San José Spotlight celebrates two years, announces new partnership

San José Spotlight, the city’s first nonprofit newsroom dedicated to independent political and business reporting, turned two in January and announced an exciting new partnership to expand its award-winning coverage.

The news organization, founded by Ramona Giwargis and Josh Barousse in Jan. 2019, will partner with Oakland-based Post News Group, which operates 8 Black and Spanish language newspapers in Northern California, to help launch a newspaper here in Santa Clara County.

The new publication — called The Santa Clara County Post — will be distributed free of charge and will have a robust online presence to accompany it.

“Despite its rich diversity, Silicon Valley has not had a Black-owned newspaper in decades,” Giwargis said. “And with a heightened look at systemic racism in our valley — from the education sector to the tech industry — the time has never been better to bring this important voice to San Jose.

“Together with the Post News Group, we will tell stories through the lens of Black and Latino communities and critically examine the systems and institutions that perpetuate racism,” she added.

Barousse said with Cobb’s leadership, San José Spotlight will prioritize accountability and watchdog reporting.

“We’ll ensure everyday people are at the center of our reporting, prioritizing diversity and voices of disenfranchised or minority communities,” he said.

Post News Group owner Paul Cobb joined Giwargis and Barousse during the organization’s virtual two-year anniversary celebration and fundraiser as a keynote speaker.

“We’re in great need to receive reliable information, especially around COVID-19, and that’s why we’re looking forward to working with Spotlight. We want to be the trusted messenger. We want to build an echo chamber of positive solutions by featuring individuals and organizations that are providing, seeking and advocating for solutions and answers and not just bellyaching,” Cobb said during his address. “Blacks and other minorities are hungry for solutions and they want to see prescriptions for progress and not just descriptions of our misery index.”

Watch Cobb’s full keynote address and hear from San Jose City Hall reporter Carly Wipf, In Your Backyard columnist Jerome Shaw and several of the organization’s biggest supporters.

San José Spotlight is a community-supported nonprofit news organization. Your tax-deductible donation will help power our newsroom. To become a supporter, please click here.