First Look at New News-Press; Hundreds Protest Social Security Cuts; Last Word on Pete
Newsmakers' massive staff rounds up a lively day in politics and media in Santa Barbara - and beyond
Newswell, the journalism non-profit working to resurrect the Santa Barbara News-Press, has activated a new website - a soft launch offering a glimpse of the vision the organization’s leaders have for a rejuvenated local news operation.
You can find it here.
The most remarkable feature of the new site is the historic name plate of the News-Press, which declared bankruptcy and stopped publishing in 2023. The masthead includes the old paper’s distinctive, hand-drawn replica of the Old Mission, with mountains in the background, and sailboats inexplicably gliding by on either side.
At this point, the new site’s content consists of a series of stories about the history of the paper, including one that describes how Newswell became its new publisher, most of them written by the veteran California journalist Chris Woodyard.
There are no actual news stories, because the organization’s leaders are still in the process of settling on a focus and strategy for the operation, including the hiring of a local editor, a major step as preparations for real-time news gathering proceed.
Next week, several Newswell executives are scheduled to be in town, seeking opinions and observations from local residents about what a reinvented News-Press should cover and aspire to, via a series of “listening sessions” in Santa Maria and Lompoc, as well as Santa Barbara.
“We’re warming it up and keeping people informed while we engage in the listening sessions,” said Newswell board member and journalism professor Mi-Ai Parrish. “We will keep sprinkling stories and updates there as we ramp.”
Newswell, a non-profit affiliated with Arizona State University, works to strengthen and support local news operations by providing “back-end operations and business strategies to help news sites become or remain sustainable,” according to its site. In California, the group currently operates news operations in Stockton and San Diego.
Full disclosure: Newsmakers’ genial host has agreed to serve as an informal advisor on the project of restoring the News-Press to life, and will gladly pass on any thoughts, questions or criticisms from our inimitable audience. Send them to newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com.
Social In-Security Protest. Several hundred people lined both sides of Figueroa Street in front of Santa Barbara’s Social Security office on Thursday, to protest cuts made by the unelected Elon Musk and his unsanctioned DOGE incels.
While Musk already has slashed thousands of administrative jobs, the Trump Administration reportedly has plans for much larger cuts, amid concern about future benefits by recipients who paid into the system their entire working lives.
“Entitlement,” my ass.
Among the speakers at Thursday’s rally was Rep. Salud Carbajal.
Two generations look at Mayor Pete. In a high-concept, meta digital journalism experiment, Newsmakers dispatched both the oldest (>79, cough cough) and the youngest (22) members of our massive global staff to the Arlington Theatre on Tuesday night, to cover the Arts & Lectures talk by Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. Transportation Secretary and failed 2020 Democratic presidential contender.
Buttigieg is one of his party’s best speakers and political athletes and, at a time when many Democrats are demoralized and dispirited, his brand of plain-spoken Midwestern decency and optimism attracted a huge crowd that filled the Arlington.
Buttigieg spoke for about a half-hour, then did an hour-long Q&A with Chris Meagher, a former Santa Barbara Independent reporter who later served as the national press secretary for Buttigieg’s presidential campaign and then joined the U.S. Department of Transportation as deputy director of public affairs in February 2021 after Buttigieg was confirmed as secretary.
Here are first-person impressions from an evening with Mayor Pete, from Newsmakers co-founder Hap Freund, and UCSB intern Shelby Appice.
Buttigieg’s Message Left Me “Invigorated and Hopeful”
By Hap Freund
Witnessing a packed-to-the rafters audience of more than 2,000 people at the Arlington to welcome Pete Buttigieg was not a surprise.
Seeing the youthful Pete with a bushy mustache and burgeoning beard was.
Most importantly, the size and unbridled enthusiasm of the UCSB student entourage amazed and encouraged me.
The current political turmoil has challenged me emotionally, because it threatens so much that I have spent my adult life working for, believing in, and - apparently -mistakenly taking for granted. Because it’s the world my children and grandchildren will inherit and inhabit, the absence of young people at recent local political meetings, Tesla Takedown events and other political events felt troubling. They are the ones who will be living in this real-life hellish version of The Handmaid’s Tale.
However, after hearing Pete Buttigieg speak, and witnessing the fervor of students in response to his message, I feel more optimistic.
I felt that Pete was speaking mostly to them. I found him refreshingly calm, human, relatable, and authentic. I loved his admission that parenting was such a “humbling experience,…the best and hardest thing that I’ve ever tried to do.”
His message - that we have survived other huge challenges as a nation, when ordinary citizens stepped up and became heroes, and that we all have the capacity to do that -resonated with the audience. So did his urging to seek common ground with others.
And his subtle dig at his own party was spot on: “We thought we were the more savvy, forward thinking, high tech side of the aisle” he said in response to a question about how the Democrats are doing. “At one point we were, but we run the risk of being left behind if we’re only comfortable communicating in spaces we are truly confident will give us the right kind of hearing.”
Sad but true, it was exhilarating to hear a politician who speaks in full sentences and coherent paragraphs, without shouting or demonizing - no dog whistles, just insights, candor, humor, and humility.
At the end of the evening, I felt invigorated and hopeful, but also curious how many in the audience could confidently both pronounce and spell Buttigieg’s name correctly.
Bottom Line on Pete: We Cannot Be Hopeless
By Shelby Appice
Walking up to the line snaking out of Arlington Theater, my friends and I — all UCSB seniors — were excited to come face-to-face with a political figure during a pivotal time in the history of our country.
Trump announced he was running for president on June 16, 2015 — I was 12 years old - and from then on, news and politics have not been the same.
Now I am 22, and Trump’s antics and chaos have consumed almost a decade of my life. It has been exhausting — but speeches such as Pete Buttigieg’s remind me why we cannot burn out.
Up close and personal. Beginning in middle school, I had my mom take me to women’s marches, March For Our Lives rallies, and Black Lives Matter protests — locally in my hometown of Thousand Oaks, and also in Los Angeles.
I’ve watched debates, town halls, Democratic and Republican National Conventions and speeches from television — but now, I had the opportunity to see Pete Buttigieg: former Mayor of South Bend, former United States Secretary of Transportation, former naval officer, husband, father, and more.
Seeing a public official of his level speak in person was a first for me.
After years of watching from the sidelines — seeing the tumultuous events of the Trump era unfold — being in the room with Buttigieg was a refreshing moment of clarity.
Buttigieg’s approach is grounded in lived-experience, making him and his policy ideas feel even more relatable.
With comedic timing and a warm and genuine tone throughout, he had the audience comfortable and laughing.
Speaking candidly about the problems we face as a country, addressing issues like the rise of authoritarianism and the erosion of our freedoms under the current administration, Buttigieg did more than list a series of political talking points.
His message was a call to action.
The hopelessness of being hopeless. Which was something I needed to hear, as it has become difficult to digest each unbelievable-yet-sadly-true headline after headline.
Amid the gravity of our situation, there was an evident undertone of optimism throughout the evening — a reminder that we still have the agency to shape our future.
And that we cannot be hopeless.
The night started with Buttigieg laying out the bad news, the good news and a framework for navigating the 2020s.
It wasn’t sugar-coated.
Hope through action. He acknowledged the scale of the problems we face: political violence, authoritarian tendencies, climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence. Yet, he also made a compelling case for hope through action. And reminded us of times in the past that called for the same energy.
As he shared his vision for the future, he focused on five key principles for rebuilding and renewing the country. These principles weren’t abstract ideals but practical steps toward addressing our fractured political and societal systems and institutions.
He didn’t pretend that the problems we face are easy to fix. But he made it clear that we cannot afford to check out, or retreat into silence. Though the challenges are big, we can work together and we can overcome them.
As he said: the bigness of our problems should not slow us down.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, we should recognize this moment as an opportunity to create something better. And also connect with those around us to build movements and create waves of change.
We cannot be hopeless.
Reminding the audience of historical moments when the country faced equally daunting challenges — whether the Revolution, Civil War, Civil Rights Movement or in the fight against authoritarian regimes abroad — Buttigieg displayed how people stood up and fought for what was right instead of giving up.
We have faced crises before, and we have the capacity to rise to the occasion once again. Losing hope is not an option. The key is action, not passivity — and action in real life. Not an Instagram repost or hashtag.
The scourge of social media. Action seems hard in the digital era where our heads seem to be down more than they are up. But Buttigieg complimented college students for seeming to be more offline than some of those a little older than them. A remark that felt like a big compliment to us Gen Z-ers.
Spending more time in person, present and aware of what is going on, and having real conversations with people who may not share our political beliefs is essential in building empathy, political dialogue and understanding differing viewpoints, he said.
He pointed out the dangers of algorithms that shape our views and interactions, creating echo chambers and enhancing selective exposure which only reinforce our biases.
The “status quo” has failed us in many ways, as Buttigieg said, and we cannot simply revert to old systems that no longer work. The need for new ideas and frameworks is clear.
A central theme of Buttigieg’s speech was the importance of finding common ground. The key to unity may not always be agreeing on every issue, but rather working together toward a common goal.
He noted that despite the deep political divisions in the country, there are still areas where the majority of Americans can agree:
Progressive taxation, a woman’s right to choose, marriage equality, and universal background checks are all issues that enjoy broad support, even across party lines. Thus, it is crucial to build policies that reflect the wants, needs and desires of the majority, while ensuring fairness and justice for all.
The stakes are high, but the potential for positive change is even higher, and he reminded us that hope is the consequence of action — it arises by taking action.
We cannot be hopeless.
Thoughts on departing. As I left the event, I felt a renewed sense of motivation. Watching Buttigieg speaking on a quaint stage in a historic theater in downtown Santa Barbara felt like seeing a celebrity.
His speech was blunt, honest, and hopeful — qualities that are often hard to find in today’s political discourse. It reminded me that we are not powerless in grim times; we can rebuild, we can create, we can find common ground and we can fight for a future that upholds democracy, freedom, and justice.
Because isn’t that what we all want after all?
What Pete said. Here are some key comments from Pete Buttigieg’s talk at the Arling Theatre on Tuesday, April 22.
On the Trump government. “We are witnessing an energetic and so far largely successful attempt by figures in our government not only to take full control of the levers of official policy and power in this country but also to wield unprecedented levels of government power into the pillars of our civil society, including law, science and technology, medicine, the press and academia”
“Government leaders appear to be seeking unprecedented levels of political control of the practices and academic administration, the speech tolerated on campuses, the students who are permitted to participate, and even the substance of what is being researched and taught.”
(These events) “should chill every freedom-loving person from the left, the right, and the center”
On the existential moment. “It’s a difficult time to be an American, but it’s also an important time to be an American.”
“We are present at the juncture of some of the most important choices that will decide whether the rest of our life are defined by scarcity or abundance, freedom or authority, isolation or belonging.
“For everybody who is alive today, we have no risk of living in an unimportant time, and with that comes every prospect of shaping a better future. This is not the time to be arguing about Greenland. It is a time for action, for clarity and for hope.”
On hope. “People are looking for it (hope) and its absence leaves them feeling paralyzed.”
Quoting Brazilian philosopher Roberto Unger: “Hope is the consequence of action, more than its cause.”
On action. “Think and act in ways that are as big as this moment… Not to allow the bigness of our moment and our problems to make us slow down and stop. This is not a time to turn away or to check out… .We have to look at the enormity of what is happening and make sure this enormity is the beginning not the end of this conversation. Make it a source of propulsion, not paralysis.”
On change. “Be ready to build new ideas and frameworks…. the status quo that our generation has inherited from past generations has in many ways failed us; Good things are being destroyed right now. Useless things are also being destroyed alongside those good things….
In order to win but even more importantly in order to deserve to win and most importantly of all in order to be prepared to win, today’s opposition needs to put forward a vision of government and institutions that serve people better, not just better than now, but better than before…confronting massive inequalities of power and wealth that define our country.”
On cross-party agreement. “There are things that a strong majority of Americans believe …that give us a common ground to appeal to as we engage in those fights: the importance of freedom, the dreadful consequences of income inequality, the absolute foundational importance of this nation that bows to no king.”
“A lot of the things I believe in enjoy at least two-thirds public support in this country, including progressive taxation, a woman’s right to choose, marriage equality, universal background checks.”
On social media and confirmation bias. “We need to build overlapping circles of belonging and the trust that can arise from that…. Right now, too many of our circles of belonging are concentric…. You go online and see affirmation of everything you already believe and grounds to reject every one that you don’t already feel comfortable with. We can’t go on like that,”
“Spend more time off line….Do not let it (the algorithm) dominate how you relate to the world around you.”
On living in historic times. “This moment requires more, and not less, engagement, and it’s a test of all of us who are now living who have wondered what it’s like to live in this nation’s, or any nation’s, decisive hours. Now we do. And it turns out that being around for one of history’s pivot points is not always a pleasant experience. But it’s an incredibly important one.”
On AI. “I do believe that we are under-reacting (to the threat of AI.) We almost lack the vocabulary to describe the implications. Economically alone, consider what it means that literally hundreds of millions of jobs today done by humans in the world may be done by machines and software not the end of this century as we assumed, but by the end of this very decade, which is half over…The shape of our daily routines is threatened.”
Images: New home page of Santa Barbara News-Press (screen shot); Social Security rally images (Hap Freund); Mayor Pete rocking new beard (Fox News).