A Chat with CalMatters editor in chief Kristen Go

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Today we welcome CalMatters’ new editor in chief, Kristen Go, who joined the newsroom at the very end of May.

Go has big shoes to fill: founding editor Dave Lesher took the organization from fledgling start up to public media behemoth in eight short years; now CalMatters is seen by many as the 800 pound gorilla of California political news. (Does that make Capitol Weekly the chimp? Nevermind.)

Go certainly has the chops for the job – she has a long CV, ranging from USA Today to the San Francisco Chronicle to the UC Berkeley graduate school of journalism. Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster spoke with her about her vision for CalMatters, how the nonprofit news model stacks up against traditional media, and about AB 886, Asm. Buffy Wicks’ proposal to force tech giants to fund reporting.

Plus, Who Had the Worst Week in CA Politics?

:56 In the beginning

3:50 Accountability journalism

5:47 A growth trajectory

7:05 Geographic perspective

8:38 “California is a complex place… we’re not a monolith”

11:02 Content sharing and media partners

15:40 NonProfit vs. for profit news

18:13 Buffy Wicks’ bill – AB 886

20:25 Social media and the news: Twitter vs. Threads

22:11 Any changes afoot?

24:42 Where’s Dave Lesher?

27:31 News read by Beyonce or Taylor Swift

29:31 #WWCA