California Newsroom

About | Impact and Awards | Our Team | Share a Tip | Selected Work

The California Newsroom is a collaboration among KQED (San Francisco), CapRadio (Sacramento), LAist (Los Angeles), KCRW (Los Angeles), KPBS (San Diego), CalMatters, NPR and more than a dozen other public media organizations around the state, which strengthens the quality of local news and amplifies stories that otherwise might not reach statewide or national audiences.  

Our collaborations focus exclusively on news that happens in California or directly affects Californians. 

The California Newsroom:

• provides one-on-one mentorship and training for public radio reporters, editors and newsroom managers across California’s public radio ecosystem, including those who are a part of the innovative UC Berkeley Journalism Fellows program.

• helps public media newsroom managers implement best practices and standards, according to NPR guidelines.

• edits, project-manages and consults on large-scale investigations for statewide NPR stations and nonprofit newsrooms that expose wrongdoing, corruption, government dysfunction and other matters of public interest, and have the potential to effect change.

• coordinates statewide coverage of breaking news events between large and small NPR member stations and NPR in order to maximize resources and provide the best possible public service to listeners and readers.

• sustains ongoing content sharing and partnerships between NPR stations and other public media outlets throughout California.

Stories and projects produced in collaboration with the California Newsroom have triggered the overhaul of a new law regarding compassionate release for incarcerated people who are dying; led U.S. Congress Members to demand answers from the U.S. Forest Service about failed wildfire mitigation; and spurred lawmakers to create and pass legislation aimed at improving state oversight of nursing homes.

California Newsroom stories and series have won regional and national Murrow Awards, a Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) award, and several other prizes and honors.

The California Newsroom is one of several such collaborations in the U.S., including the Texas, Midwest and Gulf States newsrooms. 

Do you know about corruption, crimes, abuses of power, failing policies, government waste? Do you have important documents or information that’s in the public interest and needs to be shared? Know something else that you think Californians need to know about, too?

If so, we want to hear from you. 

You can email any of our team members at the addresses above. If you prefer more secure means of communication, we recommend:

Signal: Signal is an encrypted messaging service for smartphones and desktop that stores very little metadata and allows you to automatically “disappear” your messages at regular intervals. You can learn more here and download Signal here for free. Once you’re set up, send your tip to 213-503-2493.

​Protonmail is an encrypted email service that’s more secure than most. You can learn more here and create an account here. Once you’re set up, email mikekessler213@proton.me

​Please Note: While many people—including whistleblowers and journalists—rely on Signal and Protonmail for security, there’s always some risk in communicating electronically.

The California Newsroom has helped produce hundreds of stories that can be heard or read on the airwaves or websites of NPR member stations and other news outlets throughout California. Some stories appear on individual sites, while others are published or aired by multiple outlets. We also partner with media outlets that aren’t part of the state’s public radio ecosystem, such as the Guardian. 

Below you will find links to selected stories, from long-term investigations to enterprise reporting to breaking news. This is not a complete list, so be sure to check back for updates.

Selected Long-Term Investigations and Follow-ups:

• “Revealed: At least 22 Californians have died while being held face down by police since 2016” Guardian, CapRadio, KQED, LAist, KPBS,  KVCR, CapRadio’s Insight

• “Stockton to $6m to settle lawsuit over man who died during arrest” The Guardian, KQED, The California Report

• “Developer bungles Newsom’s affordable housing program” KCRW

• “California nursing homes are becoming ‘de facto mental health centers’” LAist

• “How a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans” Guardian, MuckRock, KQED, CapRadio, LAist, KVPR, NPR radio segment, KQED’s Forum, CapRadio’s Insight

• “What you need to know about the loophole hiding the extent of US wildfire pollution” Guardian, MuckRock, KQED, CapRadio, LAist

• “In Detroit, a ‘magic wand’ makes dirty air look clean – and lets polluters off the hook, California”: Guardian, MuckRock, KQED, CapRadio, LAist

• “As US wildfires pollute the skies, a loophole is obscuring the impact. Can it be fixed?” Guardian, MuckRock, KQED, CapRadio, LAist

• “As wildfire smoke worsens public health, government watchdog calls EPA response ‘ad hoc’” MuckRock, KQED, CapRadio, LAist, KVPR

• “San Bernardino police officers involved in fatal shooting of fleeing man both have histories of alleged excessive force” LAist, KQED

• “BURNED: How the U.S. Forest Service is struggling to complete the work it knows it must do to keep Californians safe from wildfires” (hourlong audio special) CapRadio &  KCRW

• “The U.S. Forest Service is behind on prescribed burns in parts of California” NPR, KCRW

• “The window to protect Big Bear from wildfire is shrinking” KCRW

• “Stalled US Forest Service Project Could Have Protected California Town From Caldor Fire Destruction” CapRadio

• “Medical Parole Got Them Out Of State Prison. Now They’re In A Decertified Nursing Home” LAist 

• “CA Bill Aims To Release Severely Ill Patients From Prisons Vs. Parole In Nursing Homes” LAist

• “Immediate Jeopardy: Death And Neglect Inside A Troubled California Nursing Home Chain” LAist

Selected Enterprise, Accountability, Quick-Turn, Breaking:

• “Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco is RNC delegate” KVCR

• “Staff at two popular Culver City eateries say they aren’t getting paid on time” KCRW, Eater L.A.

• “Fresno police officer tied to Balderrama probe appears to pressure city to force chief to resign” KVPR 

•  “‘Significant public interest’: Media experts defend KVPR’s decision to name officer in Fresno police chief scandal” KVPR

• “When their only hospital closed, fears of more deaths took over. What we found in the data”  KVPR

• “Impact of bird flu outbreak widespread across California” KVPR, Marketplace, NorCal Public Radio, KQED

• “Officials are monitoring for sick birds at a lake in California’s Central Valley” NPR, KVPR 

• “Sonoma County DA’s fentanyl ad features fake storyline” Northern California Public Media, The California Report

• “Doctor at center of fraud settlement now embroiled in investigation at Coalinga psychiatric hospital” KVPR                                                                                                                                 

• “Tachi Yokut Tribe reconnects with Tulare Lake, restored after a wet winter” NPR, KVPR

• “Unhoused people are bearing the brunt of extreme heat in Palm Springs”  NPR, KVPR                            

• “Rapids — and rafting — roar back to life as Sierra Nevada snowpack melts” NPR, KVPR

• “A once vibrant California lake is back. Why that’s not necessarily a good thing” NPR, KVPR

• “California’s first heat wave could trigger floods from melting Sierra snow” NPR, KVPR

• ‘A towering light’: California’s Central Valley is now home to the largest Catholic parish church”   KVPR,  NPR

• “In California county where sheriff is also coroner, families seek change” Guardian, KVCR, The California Report

• “Dogs left behind by illegal marijuana farmers terrorize rural town in Riverside County” The California Report, KVCR 

• “Volunteers are helping those stranded by a blizzard in Southern California. NPR, KVCR

• “DA charges former Ashland massage therapist with sexual abuse” Jefferson Public Radio

• “Gov. Newsom Touts $42 Million in Aid for Flood Victims – Turns Out It’s Months Old COVID Funding” KAZU, KQED

• “City of Tents: Veterans Row” (podcast) KCRW