Petaluma Voice Hatches Today
Petaluma Voice, an independent, nonprofit news source, launched its inaugural issue on April 15, marking a new era of locally operated news in Petaluma.
The digital-only news site will not sell advertising or have a paywall. This is a distinct move away from the business model that has defined traditional journalism for decades, and represents both an embrace of technological advances and an acknowledgement of readers’ evolving attitudes toward journalism and information access, according to its founders.
Voice was co-founded by two local journalists, Crissy Pascual and Jennifer Sawhney, who met while working together at the Argus-Courier, Petaluma’s oldest newspaper.
The newsroom intends to revitalize independent journalism in Petaluma, give residents the tools to make critical decisions about their everyday lives, and encourage more civic engagement through open access to coverage of city council, schools, and other hometown institutions.
“We’re responding to a need that our community has expressed to us over the last several years,” said co-founder Pascual, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist with over 30 years of journalism experience, whose photography has run on the front page of Petaluma’s lone newspaper since June 2016.
Fellow co-founder Sawhney is an award-winning bilingual journalist born and raised in Sonoma County. She has covered government, housing, breaking news, and more over the last several years.
Longtime journalist and editor Nate Seltenrich will oversee editing and contribute additional reporting, as will Tobias Young, a former Press Democrat bureau chief in Fort Bragg and Petaluma, when he joins the team over the summer.
Newsroom training is a deeply held value amongst the founders as Petaluma Voice develops an internship program for journalism students. This will be overseen by Emily Charrier, the former publisher of the Argus-Courier and the Sonoma Index-Tribune, who brings years of experience leading both newsrooms.
Part of a Collective
Petaluma Voice is a member of the Tiny News Collective, a network of more than 90 startup newsrooms across the country. The collective provides founders with several tools to start their own community newsrooms – legal, web, fiscal sponsorship – with nearby members including Tenderloin Voice, COYOTE Media Collective, and Mendo Local. National members include The 51st (Washington, D.C.), The Latino Newsletter (Boston), and Oxford Free Press (Ohio).
"Petaluma Voice is part of a growing movement of community-rooted news outlets that are reimagining journalism from the ground up," said Amy L. Kovac-Ashley, executive director of the Tiny News Collective. "This work is essential, as it offers not just news and information but a shared sense of place and connection."
Petaluma Voice’s name is a nod to the Voice of Orange County, a Southern California nonprofit newsroom co-founded by Norberto Santana Jr., Pascual’s former co-worker at The San Diego Union-Tribune. Within days after Pascual was laid off from the Argus-Courier, in the wake of new ownership, he encouraged her to pursue this project.
“Start it yesterday,” he told Pascual.
Pascual and Sawhney announced a fundraising campaign over social media in late November, which has since raised more than $78,000, slightly over half of a $150,000 goal listed on their fundraising site.
Though it officially launched today, the publication ran its first story about the possible closure of San Antonio High School nearly two months ago after a concerned community member shared a tip.
Petaluma Voice will publish weekly for the time being, with an intention to expand coverage as funding grows. The five-member board of directors includes locals Elece Hempel, Holly Wick, Sara Dooley Henning, Pascual, and Sawhney.
The news can be found at petalumavoice.org. To reach the newsroom, email news@petalumavoice.org or call/text 707-800-9217.