My mission statement

So why did I leave The Sacramento Bee, where I spent more than eight years writing editorials and columns, editing opinion articles and working with great colleagues?

As I told family, friends and colleagues, I’ve never been in the same job for that long, and I was looking for a new challenge. But I have more important reasons: I want to make sure there’s strong local news coverage. And I want to help make Sacramento a better and fairer place.

I decided the News & Review is where I can make the biggest difference. And I’m betting that a lot of people in Sacramento and beyond want a news source produced by a staff that is deeply rooted in the community and cares deeply about its future.

SN&R has a proud history and a clear mission: To speak truth to power. To give voice to the voiceless. To tell untold stories.

That isn’t changing. In the months ahead, we also expect to expand coverage of schools, faith, the arts. And we plan to add more voices with commentaries, essays and interviews. Our goal is to become an even larger presence and more prominent forum in the community.

Sacramento is much more than the capital of the most populous state in the nation. It’s not San Francisco, but it’s also not Fresno or Modesto. Sacramento is its own unique, diverse city with its own issues and priorities. It deserves to be covered that way.

SN&R has long been known as an “alternative” weekly. Today, that means something very different. In the evolving media landscape, the lines between “alternative” and “mainstream” media have blurred. Today, the real distinction is between facts and lies, real journalism and fake news (and not the kind President Trump talks about).

There can be so much division, hate and misinformation out there, it’s just overwhelming. Some days, after the latest Trump meltdown or yet another mass shooting, it can seem like things are spinning out of control. It can be tempting to throw up our hands and retreat to our own safe places.

Here’s a more constructive response: We should focus on what we can control, on what we can do to improve this little corner of the world. In that effort, the importance of local news has never been more important—to push public officials to make wise decisions for all of us and to help people understand each other, even if we disagree.

How can you help us in that mission?

You can recommend us to your family and friends. You can support our advertisers. And if you want to make a direct contribution, you can go to independentjournalismfund.org.

If you have ideas or comments as SN&R moves forward, send me an email at foonr@newsreview.com. And, as always, thanks for reading.