EPISODE 85: THE 10 DEFINING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPRAWL NEWSPAPERS

In this week's episode of Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast, host Jon Steinberg shares his list of the 10 defining Southern California sprawl newspapers. His list includes: The Long Beach Telegram, The Press Enterprise, Santa Barbara Newspress, Desert Sun, San Bernadino Sun, Freno Bee, Bakersfield Californian, Orange County Register, San Diego Union Tribune and Los Angeles Times.

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Transcript

0:09

Hello. And welcome to another installment of living in the sprawl. So the California's most adventurous podcast. I am as always your humble host and correspondent. My name is John Steinberg. And I am joined by my lovely and extraordinarily talented producer slash my wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises. Ready to bring you yet? Another exciting foray into the vast expansive terrain. That we have lovingly dubbed the sprawl. On today's show. An examination. Of newspapers. That's right. We kind of travel back in time, at least a little bit. To better understand the history. Of Southern California's many. Uh, claimed newspapers. Now, this is one of those episodes that almost feels like something of a historic Relic. While. We're actually recording it. The ever changing nature. Of the newspaper business. May at some point in the not too distant future. Cease to exist. Entirely. Those of you that have seen citizen Kane recognize the power once held. By media barons, like. William Randolph Hearst. Or if you listened. To a recent episode of this podcast. Touching upon. Activities within the Coachella valley, you might remember. A little fellow by the name of Walter. Annenberg. Who wants presided over the Philadelphia Inquirer? Elon Musk. Now the owner of Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg at Metta Facebook. Larry Page and Sergei Brin. Of Google. These are the figures that have replaced the hearse of the world. And as of this recording, The current state. Of the media. Is in major flux. Outlets. Emerge almost overnight. And then seemingly vanish without a trace. The daily beast, Huffington post. NPR. Axios. Who knows if these companies will even be around in 15 years. Indeed who knows what the media landscape will look like. However. You decide to evaluate the future. There's no denying the importance of newspapers. And at least the first hundred. And 40 years of. Californian life. So today. We hearkened back. To a time. When the newspaper reigned Supreme. We look at the definitive 10 Southern California. Newspapers. That you should be familiar with. Let's begin. And number 10, the long beach telegram. With a circulation hovering. Just under 50,000. This seaside paper. Has its complex roots. Situated in the fertile grounds. Of south Los Angeles county. In addition to. Covering. All of the events. That happen. In the LBC. The papers. Coverage extends to much of the 5, 6, 2. Examining. The stories. From many of the gateway cities, these being Bellflower, Lakewood. Artesia. Hawaiian gardens. Signal hill. And Norwalk. Now the paper cut it's sports department a number of years ago. You'll notice a trend here as we discuss. The newspapers. There's a lot of cutting. Uh, foot. So unfortunately the sports department had to go. So that the paper could continue its work. In the long beach region. Originally. Established. To consolidate two competing papers. The long beach. Telegram has been around in its current form since about the 1930s. Doing some really terrific work. In reporting. The cataclysmic. Earthquake from 1933. And the paper has led the charge. In charting. Long beaches, ascent. Into a top 50 American city in terms of population. Not quite orange county. Definitely not Los Angeles, long beach is very much its own thing. And if you don't believe me, just read the fine work. Still going strong. From the long beach. Telegram. And number nine, the press enterprise. This publication comes to us. From the fine folks residing within the inland empire, Riverside specifically. The paper has been around for about a hundred years. Again, This is the title that stems from the consolidation of multiple newspapers that decided to join factions. The paper. Has. Uh, circulation of under. 100,000. But with the growing migration. Toward the inland empire. There's going to be a need. For a paper to document. All of the happenings in the Riverside area. Now the paper has a Pulitzer prize to its credit. It does compete. With a couple of nearby publications representing. Portions of the much larger inland empire. But Riverside's. Press enterprise. Has catered. To multiple generations. Of inland empire residents. And though. The medium has changed drastically. And we'll continue. To change even more in the coming years, there can be no doubt. That the paper will survive in some form to better. Outfit. Riverside residents with all of the necessary news and tidbits from around the area. And number eight, the Santa Barbara news press. The paper's been around. For just under a hundred years or so. With the circulation of under 40,000. What the paper. Lax in overall numbers in more than makes up for in its quality. News coverage. When oil. Slippage occurs. In Santa Barbara county. This paper is there. To provide. Santa Barbara county residents. With. All of the requisite. News that they need to be aware of. In order. To be. Fully cognizant. Coastal residents. Covering. Stories from all over the county. There's been a real focus. On the emerging viticultural. Destination. That's cropped up in the past 15 years. In the Santa Ynez valley. When the movie sideways came out, it really put. The wine from Santa Ynez on the map in this falls. Within the creative coverage. Of the Santa Barbara. News enterprise. Many prominent residents. Have called. The Santa Barbara area home. The ridiculously over the top mansions in Montecito. Can I test. To the fact that wealthy folks. Like to live. In Santa Barbara just far enough away from Los Angeles to avoid. The proverbial Smaug, but close enough. If business calls at least a couple of times a week. When. Uh, mass shooting. Took place. At UCS B in 2014. The paper was there providing. On the ground coverage. That the nation. Also consumed. When a recent. Swim instructor. Ran a foul of the law. The paper was there. Chronicling events. So that the rest of the world could follow along. Santa Barbara is an indispensable part of the sprawl. And as such. It should come as no surprise. That it contains a world class newspaper, all its own. Number seven, the desert sun. The paper's based in Palm Springs, but covers. The entirety of the Coachella valley. And this once. Resort. Community. Has now become. An extraordinarily popular place. For those priced out. Of Los Angeles real estate to relocate. As we discussed on our Coachella valley episode. No longer is this region. Merely a playground. For the rich. And successful. Indeed. Hundreds of thousands of people. Live within the Coachella valley. And of course. There's a need for a local newspaper when you've got that kind of population. In the fold. With increasing attention, paid to the region. Because of stagecoach in the Coachella valley music and arts festival, the desert sun. Has a front row seat. As it covers. Two of the 10, most popular music festivals in the United States. Also. With continued attention paid. To the global climate crisis. The California desert. Has an important role to play. And promoting. Awareness. Around the subject of global warming. And number seven, never sleep on the desert. They've got some great reporting going on at the desert sun At number six, the San Bernardino sun. Notable. For. It's coverage. Of the mass shooting in 2015. The San Bernardino sun. Serves. As a platform. For residents of one of the nation's largest counties. To have. A suitable outlet. Outsiders. To the Southern California sprawl. May see the whole San Bernardino, Riverside Imperial county. Mojave desert thing as just like one large. Mass of desert. But as we've. Attempted to illustrate on this here podcast. Each of these. Regions has. A character that is distinctly Altone. In San Bernardino. The sun. Carries the day. Highlighting. Local. Civic achievements. While simultaneously holding. Those in power accountable. With the circulation. Of under a hundred thousand. Gone are the days. When newsstands appeared. On every other block in a downtown setting. Now the majority of the action. Has entered the digital space. So even though. Many San Bernardino, sun readers. Are literally opening up a newspaper. And perusing. The publication. Page by page. The ease and accessibility. Of online content. Offers. A wider array of interested parties, access to the day's top stories. Taking pride. For the 9 0 9. And documenting. All of the remarkable events that happen on a weekly basis. It's the San Bernardino sun. And number five, the Fresno bee. The paper covers. Everything. Going on. In a Fresno county. And this by default. Places a great deal of importance. On the paper. It covers. The agricultural side. Of California. The best. That any. Paper of its size. Can possibly. Attempt to do. For folks unaware. California central valley is where. A large portion. Of the nation's agricultural work is done. Basically all of the nations raisins come from Fresno county. The almonds. Many of the grains. And certainly those Fresno chilies, that top chef contestants love so much. They are all part of this vast agricultural region. But it's not solely. Comprised of agricultural related endeavors. Fresno. Has become a thriving. Metropolis. That on population alone finds itself in the nation's top 50. American cities. Fresno state. Has emerged as. A real Juul in the California state. The school system. If you consider. The Southern California sprawl. As having a couple of different capitals. San Diego being. The capital of the extreme south. Los Angeles being another. Riverside. And San Bernardino to others. Well, you would have to go ahead and say that Fresno is without question the capital of the central valley that we have. Chosen to cover on this podcast. And. With the title of the central Valley's Capitol. Comes the responsibility of covering everything that happens within that particular region. Fresno bee. Owned. By the same family. That helped to start the Sacramento bee. And this is obviously where the title. For the paper came from. What happens in the central valley? The goings on with. All of the stuff that we export. And cultivate. In this part of the state. It's vital to have. A paper of some renown covering. All of the events that transpire. In the 5, 5, 9. And number four, the Bakersfield, California. This is one of the sprawls oldest newspapers. Tracing its roots. Back to the 19th century. When life was primitive. Laws were negligible. In the spirit of exploration still ruled the day. The Bakersfield California has led the charge. On such stories as the. Child sexual abuse scandal in the 1980s. As well as. The horrific crimes of Vincent brothers. And it's had a hand in promoting. That iconic Bakersfield country music sound. The circulation of the Bakersfield Californian. Hovers around 30,000. But it's a rabbit 30,000 interested. In all of the happenings and goings on. Within. Kern county. In addition. To monitoring. The city of Bakersfield. The Bakersfield, California, and also. Covers. News from surrounding cities within curd county. Like. Delano. McFarlane. To hatch a P. And Oildale. And whether it's country music. Or highlighting. The large number of Basque restaurants. Within Bakersfield. You can count. On the Bakersfield, California, and to have all angles covered. As. The paper staff does their best. To catalog. The life in times. Of Kern. Counties. Most distinguished the city Number three, the orange county register my hometown paper. This one has a circulation. Of around a hundred thousand. It of course covers. Events. From Anaheim. Wayne A. Park. Garden Grove Fullerton. All the way down to San Clemente. Mission VA ho. And of course, Irvine. Since I grew up reading the orange county register. I have a bit of a soft spot for the paper. They publish. And insert call of the daily pilot. Which highlighted. Events happening. Within coastal orange county. So every time. Corona Del Mar played Laguna beach. In high school football, the daily pilot would be there to cover. The contest. But the story of the orange county register. Is really a story. Of this improbable. Second. Media market. That emerged. Out of the shadows of Los Angeles. The fact that Disneyland is located in Anaheim. And Knott's Berry farm point a park. Made orange county. Newsworthy long before. The tourists discovered. Coastal cities like Newport and Laguna beach. There's a whole lot of money. In orange county. A ton of influence. Major corporations are headquartered in the area. And this of course necessitates the need. For report Taj. In order to hold. These folks accountable. The register has a Pulitzer to its credit. A national reputation. And serves as. A more conservative. Option. For Southern California residents. That have grown disillusioned with the LA times. Representing for orange county noticed that I didn't call it the OSI. I'll never call it the OSI because no one who's actually from there. Would refer to it in that way. The orange county register. Holding it down for the 9 4 9 and 7 1 4. And number two, the San Diego union Tribune covering all of the events. From one of the nation's 10 largest. Cities. San Diego county. As a whole. Runs. From the border. With Mexico. Near San Ysidro and Imperial beach all the way. North toward communities like Oceanside in Carlsbad. And there's a ton of news to be covered. Within this gargantuan. Terrain of space. The paper was acquired along with the Los Angeles times a couple of years back. By the same publisher. And the paper has done incredible work. Particularly, so. During the awful fire seasons. In the early aughts. People envisioned San Diego as a paradise. It's claimed that L Frank bomb. Was inspired to create the Emerald city. While staying at the hotel Del Coronado. San Diego. Is home to top gun, the pod res. SeaWorld Lego land. And a whole. Lot of corruption. And malfeasance. In addition to. Super high profile crimes. Like the murder of Dan Broderick. There have been countless financial indiscretions. Chronicled by the San Diego union Tribune. Over it's 10 plus decades of existence. A beacon of truth, telling. A throwback. To the days. Of expert. Journalism. San Diego's. Paper of note. Covers all the important stories. Stemming. From this truly important region. We need someone. To cover everything that's happening. On the U S Mexico border. And the San Diego union Tribune has done. And I'm sure we'll continue to do. An extremely. Laudable job. In this regard. And at number one, could there really be any other? It has to, of course be the Los Angeles times. Covering. All of the happenings from America's second largest city, the times. Has gained. A reputation. As one of the country's most thorough. And upstanding publications. At the outset of this episode, I mentioned William Randolph Hearst. And he actually had a competing. Newspaper. Which used to battle. The LA times for supremacy in the city of angels. But her. Herald examiner. Halted publication in the late 1980s. Thereby ending. The rain. Of. One of America's. Most salacious. Formal newspapers. The Herald examiner building still very much exists. It's in downtown. It's a couple blocks away from the staple center. I used to live in apartment right around the corner. And just knowing that this. Massive structure. Existed and was where. Much of the Todd Titillating journalism. That came from Los Angeles. Just knowing. That it happened at this massive building, which is still very much there. Well, that kind of tells you all, you need to know. The LA times. Conversely. Has expanded. It's scope of expertise in the past couple of decades, honing in. On issues that were previously thought to be frivolous. Like food. Jonathan gold. Earned. The nation's first. Pulitzer prize. For food writing. While working for the times. He started an annual tradition of ranking, the city's best, 101 restaurants. A tradition that still goes on, even though he passed away a couple of years ago. And has really set the tone. For other markets. In the state. Orange county register. Now they have their best, uh, San Francisco has their best. And we can credit Jonathan Golan, his work with the times for expanding. Restaurant appreciation. It's also. With the LA times. That. Coverage. Of scandals, like the Rampart scandal in the early two thousands. The bribery schemes. In the city of bell. The pay for play. With city council members. All of those. Vital stories. Have been Chronicle in depth. In the pages of the LA times. Additionally the paper also. Has a first rate collection. Of writers that cover the arts, given that this is in fact Tinseltown. Critics like Kenneth Turan. And others have. Done remarkable work. Covering. The cities. Largest homegrown industry. From. Jim Murray to bill The papers, sports call and. I have been second to none. As. Life continues to change. Some would say evolve. In Southern California. The Los Angeles times. Is without question the most trusted. Paper. Detailing. How it all happened. At number one. On our list of the definitive. Southern California newspapers. It is of course, the Los Angeles times. And that's going to do it for another episode of the show. We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support. Please hop on apple, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you happen to be listening to the show, leave us a kind review and a five star rating. Really helps us out a great deal on the business end. We'd like to draw your attention to our phenomenal website. And it's on this website that you can snap up living in the sprawl merchandise. If you can think of it and it's living in the sprawl related. The website is where you go to get it. Please follow us. Our Instagram handle is living in the sprawl podcast. And we invite you to write us. And email. The address is living in the sprawl podcast@gmail.com. And we do. Always appreciate the feedback. So on behalf of my self, I am as always your humble. Hosted correspondent. My name is John Steinberg. And I'm joined as always by my lovely, an immensely talented producer slash my wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises, thanking you from the bottom of our hearts for listening to yet another episode of living in the sprawl. So the California's most adventurous podcast talk again real soon