Shock spread through the Long Beach community three weeks ago—even three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, Golden State Warriors rookie Jordan Bell and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford expressed their surprise on Twitter.
Press-Telegram prep sports reporters J.J. Fiddler and Mike Guardabascio announced they’d been laid off, leaving the paper without a full-time sports reporter for the first time in its 122-year history.
But the two are back now with a new sports website called The 562, which is soft-launching this week.
Guardabascio said he was surprised at the feedback from professional athletes, city officials and high school students the day he shared his and Fiddler’s unemployment news on Twitter.
“We thought maybe we should try and figure out a way forward (with a website),” he said. “The number of people saying they want to support it financially is what really surprised us. Within 24 hours, we said we want to start something and we want it to be called The 562” after the city’s primary area code.
Fiddler and Guardabascio said a hyper-local community news site funded by residents will gain traction as Southern California News Group continues to shrink its 11 Southern California publications’ staffs, including the Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News and Coast Magazine.
“I don’t think it’s going to be limited to sports. I think it’s going to end up being the only option left for real journalism very soon. SCNG is going to keep cutting, and newspapers across the country are going to keep cutting, and these communities are going to be angry.”
Press-Telegram parent company SCNG and group parent Digital First Media announced widespread layoffs last month, adding to the 65 voluntary buyouts it started over the summer at the Press-Telegram, The Register and other newsrooms. The move has fueled rumors of a sale by majority-owner Alden Global Capital in New York.
Fiddler compared SCNG and Digital First’s actions to the demise of a classic car.
“It was a really beautiful car in 1980, and then they just sold it off for parts as it got older and older,” he said.
He said many news events in the community have now gone unreported, such as the Long Beach Century Club’s annual banquet honoring athletes and coaches.
SCNG said in a statement to the Business Journal that it acknowledges the importance of Long Beach sports to its readers.
“We continue to provide in-depth coverage of high school sports under the leadership of veteran journalist Damian Calhoun. Southern California News Group has a team of full-time high school sports reporters and freelancers serving Long Beach and our other markets where we have newspapers and websites.”
Same Guys, Different Look
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said news of the paper’s staffing cut is a big loss for the second-largest city in Los Angeles County. Long Beach’s population is about 470,000, according to 2016 census figures.
“A lot of people don’t realize how big (Long Beach) is,” he said. “It’s larger than Atlanta, Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Any coverage lost, whether its sports or news, is always a detriment to the communities being covered.”
Les Lukach, state director of baseball scouting service Prep Baseball Report, tweeted that it left him “pissed off,” while other Twitter users questioned if it was worth reading local news anymore.
Guardabascio said his and Fiddler’s plan is to offer the same coverage level and sports highlight videos that the Press-Telegram was known for. Their website will operate as a nonprofit.
The company is close to raising $200,000 this month, which the men said will fund the first year. They’ll be the only reporters for now but plan to hire freelancers when funding allows.
It has already received pledges from local high school booster clubs, schools and businesses. The business partners plan to start a $10-per-month subscription offering and merchandise sales, such as T-shirts.
“We’re shooting for 2,000 people to sign up for $10 a month, which we think is pretty conservative,” Guardabascio said. The pair’s “YouTube channel gets 2.5 million people a year, so we feel good we can convert a small percentage into paying customers.”
They also want to offer companies sponsorship opportunities as opposed to chasing online ad revenues. For example, an advertiser could sponsor videos for a year.
Other cities, including Chicago, are seeing the same model. Former editors and reporters at the defunct-DNAinfo Chicago have a Kickstarter campaign to launch nonprofit neighborhood news site Block Club Chicago, which has raised $125,794.
When asked about their decision to stay together since first meeting as undergraduates at California State University-Long Beach, the two said they balance each other out and that it’s become a “second marriage.”
“A second marriage with a really needy kid,” Fiddler said.
