La Mesa Patch Turns a Year Old, With Centuries of Experience Behind It

The results are in. And they don’t look good for the news media.

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press says in a survey released this week that “fully 66 percent say news stories often are inaccurate, 77 percent think that news organizations tend to favor one side, and 80 percent say news organizations are often influenced by powerful people and organizations.”

If a silver lining exists, it’s the finding that 69 percent of respondents say they have a lot of or some trust in information they get from local news organizations.

The Pew report says TV is the most frequently cited source of local news (59 percent citing it as a main source). Newspapers are cited more often as a source of local than national news.

“By contrast, just 17 percent cite the Internet as their top source of local news,” says the survey.

That’s where we come in.

La Mesa Patch—which turned a year old today (Thursday)—is an attempt to fill the hunger for La Mesa news and information. The collapse of traditional media created a vacuum, and for years nothing fully satisfied that local need. 

And it isn’t just newspapers. TV and radio have cut staff and coverage of the suburbs.

So here’s a status report on the Patch, as many people in the Jewel of the Hills have come to call us.

Since launching at 7 a.m. Sept. 29, 2010, La Mesa Patch has published 2,400 articles—close to seven a day. (All remain online.) Our Places directory of businesses, community resources and services has 2,623 listings. Our daily calendar has given people a heads up on 678 events.

We have 29 published bloggers, who have posted a total of 88 times—with several waiting in the wings. (And more being recruited weekly. It could be you!)

Our columns are world-class—from Gen Suzuki’s and Michael Grant’s to historian James Newland’s and local Realtor Charlotte Reed’s . Doug Williams, the former sports editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, has written dozens of revelatory profiles on , and Paul Richmond has kept us .

And what can I say about Annie Lane? This young SDSU graduate has introduced us to scores of our neighbors via , her never predictable weekday feature. Her photos are phenomenal, too!

And speaking of images, Chris Stone (aka my dear wife of 30 years) has captured countless dramatic moments of La Mesa life. (And sometimes she photographs Chargers and presidents.)

We salute our advertisers, too! They see the value in reaching a local audience while showcasing the richness of their goods and services. Many ads are the product of , our top-notch senior advertising manager.

We don’t disclose specific “hit counts,” or site traffic, but tens of thousands of unique visitors land on our pages every month.

During this month’s 10-hour blackout, we updated our main story dozens of times—giving people with smart phones and battery-powered laptops critical information.  We were flooded with traffic, including people outside the county looking for info on loved ones.

On the fun side, we’ve posted tens of thousands of photos and hundreds of videos.

We recently introduced polls. A dozen are still recording votes on issues ranging from local council favorites to who the next police chief should be. (Interim Chief Ed Aceves is leading a generic outside candidate 73-7.)

But polls don’t run La Mesa Patch. I do.

When I made my introductory rounds of local principals, City Council members and school boards, I swore to uphold Joe Friday Journalism—just the facts, ma’am.  And when I mess up, to fess up.  (See our corrections page.)

La Mesa Patch is more than old-school reporting, however. We rely on your feedback—comments and —and news tips, plus Announcements and media uploads. (And even phone calls.)

Our journalistic accomplishments are fodder for another day. But on this first anniversary of La Mesa Patch, I wish to thank everyone in town who’s been helpful or even critical.

I’m still learning, and we’re still growing.

Look for our booth at Oktoberfest this weekend. It’s the one with the green canopy and gritty staff—plugging away no matter what the surveys say.