The Long Beach Post was founded in 2007 by Shaun Lumachi and Robert Garcia and has changed ownership multiple times ever since.
At the time, Lumachi worked as a public policy consultant for area chambers of commerce, including the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, and Garcia worked as an educator, teaching public policy and communications at University of Southern California, California State University Long Beach, and Long Beach City College.
Garcia used the newspaper as a way to launch a successful bid to the Long Beach City Council in 2009. He persuaded former Editor-in-Chief Allison Jean Eaton to leave the Compton Bulletin to lead the newspaper.
With the ever-changing landscape of newspapers’ failure to capture advertising dollars, due to their at times, inability to report fair and balanced news, there is always public perception that newspapers have become too cozy with City Hall and thus are beholden to them and not the residents and paid subscribers.
Newsrooms are being gutted across the country and instead of maintaining and exploring healthy partnership with non-traditional news sources, they are downsizing to the detriment of democracy. Newspapers have long been the checks and balances of holding elected officials accountable but have become more of a public relations platform that only spits out favorable news in exchange for checks from the local government’s coffers.
The Long Beach Post writers were attempting to form a news guild, similar to those formed at larger media outlets, to have stronger bargaining power when it came time to negotiate their salaries. Instead of negotiating in good faith, The Post let go over half of its newsroom. Nine writers to be exact.
Former Long Beach Post journalist Jackie Rae agreed to interview with 2UrbanGirls to shed light on her experience working with the paper which many believe is only a matter of time before it folds completely.
2UG: Tell us about your background in journalism and how long you were with the Long Beach Post?
JR: I have been a journalist for over 12 years. During my career, I’ve had the unique pleasure of not working in a specific box. I’ve worked as a sports writer, news reporter, anchor, and radio host.
In 2019, I applied to the Long Beach Post for their food writer position. Because my background was mostly in broadcast news and I had no food writing experience, I was not offered the position.
In 2020, I covered the protest of George Floyd’s murder as an independent journalist. At the same time, the Long Beach Post was under scrutiny for not having any Black representation to cover the protests happening in Long Beach.
I was hired by the Long Beach Post on May 10, 2021, partly because of my independent coverage but more so in response to public scrutiny.
May would have been my three-year anniversary.
2UG: What was your experience working there? Did you feel supported by your editor/owner?
JR: The short answer is no. From day one, Melissa Evans told me she didn’t know what to do with me and took a hands-off approach, which wasn’t a problem in the beginning. I had to learn about Long Beach. I couldn’t expect a community to trust me just because I’m Black. As the saying goes, “All skin-folk, ain’t kin-folk.”
Once I established myself, the clash was immediate. Every single podcast idea was scrutinized. At one point, Evans and managing editor Jeremiah Dobruck wanted me to write a script they could review and have me stick to during the podcast. The first story I wanted to write, I was denied, with the excuse being that I have opinions. Yet we had columnists on staff. If it wasn’t for David Sommers, who was our publisher at the time, I would have been completely handicapped in my role.
While Dobruck openly admitted that I did more investigation and interviewed more sources than most of my colleagues, he followed that up with, “But I still need more.”
He completely altered my voice in a story about a prominent white woman using the N-word multiple times. When I called him out, he said doing so “hurt his feelings.” He also said I could benefit from him rewriting my work. As insulting as that was, I relented. When I followed up with him about a rewrite, he claimed to have no idea what I was talking about.
Finally, on February 3, 2024, both Dobruck and Evans admitted they did not have any respect for me until I interviewed Rex Richardson during his mayoral campaign in October of 2022. While they claimed that was when they began to respect me, they still told colleagues that I was “incapable of writing,” causing friction with other editors and preventing some of my stories from ever coming out. This also impacted my credibility in the community.
2UG: The Post has gone through many ownership changes, what do you attribute it to and why?
JR: Some of that is just growing pains. Shaun Lumachi and Robert Garcia founded the Post. Garcia left the Post as he began his political career, leaving Lumachi as the sole owner. Sadly, he passed away in 2011. Cindy Allen eventually became the owner, but she, too, entered the political arena. John Molina purchased the Post in 2018. While it was great to have an owner with no political affiliation, someone who is that financially invested in the community comes with a different set of problems. I think moving towards the non-profit sector is the best move for media outlets as that is the only way to have true independence.
2UG: How beholden to Robert Garcia/Rex Richardson/City Hall/LBPD was the paper? Did that interfere with the newsroom?
JR: As much as they would want us to be, The Long Beach Post has never been beholden to any politician. I am truly proud of Jason Ruiz’s work in holding city officials accountable.
Jeremiah Dobruck also does amazing investigative work. While city officials were not pleased with his investigation into the Long Beach Convention Center, it was a story the public needed to know about. (https://lbpost.com/news/long-beach-convention-center-audit-5-fund-cvb-goodling/)
Any narrative suggesting the Long Beach Post is an extension of local government is entirely false.
2UG. Are there any examples that stand out?
JR: The story from Jermaiah above and this most recent story where Jason explains why the massive hole in Downtown Long Beach. – https://lbpost.com/news/big-hole-city-hall-downtown-long-beach-civic-center/
2UG: Do you believe Garcia is still involved in the editorial content of the paper?
JR: Not at all.
2UG: How many staff were let go? Did you all see this coming?
JR: Nine people were let go. Personally, yes, I saw this coming. When Melissa Evans announced in a staff meeting that she was managing the Post’s finances the way she manages her checkbook, I knew we were in trouble.
The original layoffs were only supposed to include seven people. When we tried to unionize, we feared there would be more. However, we hoped they were smart enough to know that targeting anyone after we began creating our union would be seen as retaliation. We were wrong.
2UG: Where can people continue to follow you as your coverage of Long Beach?
JR: My website JackieRaeTV.com is under construction but will be up by Monday.
Instagram and YouTube @JackieRaeTV
