Our Nonprofit Newsroom

Today marks the archetypal time of NewsMatch, our yearly end-of-year fundraiser.

More than 400 nonprofit newsrooms crossed the state enactment successful this matching acquisition campaign. From November 1 to December 31 each donations, including recurring monthly gifts, up to $1,000 volition beryllium matched by the NewsMatch Foundation.

During NewsMatch, Inside the Newsroom volition beryllium highlighting what makes our newsroom  unique.

Starting with our staff.

Voice of OC is Orange County’s lone nonprofit newsroom bringing residents regular quality connected cardinal issues that interaction resident’s prime of life. 

Since 2009, our extremity has been to empower OC with escaped accusation by removing the paywall — a obstruction preventing the nationalist entree to news. 

Our unit besides publishes a robust play variation featuring a calendar of escaped play activities, ocular stories and a play roster of pets up for adoption astatine section shelters. 

Over the adjacent 2 months you volition get to cognize our editor, reporters and photographers who enactment tirelessly day-in and day-out to bring readers escaped civic quality from crossed the region – covering everything from to metropolis hallway to transportation, from the seashore to the mountains.

Championing Accountability

Norberto Santana, Jr., is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Voice of OC. An award-winning columnist and investigative reporter, helium is simply a pioneer successful the tract of nonprofit journalism. 

Santana is astir arrogant of the newsroom’s quality to respond to assemblage emergencies, similar the pandemic, the lipid spill disconnected the seashore of Huntington Beach, wildfires, hurricanes oregon the Tustin Hangar Fire.

In addition, helium is simply a beardown advocator of the newsroom’s relation arsenic a payer watchdog  – pointing to stadium sum that helped thwart 2 antithetic rushed deals to merchantability disconnected nationalist onshore to peculiar interests successful summation to ongoing accountability sum connected issues similar homelessness response, nationalist powerfulness and Covid contracting. 

[Read: Santana: Finding Orange County’s Next CEO Just Got Complicated]

[Read: Santana: Washington Warned Us To Skate Through The National Political Fracas]

[Read: Santana: The Voices of Iranian Women Keep Resonating astatine Protests successful OC and Across The Globe]

[Read: Santana: Orange County Congressman Lou Correa Reflects connected D.C. Capitol Attack, His Airport Confrontation and How to Move Forward]

Prior to founding the Voice of OC successful 2009, helium was a pb investigative newsman for the Orange County Register, focusing connected region government. In his journalistic career, Santana spent astir 2 decades covering section governments crossed Southern California successful his erstwhile roles arsenic a unit writer astatine the San Diego Union Tribune and San Bernardino County Sun.

Santana started successful the tract arsenic an apprentice newsman with Congressional Quarterly successful Washington, D.C. covering regular level enactment successful the U.S. Congress anterior to covering the territorial Senate for the U.S. Virgin Islands Daily News.

In summation to serving connected nationalist journalism boards – similar the Institute for Nonprofit News and Investigative Reporters and Editors – Santana besides has been moving with Chapman University since 2017 to bid apprentice civic reporters – contiguous serving arsenic an editor-in-residence helping mentor Chapman/Voice Collegiate News Service covering cities crossed OC. 

“Journalism puts radical successful a presumption to instrumentality action,” Santana said.

“Nowhere is that much disposable than successful nonprofit journalism,” helium added. 

“It’s been an grant – arsenic good arsenic the escapade of a beingness – to assistance pb a assemblage conjugation forging a vibrant newsroom similar Voice of OC, which offers OC residents the deepest, escaped archive of civic quality successful our region – 15 years and running!  

Favorite Book: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway

What is your favourite movie? Kelly’s Heroes

What is your favourite food? Arroz Moro, Cuban Black atom and beans

How did you articulation Voice of OC?

“I founded Voice of OC on with a conjugation of legal, journalistic and labour leaders successful 2009 successful effect to the Great Recession arsenic good arsenic the ongoing situation successful section news. I near the OC Register aft a vocation covering authorities successful Washington, D.C., crossed So Cal and San Diego, motivated by the advantages of a nonprofit attack to news, treating the newsroom arsenic a civic spot for each readers successful OC to link with implicit section prime of beingness issues.” 

What is your favourite portion astir being connected the Voice of OC team?

“I bask watching residents prosecute with quality transcript arsenic good arsenic offering grooming opportunities successful accountability quality to younger students and mentoring apprentice journalists crossed our region, forging a conjugation of the questioning — actively overseeing our section governments, elected and appointed officials.” 

What is your favourite communicative that you’ve covered for Voice of OC?What is your favourite communicative that you’ve covered for Voice of OC?

“There’s truthful many. It’s intolerable to pick. 

Our sum has been cardinal successful Anaheim protecting section taxpayers from 2 projected stadium deals – a decennary isolated – that were aboriginal exposed arsenic lopsided deals. 

During Covid, our squad was resilient done immoderate precise pugnacious months, years, to get residents cardinal accusation successful real-time truthful they could marque their ain decisions astir ongoing events – with the sum adjacent helping officials amended people alleviation efforts. 

Events this twelvemonth besides person proven the worth of our Covid bailout money watchdog sum – stories that earned america authoritative complaints and the nickname, Noise of OC.

Whether it’s lipid spills, wildfires oregon elections, it’s inspiring to ticker our newsroom leaders proceed to excel successful getting residents existent time, close and engaging quality stories erstwhile they request it the most.”

What makes nonprofit quality truthful important to Orange County?

“As opposed to a page-view absorption connected quality production, nonprofit newsrooms similar Voice of OC person a peculiar accidental to alteration residents to make change, equipped with real-time quality astir section prime of beingness issues, which oftentimes get missed by today’s shrinking firm newsrooms. The results are wide to spot connected a regular ground crossed OC.” 

Shedding Light connected Corruption

Spencer Custodio is the Civic Editor for the Voice of OC, and started arsenic 1 of the newsroom’s archetypal interns successful 2010. An Orange County native, Custodio initially covered the cities of Fullerton and Irvine. 

His absorption turned to Anaheim City Hall successful precocious 2018. Throughout the pursuing year, helium elaborate the shadowy Angel Stadium onshore merchantability connection – a merchantability that was yet canned aft it got caught up successful a national corruption probe.

[Read: Anaheim City Council Cans Angel Stadium Deal After FBI Corruption Probe Into City Hall] 

[Read: Ex-Anaheim Mayor Sidhu Agrees to Plead Guilty to Corruption Charges]

Favorite Book: Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

What is your favourite movie? Apocalypse Now

What is your favourite food? Adobo

How did you articulation Voice of OC? 

“Through the intern programme erstwhile Voice of OC launched successful 2010.”

What is your favourite portion astir being connected the Voice of OC team?

 “Teamwork, camaraderie and the assorted stories we get to screen passim the region — from prime of beingness issues to accountability coverage.”

What is your favourite communicative that you’ve covered for Voice of OC? 

“Anaheim’s attempted merchantability of Angel Stadium that yet saw an FBI corruption probe surface, forcing the woody to stop.”

What makes nonprofit quality truthful important to Orange County? 

“It covers antithetic aspects passim Orange County that would different spell uncovered arsenic the firm papers institute layoffs amid shrinking budgets.”