstensen, formerly of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, and SFGate.com, and 11 full-time journalists. Weber claims he received over 500 resumes for the editorial positions.
On March 23, 2010 the organization changed their name to "The Bay Citizen" and added the slogan "News/Culture/Community." Lisa Frazier, the CEO said in a press release that the new name was chosen because "Our mission is to provide news and information that helps create more 'Bay Citizens.'"
According to the SF Business Times, The Bay Citizen raised $3.7 million from foundations and families. Don Fisher, Gap founder, and Value Act CEO Jeff Ubben donated $1 million each, but the site also raised money from less wealthy and prominent donors. The site received a $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which gives money to journalism projects. This came on top of the Hellman Family Foundation's $5 million in seed money.
The Bay Citizen alongside the The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit news organization headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas, devoted to state government and public policy. It aims to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events...
also recently received a joint $975,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to develop an open source publishing platform tailored for nonprofit news organizations. The system, named Armstrong
Armstrong (content management system)
Armstrong is an open source news publishing platform jointly developed by nonprofit online news organizations The Texas Tribune and The Bay Citizen with the assistance of a grant by the Knight Foundation. The core of the content management system's functionality has been used by The Texas Tribune...
, is based on technology The Bay Citizen has previously been employing.
Relationship with the New York Times
Since 2010, the Bay Citizen has produced the Bay Area Report, a two-page section of the New York Times distributed to 65,000 households in the Bay Area. According to The Times, the Bay Citizen "has pledged that its newsroom will be strictly independent, nonpartisan and apolitical. Donors and board members can have no influence over news decisions..."Board of Directors
- Warren HellmanWarren HellmanF. Warren Hellman is a private equity investor and co-founder of Hellman & Friedman, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm...
, Chairman of the Board and founder of Hellman & FriedmanHellman & FriedmanHellman & Friedman is a private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts and minority growth capital investments.... - Neil Henry, Dean of the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
- Jeffrey Ubben, Founder of ValueAct Capital and Chair of the Posse FoundationPosse FoundationThe Posse Foundation is an American nonprofit organization that identifies, recruits, and trains student leaders from public high schools to form multicultural teams called "Posses" of 10 to 12 Posse Scholars...
- Andrew Woeber, Partner/Managing Director at Greenhill & Co.Greenhill & Co.Greenhill & Co., Inc. is a leading independent investment bank focused on providing financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings and capital raisings to corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments. The firm made $298.6m in sales in 2009, with a...
- Susan Hirsch, President of Hirsch & Associates, LLC
- Lisa Frazier, President and CEO of The Bay Citizen