Many media watchers expect 2010 to be the year of the independent news startup. So it should be no surprise that just a few days into the new year, there is an exciting new project to keep an eye on.
California Watch launches today, powered by the Center for Investigative Reporting and funded by three well-heeled foundations. The team behind it boasts extensive journalism chops and is excited by the “flexibility to pursue stories that focus on what arguably is the most important, most complicated, and most messed-up state in the nation.”
“California Watch is a brand new team of nonprofit investigative journalists whose beat is the Golden State,” says Susan Mernit in an email announcement about the project. “We’re telling in-depth stories, but we’re also using mapping, databases and blogs to provide a rich depth of information–and a change for users to interact.”
It will be interesting to see if partnerships emerge with local newspapers or TV stations. Since investigative reporting on a local (or state) level has taken a big hit in recent years, many California news operations would be wise to offer their audience quality accountability journalism from an outfit like California Watch if they can’t provide it themselves.
Update:
Tweets @jayrosen_nyu: “I like this logic. News sites defined on two dimensions: the place + issues that truly matter to that place.”