Santa Barbara News-Press – Bias and Credibility

History

The Santa Barbara News-Press is a local news publication serving Santa Barbara County, California. Its history dates to 1868, and the newspaper was formed in its modern configuration through the merger of predecessor publications.

Under previous owner Wendy McCaw and Ampersand Publishing, the newspaper became embroiled in a long-running dispute involving newsroom independence, employee resignations, and labor conflicts. Ampersand filed for bankruptcy, and the News-Press ceased publication in 2023.

The publication subsequently underwent a complete ownership and editorial restructuring. Local philanthropist Jason Yardi, working with Ben Romo and others, acquired the News-Press’ digital assets, trademark, domain, and archives through bankruptcy proceedings. The assets were then donated to NEWSWELL, a nonprofit news organization affiliated with Arizona State University.

The News-Press resumed daily online publication in late 2025. Joshua Molina serves as editor, while William Belfiore serves as general manager. The current staff can be found on its team page.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

The Santa Barbara News-Press operates as part of NEWSWELL, a nonprofit local-news initiative affiliated with Arizona State University. The ASU Foundation serves as fiscal sponsor for NEWSWELL and administers tax-deductible donations designated for the News-Press.

Revenue comes through memberships, philanthropy, sponsorships, and advertising. The publication states that donors do not receive editorial control, that donors contributing $5,000 or more annually are publicly disclosed, and that it will not accept donations from political parties, elected officials, candidates, or sources presenting conflicts of interest.

Analysis / Bias

The current Santa Barbara News-Press primarily publishes local reporting on government, elections, crime, education, development, business, and community affairs. Straight-news articles generally use moderate language, identify sources, and distinguish reporting from opinion.

For example, Political Notebook: 20% of ballots returned countywide; More Republicans than Democrats have voted reports voter-turnout figures and campaign developments while quoting Democratic political organizers and presenting numerical data concerning Republican, Democratic, and independent voters.

Similarly, Santa Barbara City Council melts down over whether to freeze police officer positions at budget hearing reports a contentious local dispute over police funding while describing the competing positions of council members rather than advocating one side.

Opinion content is clearly identified. For example, Robert Sulnick: Amateur rule has been a disaster strongly criticizes Donald Trump and reflects a liberal perspective. However, the presence of left-leaning commentary does not by itself establish a consistent ideological bias in the publication’s straight-news operation.

The revived News-Press also directly acknowledges the former newsroom conflict and the editorial problems associated with the previous ownership. Its current editor describes the publication as a growing nonprofit newsroom focused on rebuilding local journalism rather than continuing the previous owner’s political agenda.

Therefore, we rate the current Santa Barbara News-Press Least Biased based on generally balanced local reporting and clear separation between news and opinion.

Factual reporting is strong. Articles rely on government records, public meetings, interviews, election data, and identifiable sources. The organization also maintains donor-transparency and editorial-independence policies and has demonstrated a willingness to issue corrections when errors occur.

Failed Fact Checks

• None to date

Overall, we rate the Santa Barbara News-Press Least Biased based on balanced local reporting, clear separation of news and opinion, and the absence of a consistent partisan editorial pattern under its new nonprofit ownership. We rate it High for factual reporting due to strong sourcing, transparent nonprofit standards, a clean fact-check record, and a clear break from the editorial practices of the newspaper’s previous ownership. (D. Van Zandt 08/17/2017) Updated (08/21/2026)

Source: https://www.newspress.com/