New Jewish news site launches in LA amid hard times for Jewish journalists
| Published date | 15 June 2021 |
| Author | ANDREW LAPIN/JTA |
| Publication title | Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel) |
SoCal Jewish News is "committed to covering the entire community," the site says.
Its founding editor, Kelly Hartog, the Jewish Journal's managing editor until she was laid off in October, described SoCal Jewish News on Twitter as "a megaphone for Jewish news, all filtered through a lens of ethics, objectivity and professionalism." And a promo video announces, "You deserve a reputable news outlet" (emphasis theirs).
It's unclear whether SoCal Jewish News will get off the ground. Hartog declined to speak about the venture, and others involved referred inquiries to her. Meanwhile, after setting a crowdfunding goal of $200,000, the upstart venture scaled back its target by 95% after raising just $3,000 in donations over several weeks.
SoCal Jewish News has begun publishing stories via email newsletters and social media.
"I think it would be very challenging for another group to start another Jewish publication at this moment in time," Jay Sanderson, the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "Competition is great, but Jewish journalism is a challenge to begin with."
Across the country, the number of journalism jobs at US newspapers fell by nearly half over the last decade, according to the Pew Research Center. The Jewish Journal's staff has shrunk by two-thirds in the past several years since David Suissa took over as editor in chief, publisher and president in 2017 after running its business operations. In October, the paper also suspended its print edition, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jewish Journal is the institutional paper of the large and diverse Jewish community in Los Angeles, and a syndication client of JTA. Journal supporters say the staff decline and print suspension is the natural effect of a crumbling business model for local news, and Sanderson said he believes Suissa has led the paper admirably through stormy seas that included the abrupt disappearance of advertising revenue during the pandemic. Tabby Refael, a Journal freelance columnist, called Suissa "an intuitive and cherished mentor."
But a half-dozen former staffers said the staff reduction was driven by more than finances. They said that Suissa's...
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