We are pleased to announce the launch of a new bilingual newsletter serving the Calistoga community – Conéctate/Connect Calistoga.
Of the more than 5,000 people who call Calistoga home, nearly 40 percent are Latino and 30 percent are native Spanish speakers. Despite the significant presence of Latinos in Napa Valley, stories relevant to this demographic are rarely covered by the media, including local print, radio and TV outlets.
This newsletter is part of Highway 29 Media’s broader mission to change that.
Conéctate/Connect Calistoga will broaden service to the Calistoga community by reporting on news that reflects the needs and experiences of the community, produced in Spanish and English. We also see this as an exciting opportunity to extend our larger mission – to provide the important news, information and community stories that engage and inform all Calistoga’s residents.
This new launch will be led by Mariela Gomez, Highway 29 Media’s bilingual reporter, and by Danielle Wilde, editor of the Calistoga Tribune, owned by Highway 29 Media. We are also excited to announce our newest addition to the reporting team, bilingual reporter, Elsa Cavazos – who will join us as a UC Berkeley journalism fellow this September.
This dynamic trio will bring their skills and experiences to Conéctate/Connect Calistoga to ensure that the content engages the residents of Calistoga. The newsletter is also a platform for Calistogans to tell their story, discover resources and highlight inspiring locals.
To sign up for the bilingual newsletter, visit: https://www.napavalleyinsider.com/subscribe-to-conectate-calistoga/
In other news, we have established a nonprofit entity, the Napa Valley News Group.
Throughout the country, local news is increasingly housed under nonprofit entities – their missions: To serve the local community news needs. The sole purpose of the Napa Valley News Group is to provide local news and build a platform for news throughout Napa County, beginning with the Calistoga Tribune and the Yountville Sun, and growing from there.
Why a non-profit? Each week, two newspapers close in the U.S. Nonprofit ownership of newspapers is the antidote to corporate ownership that is driven by profits, executive salaries and returns for shareholders. Providing news to communities comes last. An unfortunate consequence of corporate ownership of newspapers is, as an example, newspapers with no local reporters – such as the Salinas Californian.
We’d like to encourage local Calistoga support of this new initiative. Please consider a donation to the Napa Valley News Group.
Keep an eye on NapaValleyInsider.com for updates as we expand our news coverage and work to bring local stories to the entire Calistoga community and rest of the valley.
