Cal Coast News is rated Right-Center with Mostly Factual factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.

Detailed Report

Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER (3.8)
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL (3.9)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

History

Cal Coast News is an independent local news website based in San Luis Obispo, California. Founded by Daniel Blackburn, the outlet focuses on investigative reporting, crime, local government, courts, politics, and community issues throughout California’s Central Coast.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

Cal Coast News is published by Cal Coast Press and operates from San Luis Obispo, California. Karen Velie has been identified in court reporting as an owner of Cal Coast News. Revenue comes from advertising, subscriptions, and reader contributions.

Analysis / Bias

Cal Coast News publishes extensive original reporting on local government, crime, courts, elections, and public agencies. Straight-news articles generally use relatively neutral language and rely on police departments, court records, government documents, public officials, and direct interviews.

The outlet’s Opinion section, however, leans Right-Center. Frequent contributor Andy Caldwell argues against higher taxes, government regulation, renewable-energy mandates, and California Democratic policies. For example, The kissing cousins of the affordability crises attributes California’s affordability problems largely to government regulation, restrictions on oil production, and excessive government spending. Other recent columns include titles such as “Socialism? Let’s not,” “Wind energy plans collapsing, time is on our side,” and “Help stop the proposed California tax on driving.”

However, the opinion section is not exclusively conservative. Cal Coast News also publishes perspectives supporting government transparency, prison reform, criticism of right-wing narratives about Ukraine, and competing views on immigration and local policy.

Factual reporting is generally sourced, but the outlet has experienced notable accuracy and legal controversies. In 2017, a jury found reporter Karen Velie and Cal Coast News liable for defamation over a 2012 article and awarded approximately $1.1 million in damages; the verdict was later upheld on appeal. More recently, a 2025 article became the subject of another defamation lawsuit after Cal Coast News corrected a statement that the plaintiff argued was false. That lawsuit was dismissed in 2026.

Failed Fact Checks

• None found from major IFCN fact-checking organizations. However, Cal Coast News has a documented history of corrections and defamation litigation involving the accuracy of its reporting.

Overall, we rate Cal Coast News Right-Center Biased based primarily on an opinion section that frequently favors lower taxation, deregulation, traditional energy development, and criticism of progressive California policies. We rate it Mostly Factual due to generally sourced original reporting, offset by a significant defamation judgment, occasional accuracy concerns, and strongly opinionated framing in some content. (D. Van Zandt 10/01/2026)

Source: https://calcoastnews.com/

Last Updated on October 1, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check

Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources