With our 16th anniversary just around the corner, I thought I should introduce our staff members to give you a fuller picture of the people behind Noozhawk and why your support is so critical to our success.

— Bill Macfadyen, Noozhawk founder and publisher

Josh Molina

Josh has been a staff writer with Noozhawk since 2014. The Goleta native covers
Santa Barbara City Hall, State Street and downtown, planning and development,
Santa Barbara Unified School District board meetings, and local business.

How did growing up in Santa Barbara influence your career choice?

My father was a handyman/plumber, and my mother was a caregiver for developmentally disabled people. I went to five different elementary schools. We moved every year after the landlord raised the rent.

We did not have a lot of books in our home, but we had newspapers. As a child, I read the Santa Barbara News-Press and the Los Angeles Times regularly. I developed a love for journalism and the fact that there was so much information in a newspaper.

It’s my dream life to be a journalist in Santa Barbara; I could work anywhere in the country, but I choose to work in the community I grew up in to give back.

Thee issues we cover are not hobbies for me. They are me, and they are my background and experiences.

It’s my journalistic obligation to tell the stories of this community, using my skill set and unique perspective and background.

For seven years you worked for the now-defunct Santa Barbara News-Press, what was then a traditional newspaper. What do you see as the journalistic advantages of reporting for an online-only Noozhawk?

I love the speed of Noozhawk. We have stories up almost instantly after a breaking news event.

With online media, we have the ability to update the story with more reporting so we can keep readers informed. Online media also allow for multimedia; it all feels very interactive and dynamic.

And ultimately, our readers enjoy their news most in the online environment. They get it on their phones, computers, tablets, through email. We meet the audience where they are.

Can you give an example of Noozhawk’s nimbleness in covering a story?

Recently, after I received a tip that the News-Press had filed for bankruptcy, I worked with the Sunday editor, Bill Macfadyen, to get the story published quickly.

We scooped the world, so much so that my name and Noozhawk were mentioned in the Los Angeles Times and national media.

Macfadyen edited the story, wrote the headline, and we had it posted less than an hour later. That was exciting. It was breaking news, which is the lifeblood of what we do as journalists.

Overall, Noozhawk specializes in breaking news, whether it’s a highway crash, a wildfire or earthquake, or sadly, a homicide.

We’re consistently first with breaking news, and it’s because of the culture we have that breaking news trumps all.

What’s a current story you’re excited about?

Every week I tell the story of a changing Santa Barbara. There are state pressures to build more housing. State Street is experiencing a major transition. Parks and recreation services are being cut.

Restaurants and retailers are going out of business. There’s a glut of available commercial office space. District elections have dramatically altered the types of decisions made on the City Council.

Some of these issues Santa Barbara has struggled with for decades; others are new.

I have 22 years of professional journalistic experience, so I really enjoy explaining the events of today, in the context of Santa Barbara’s history. Not every journalist can do it.

I am excited every day about writing the story of a changing Santa Barbara. It’s generational, cultural, political and economic, and I am uniquely positioned to tell that story.

How do you ensure that Noozhawk’s reporting does not take sides?

I’ve always felt that the best journalists are the ones who have access to sources throughout the community, from all walks of life and political perspectives.

A journalist’s goal should be to tell truthful, honest, fair stories, and you can only do that by being inclusive in your reporting.

The main commodity that a journalist sells is truth. If you seek truth, there are no sides. If given thorough details, readers can make their own decisions on how to feel or what to think.

Why is Noozhawk so valuable to this community?

Noozhawk has an incredible staff of professionals with more than 200 years of journalistic experience; this matters. Experience matters. Wisdom matters.

Noozhawk founder and publisher Bill Macfadyen is an incredibly talented copy editor and headline writer. Executive editor Tom Bolton is the best breaking news reporter around. North County editor Janene Scully does a phenomenal job of covering that part of the county. Managing editor Giana Magnoli has been the cornerstone of Noozhawk for more than a decade. Our sports coverage is amazing.

We are rich with talented journalists who work every day to tell the stories of this community. I consistently hear in the community that people read Noozhawk because our reporting is fair and without spin or political perspective.

This community needs a daily news source, and Noozhawk has consistently filled that role in an online format since 2007, with only more great work ahead.

How You Can Help

If you would like to support Josh Molina and Noozhawk’s ongoing professional coverage of Santa Barbara County news and issues, click here to make an online donation.