THREE-PERSON TEAM WILL EXPLORE THE ROOTS AND EFFECTS OF THE HOUSING CRISIS IN THE BAY AREA THROUGH ONGOING NEWS COVERAGE ON RADIO, ONLINE, AS A PODCAST SERIES AND ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
KQED, the NPR and PBS member station serving Northern California, announced that it is creating a dedicated news desk to cover the Bay Area’s housing and affordability crisis. The desk is comprised of journalists Erika Aguilar, Erin Baldassari and Molly Solomon. Together the team will provide ongoing coverage of housing and affordability issues in the Bay Area for multiple KQED platforms, including radio and online, as well as develop a podcast series about the roots of the crisis.
“Everywhere you go you see the effects of the affordability crisis on the Bay Area. This desk gives us the opportunity to start conversations with our audiences about how the housing crisis is affecting them and how we come together to begin to solve these challenging issues,” says Holly Kernan, KQED’s Chief Content Officer.
Coming from KQED’s The Bay podcast, Erika Aguilar will act as senior editor and will lead and set editorial coverage plans for the housing desk. Before arriving at KQED, Erika worked for KPCC public media in Los Angeles, covering crime and public safety. She also served as the station’s Orange County bureau reporter on homelessness, policing and ethnic politics in local government.
“Housing and the rising cost of living is top of mind for everyone I meet,” says Aguilar. “It’s time to answer questions from our audience about how we got ourselves into this situation and how to navigate it. As a starting point, we’ll examine the unfair, inequitable and discriminatory practices in our state’s land-use and political history that have contributed to our affordability crisis.”