New content was slow to appear in the early going, with an in-depth investigative piece “every three weeks,” according to Velie, supplemented by news briefs and occasional links to other sites. One piece about a crooked land developer—which began while she was still working with San Luis Obispo weekly New Times—turned into a four-part series titled “Kelly Gearhart: Fraud, arson and betrayal” and led to an FBI investigation, with arrests pending.
Recognizing that the digital realm was “the future of journalism,” there was never any debate by Velie or Blackburn over whether to add the overhead of a print product. But with no tangible item to announce its presence, Velie had to find some way beyond word-of-mouth to drive traffic. In January 2008, with a slim-to-none marketing budget, Velie turned to another struggling medium: radio.
“Some stations can’t afford daily news segments,” Velie explains. “We’re trying to make a deal where we can sell news to radio stations, thirty-second news segments, or we can write to whatever they need. At first I was doing it for free, but it’s developed into a new way to make online media have income.”
The radio news segments vary in content. Some of the segments are driven by CCN-reported stories, others are more typical radio appearances talking about recent news stories in the area.
Velie points to the hiring of award-winning journalist George Ramos in 2009 as a watershed moment for the then-young site. Prior to his hiring, Velie sat down to dinner with Ramos and shared her frustrations about the challenges of producing investigative work with minimal staff. Ramos responded that he’d be interested in joining the CCN team, telling Velie, “I’ll work for beer.” Ramos, who helped take home three Pulitzer Prizes for the Los Angeles Times before retiring in 2003, subsequently worked (for free) as the lead editor on all CCN investigative pieces. He continued his work with the site until his death in June 2011, at age sixty-three.
CalCoast News has evolved in recent years to include more than just investigative work. The site publishes daily arts and events coverage, and decidedly uninvestigative slideshows such as this one of the Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival are now a considerable source of traffic. A sports section is under consideration.
Monetizing the site remains a challenge. Velie has looked to new revenue streams, including the radio segments, serializing novels, and selling e-books. Some revenue comes the old-fashioned way: selling ads to local businesses. One-fifth of the site’s revenue comes from donations, according to Velie. That money coming in has to support Velie and her two full-time co-workers, along with paying news contributors. Interns and contributors who write film and music reviews are not compensated.
Media law expert and California Polytechnic professor Bill Loving is now CalCoast News’s editor. The site currently averages 75,000 unique visitors per month according to internal numbers, and Velie is appearing on six radio shows weekly, including a morning music station. The stories the site produces reverberate across the Central Coast, and the site’s credibility is on the rise. It’s the kind of work that Velie built the site on and the kind of work that has kept CCN on the news media map.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA — With major newspapers cutting investigative departments around the country, including along the Central Coast of California, Karen Velie and Dan Blackburn were concerned that major stories would go uncovered. In late 2007, the pair of veteran newspaper reporters launched their own online outlet focused on just the type of journalism they felt was lacking—hard news and investigations. Initially, Velie and Blackburn launched as Uncovered SLO (San Luis Obispo), an online-only news site, but the name has since changed to CalCoast News, to allow for broader regional coverage.
This "investigative online journal" made some serious mistakes and allegations regarding me and my personal life. It crossed the line so far that I consulted an attorney and have considered pursuing. Their continued use of "allege" and by not using their "investigative' skills to their fullest potential, they printed information about me that was completely erroneous.
Had they actually done an investigation, they would have uncovered their errors. I finally called the editor and had a verbal discussion with him regarding the severity of the impacts that the articles had on me and upon advice from an attorney, I did not discuss any further.
The Columbia Journalism Review may want to do a bit more investigating themselves as to what's news and what is sensationalism.
#1 Posted by Maria Kelly on Thu 2 Feb 2012 at 03:17 PM
Maria Kelly: Investigative journalism hits hard, doesn't it? Those exposed are liable to be unhappy. The People have a overwhelming interest and right to know when an elected official is in a conflicted relationship with a prominent county department head. CalCoastNews.com performed an abundant public service by uncovering your relationship; a service that most "white bread" news sources (such as our rotten SLO Tribune) refuse to cover. When elected officials hide things from the public one or two facts are likely to be slightly off. That has little bearing on the importance of illuminating the monkeying around pertaining to the public's business. If your attorney advised you not to pursue anything, it was because there was little substance to be pursued.
Thank you CalCoastNews and Columbia Journalism Review!
#2 Posted by Adam Hill on Thu 2 Feb 2012 at 03:51 PM
Interesting that the very first comment here is from a disgruntled person who has been investigated by the very news source being given recognition by the Columbia Journalism Review. The second comment is supposedly by an elected official, Adam Hill, a County of San Luis Obispo Supervisor; he too has been investigated by CCN and had not-to-flattering stories written about him. Congratulations to Cal Coast News, to Karen Velie and Daniel Blackburn, this is indeed a recognition well deserved.
#3 Posted by bob from san luis on Thu 2 Feb 2012 at 04:27 PM
Cal Coast News tells the truth. Period. I am glad to see them get the professional recognition they deserve. Congrats to Karen and Dan. Thank you for your excellent service to our community!
#4 Posted by Danika on Thu 2 Feb 2012 at 06:28 PM
CalCoastNews provides the depth and context I need for my local editorial cartooning work -- a big thumbs up for the national recognition of CCN, and a big thanks to Karen & Dan for their courageous and resourceful journalism!
#5 Posted by Russell Hodin on Fri 3 Feb 2012 at 12:51 AM
Congratulations Karen and Dan, you deserve this recognition as you have provided an invaluable service to the citizens of San Luis Obispo County. Without CalCoastNews, we wouldn't know the half of what really goes on in our county, keep us informed and keep knocking on the doors of those who abuse the public's trust. Also a BIG thanks to Bill Loving for his editorial expertise and his selfless, charitable service to CCN in their quest for transparency and justice for all.
CalCoastNews is the Bomb - almost literally at times.
#6 Posted by Cindy on Fri 3 Feb 2012 at 01:27 AM
Time out, folks. Before everyone pops the champagne, may I point out something. THIS IS A DATA BASE. That's all. It's like a phone book on the Internet. This isn't CJR giving anyone an award at CalCoastNews. This isn't a "Best of" recognition. This is a listing of alternative media sites around the country, of which CCN is one. Nothing more, nothing less. Do not make out to be more than it is.
Still, it's funny to see the first post. If Maria hates Dan and Karen so much, why does she keep reading the site??????
#7 Posted by Hugo on Fri 3 Feb 2012 at 01:36 AM
Regarding comment #7, while Hugo is right that this database is not an award or a best of list, it is certainly more than a mere "phonebook." We put a great deal of effort into reporting and writing these profiles and stand behind them.
#8 Posted by Michael Meyer on Fri 3 Feb 2012 at 11:11 AM
This comment chain was getting out of hand, with numerous parties digressing into name calling - not to mention running afoul of our comments policy, which protects against libel.
I deleted offending comments and am shutting comments down now. Anyone who'd like to give feedback on this story can e-mail CJR at tips [dot] nfdb [at] gmail [dot] com.
I'm happy to continue the discussion and will post productive comments in this thread.
#9 Posted by Michael Meyer on Sun 5 Feb 2012 at 11:38 AM
Regarding CCN, I believe this is important for people to read. There is an ethics question raised here - http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/04/11/2026359/reporter-aided-start-of-paso-activist.html
#10 Posted by Rick Miller on Tue 17 Apr 2012 at 01:45 PM