Who are you?
We are a dedicated group of professional journalists who care about quality news in the greater Bay Area and Northern California. Veteran journalist Katherine Ann Rowlands serves as CEO and president of Bay City News and executive director of the nonprofit. On the news side, longtime reporter and editor Dan McMenamin serves as the managing editor, overseeing other editors who supervise daytime, overnight and weekend shifts plus a staff of about 25 reporters, editors, photographers, data journalists and web producers.
How can I learn more about your reporting staff?
To learn more about our staff, click the article bylines for author bios and an archive of their recent reporting.
How are you funded?
Bay City News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, meaning we are primarily supported by charitable contributions from individuals and institutional partners. Our tax ID is 83-0654488. You can read more about our nonprofit on Guidestar here.
I want to support your work! What’s the best way to do that?
- Make a tax-deductible gift today to support local news.
- Get a slice of the Bay Area with our two weekly newsletters.
- Send us story ideas and feedback.
I have a story idea. Who can I send tips to?
We’d love to hear from you! Please send all tips to newsroom@baycitynews.com.
What is your fact-checking policy?
Reporters fact-check their own work. Editors then check all stories for accuracy before publication. We correct our mistakes in a timely fashion. We name all sources and provide transparent coverage of communities. We make the newsroom contact information available for readers to call or email us with corrections, concerns, and tips.
What is your policy in using AI?
We have a full description of our approach to experimenting with Artificial Intelligence and our guidelines for usage here. In short, we do not use generative AI to write stories; reporters and editors are responsible for creating the work we publish. We do use AI search tools for researching documents, finding sources and uncovering information that, once independently verified, may become part of our reports. We use AI tools to analyze our performance as a news website, including tools to predict audience behavior, provide insights into reader patterns and understand how to better serve community information needs. We use AI for some commonly accepted uses such as spell check, photo sizing, A/B testing of headlines and the timing and wording of social media postings based on original content. Any content published with the use of AI must be approved by our top editors and managers and labeled transparently for readers. Any use of generative AI technology used to create published content will be clearly disclosed alongside the story or image. Read more here.
Can I give you a quote on background without attribution?
No, while we sometimes use unnamed spokespeople in stories, the quotes and information must be attributable to an official entity or organization. In the interest of fairness and transparency, people deserve to know where the information we’re using comes from.
Can I see a copy of the story I’m quoted in before it’s published?
No, allowing sources to preview stories would be to grant them undue influence over our coverage. On rare occasions, a reporter may read a source’s quote back to them if the source feels like they might have been misquoted or misunderstood. That being said, if the quote is accurate, a source is not allowed to change what they said. Some, but not all, reporters will allow a source to give additional context or another quote in such a case. Some reporters may record interviews after getting permission from the source so we can check for accuracy.
How can I find the story I’m quoted in after it’s been published?
Please contact the reporter you were interviewed by to request a link to the story you were quoted in, they will be able to direct you to the appropriate link.
To stay up to date on the latest news stories as soon as they’re published, bookmark LocalNewsMatters.org and sign up for free weekly email newsletters.
I have a question that hasn’t been answered here – who can I ask?
Please email all newsroom-related questions and comments to newsroom@baycitynews.com.
A Note About Our Firewall:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We will maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization also may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $500 or more. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.