About Us
newshawk n. [Slang] a newspaper reporter
What’s a Noozhawk? We’re glad you asked.
So many of today’s news organizations are constrained by tradition and unable to take full advantage of rapidly evolving technologies. Or they’re just out of touch with the community they claim to serve. You, the reader, are left to fend for yourself, knowing the information you need is out there — somewhere — but not knowing exactly where to look. The choices at hand are frustrating. You settle into a routine that is unsatisfying at best. We understand; we’ve been there, too.
That’s why we’ve created Noozhawk, Santa Barbara and Goleta’s unique new community newspaper — without the paper. Our experienced, professional journalists are delivering essential local news and community information for Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito, Carpinteria, Summerland and the rest of Santa Barbara County’s South Coast. We’re writing about the community you recognize, and it’s at your fingertips 24/7, in a simple and organized all-electronic format.
We’re also inviting you to contribute your own news, announcements, photos, videos and more, enabling Noozhawk to provide a depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched locally. Together, we’re developing a one-stop, go-to source for complete community news and information.
We’ve adopted as our platform one written by the late T.M. Storke, the legendary Santa Barbaran and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper publisher. It contains seven core principles:
1. Keep the news clean and fair.
2. Play no favorites, and never mix business and editorial policy.
3. Do not let the news columns reflect editorial comment.
4. Publish the news that is public property without fear or favor of friend or foe.
5. Accept no charity and ask no favors.
6. Give “value received” for every dollar taken in.
7. Make the publication profitable if possible, but above profit keep it clean, fearless and fair.
So, what’s our agenda? We don’t have one. We promise you accessibility, credibility and reliability while delivering you fair and comprehensive reporting on the community we respect and appreciate as much as you do.
We’re Noozhawk. We’ve got news for you!
William M. Macfadyen, founder, publisher and CEO
Bill Macfadyen was the co-founder and editor and publisher of the South Coast Beacon, a weekly community newspaper that made its debut in 2002, won the California Newspaper Publishers Association General Excellence Award the following year and went bust in 2005. Not having the sense to get a real job, he turned his attention to the Internet, where the overhead is lower and the optimism knows no boundaries. Bill also moonlights as immediate past board chairman of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Coastal Housing Coalition and the Santa Barbara Community Housing Corp., and board secretary of the Regional Legislative Alliance. He’s also a former senior warden at All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church and a past member of the statewide organizing committee of Common Sense California. In 2008, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by both the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Barbara Technology & Industry Association.
Reach Bill at
Chris Donahue, account executive
Chris Donahue — doting dad of a year-old daughter, Ciena — is a longtime sales representative in the Santa Barbara area. Chris was a top account executive at Forester Communications and, prior to that, was the Goleta Valley Voice’s top salesman and sales manager of BlueEdge and El Mexicano.
Reach Chris at or call him at 805.616.1270
Sonia Fernandez, reporter
Before becoming a reporter, Sonia Fernandez was a comic book store manager, an EMT, a medical assistant and an administrator for a weight-loss clinic. She joined the Goleta Valley Voice in 2003 as an intern and ended up as its staff writer. Along the way she’s lost her fear of bees, gone to band camp and developed a fascination with parasite ecology. Armed with her trusty reporter’s notebook, a tape recorder and her camera, Sonia is Noozhawk’s general assignment reporter for Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria.
Reach Sonia at
Mollie Helmuth, intern
Mollie Helmuth is the “prodigal local,” having just returned home to Santa Barbara after four years in San Luis Obispo while attending Cal Poly. While there, she participated in Student Life and Leadership for three years, served coffee downtown and spent some time surfing. She graduated in June with a print journalism degree and was thrilled to start right away with an internship at Noozhawk. The future is open to possibilities, but scientific journalism is where she feels her heart is.
Reach Mollie at
Rob Kuznia, reporter
A reporter for eight years, Rob Kuznia was among the journalists who participated in the 2007 online news project, the Santa Barbara Newsroom, and previously spent three years as the education beat writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press. Although his first post-college jobs included being a janitor in Minnesota and delivering pizzas in North Dakota, Rob got his start in newspapers as the city hall reporter at The News-Review in Roseburg, Ore., and later worked as an education and city hall reporter for The Argus in Fremont. He graduated from the University of Minnesota’s journalism program in 1999 and has won two awards, for feature writing and spot news coverage, in the Bay Area and in Oregon.
Reach Rob at
Michelle Nelson, copy editor
A former longtime copy editor at The Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore., Michelle Nelson has been an editor for more than 10 years. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science. She and her husband, Pete, are the proud parents of two wonderful sons, Garrhett and Blake. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys attending sporting events, camping and spending time with family and friends.
Reach Michelle at
Edgar Oliveira, Web services director
Edgar Oliveira is a Web designer by trade but a drummer at heart. He’s played in jazz bands, rock bands and Latin bands in his hometown of Minneapolis. One day, he and his wife, Isabel, decided to move to Santa Barbara. He sold his drums, she packed their cat, Sue Ellen, in the car and they drove West. Edgar bought a surfboard, Isabel got a tan and neither of them has ever looked back.
Reach Edgar at