About Us
We’re changing the face of local journalism by providing an innovative model for delivering independent news to the nation’s 10th largest city.
Publisher of the Year 2020, Local Independent Online News Publishers
“The writing is crisp, love the diversity of coverage, translation of English into Spanish and Vietnamese to reach their readers… that two-way conversation with their community is so very important, something that a lot of publications have lost sight of.”
Our Mission
San José Spotlight is the city’s first nonprofit news organization dedicated to independent political and business reporting. Our mission is to change the face of local journalism by building a community-supported newsroom that ignites civic engagement, educates citizens and strengthens our democracy.
Our community needs another voice, an alternate source for high-quality, independent local news. Our stories will search for truth, shed light on wrongdoing and hold the powerful accountable. We are the community’s newsroom and we’re powered by your support and donations.
San José Spotlight is a project of the San José News Bureau, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization | Tax ID: 82-5355128. All donations are tax deductible.
Awards
San José Spotlight wins national Publisher of the Year award from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers.
Finalist for two national journalism awards from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, including Publisher of the Year.
Four California Journalism Awards in the 2019 competition sponsored by the California News Publishers Association.
Editorial Independence Policy
We adhere to the editorial independence policy adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.
San José Spotlight relies on donations and memberships to power our nonprofit newsroom, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. Donors and sponsors have no influence over our content. Donors have no involvement in news decisions and we do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
News judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Your trust is the cornerstone of San José Spotlight’s success. We’ll always maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue.
Donor Transparency
We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. That’s why we disclose every penny donated to San José Spotlight.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to support our work. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our Board of Directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
San José Spotlight Donors
More than $100,000
Facebook Journalism Project
$99,999-$25,000
Knight Foundation
Santa Clara Valley Water District
The Davidson Family Foundation
$24,999-$10,000
The Miami Foundation
U.S. Freight Systems
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
LIUNA Local 270
eBay Foundation
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 332
Jackson and Main
California Waste Solutions
UA Local 393
AFSCME Local 1587
$9,999-$5,000
Perla Rodriguez and Rolando Bonilla
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Destination: Home
Pat Waite
Marquis Advisory Group
IFPTE Local 21
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
San Jose Water Company
Excite Credit Union
Google News Initiative
Sprinkler Fitters Local 483
San Jose Police Officers Association
AARP California
Sobrato Family Foundation
Working Partnerships USA
Jenny Wolfes
Facebook Journalism Project
Republic Urban
David E. Cohen
Nicole and Sean Morley
$4,999-$1,000
Ron Gonzales and Guisselle Nunez
SWENSON
Nunez Family Foundation
Rod Diridon, Sr.
Vijay Sammeta
Bill Roth
Brian Bumb
Gail Bautista
Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes
McManis Faulkner
Norm Kline
John Morgridge
Dominic and Suzanne Cortese
Santa Clara County Residents for Responsible Development
Renaissance Journalism
Tom Saggau
Sprinkler Fitters Local 480
Cisco Systems
Dustin DeRollo
Rich Robinson
Rick Callender
Rob Bettencourt
Sam Singer
Abode Services
Cafe Stritch
SPUR
Gary Kremen
Ash and Bianca Pirayou
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
Stephen Wright
Larry Stone
The Core Companies
Maria Fuentes
Nuria Fernandez
Harmeet Dhillon
Meri Maben
Erik Schoennauer
Joe Head
June Tran
Comcast
Kaiser Permanente
Terry Christensen
Al and Carmen Castellano
Geoff and Andrea Ralston
Rich De La Rosa
Bob Staedler
Ro Khanna
Allan Thompson
CEMA
Santa Clara County Building Trades Council
Reginald Swilley
Carpenters Local 405
Chris Platten
San Jose Sharks
Santa Clara County Housing Authority
[email protected] Action Fund
The Schoennauer Co.
Sand Hill Property Company
Sara Wigh McManis
Chris Hickstein
PATH
Louis Rocha
Christopher Thompson
Privacy Policy
We will not release your name, email address or any other personal information to anyone outside San José Spotlight without your consent, unless we are under a legal order to do so, or there is an emergency involving danger to a person or property.