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It’s an exciting day for our staff and, we hope, residents and business owners in Livermore like you. As the Livermore Vine officially launches as a 24/7 online news source and gathering place for one of the Tri-Valley’s oldest and largest cities, we want to invite your full participation in our mission to engage and inform all corners of the community.
Livermore deserves quality professional journalism that presents the facts and context of local issues and controversies, celebrates the people who are doing good and shines a light on community needs that may not be adequately being addressed by government, businesses or nonprofit organizations.
Who are we and why do we think we can fill this need?
Embarcadero Media, our organization, has a solid reputation, built over more than four decades, for fair reporting, ethical editorial and business practices, presenting diverse opinions and not being beholden to any special interests. Our reporting is always designed to inform, educate, inspire, and celebrate, not shape public opinion in one political direction. We endorse local candidates and ballot measures for readers interested in our editors’ thinking, but we focus on careful analysis and unbiased reporting. When we undertake investigative reporting, it is with great care and well-sourced.
More than 20 years ago, our company took a leap of faith that residents of Pleasanton, and later Danville and San Ramon, would embrace a local news organization devoted to intelligent, high-quality reporting of local news. With the gradual decline in local focus by competing daily newspapers then known as the Tri-Valley Herald and the Valley Times, we felt that there was an opportunity to bring back the traditions of community journalism.
With newspapers and websites here and on the San Francisco Peninsula, Embarcadero is one of the largest, if not the largest, independent and locally owned news organizations in the Bay Area.
We are also passionate about the future of local journalism and its transition to online publishing. The Palo Alto Weekly was the first newspaper in the United States to publish its content on the web in 1994. Our websites have repeatedly been recognized by professional journalism associations for their digital news coverage and innovation. Last month, we began a high school sports e-newsletter, Tri-Valley Preps Playbook.
More than three years ago, we began planning for the Livermore Vine but put it on hold when the pandemic hit last year. But this spring, we decided to move forward and recruited back Cierra Bailey, a native of Livermore and past reporter for both the Pleasanton Weekly and the Palo Alto Weekly, to be the editor of the Vine. Cierra has been covering Livermore and other stories for the Pleasanton Weekly and its website for months, including last year’s election campaign.
Over the weeks and months ahead, you’ll get to know Cierra and other journalists on our team, including Pleasanton Weekly editor Jeremy Walsh, reporter Julia Baum and freelancers who will help make the Livermore Vine part of your daily routine, We hope you will take the opportunity to suggest story ideas, give feedback and post your news and event information.
Our goal is to engage with all parts of the Livermore community. We’ll be holding regular outreach events to hear your ideas for what we should be covering, facilitate discussion and debate of community issues, and help you get your views heard by city and school leaders and other residents. We want to publish your guest opinions and comments on what’s happening in Livermore. If you have an interest you are passionate about, we invite you to propose a blog on our site. Drop us an email at editor@livermorevine.com.
At a time when some people have concerns or suspicions about the media, we urge you to share your criticisms and suggestions for how we can do better. Our company has worked hard to build our reputation for accuracy, accountability, humility, listening and community engagement. With your help, we are excited to build a successful community website for Livermore.
Gina Channell Wilcox is East Bay president of Embarcadero Media. She can be reached at gchannell@embarcaderopublishing.com or 925.621.1171.
