With a sharp decline in the number of reporters covering capital policy and politics, several innovative newsgathering platforms have emerged. The latest is CALmatters, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters, using a variety of partnerships and storytelling forms to reach audiences. CALmatters Editor and CEO David Lesher will fill in the Sacramento Press Club on the organization’s operations and goals.
Lesher joined CALmatters in August 2015 after more than a year as a co-founder and a member of its Board of Directors. Previously, Lesher was the Sacramento-based Director of Government Affairs at the Public Policy Institute of California, a non-partisan think tank focused on state policy. Lesher has more than 25 years of journalism experience, largely at the Los Angeles Times where he was a political writer, state Capitol reporter and assistant national editor for the White House campaign. He also served as editor of California Journal magazine and as California director for the New America Foundation.
David Lesher was the SPC luncheon speaker on September 29, 2015 and discussed a new path for journalism to keep Californians informed about issues and decisions that affect their lives.