Journalist Jerry Roberts explains his move to the popular distribution platform Substack and sounds off on Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, corporate media, and Santa Barbara County’s cannabis policy in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.
“Four years ago today, Jan. 6, the insurrection at the Capitol, Donald Trump tried to mount a coup,” Roberts said. “And you know what, it turned out to benefit him. Mitch McConnell didn’t vote for impeachment the second time. It would have put a stake in this guy, and he’s turned around and somehow made this a great national holiday.”
Roberts, the former managing editor of the Santa Francisco Chronicle and executive editor of the now defunct Santa Barbara News-Press, on Monday also formally transitioned to a new distribution platform for his popular newsletter and blog site.
SB Newsmakers will now be distributed through Substack, a site where nearly 20,000 writers are paid for their content. Roberts eventually plans to offer tiers of subscription and paid content, as he looks to transition his site into a legacy project.
“Looking six or nine months out, we’re trying to find a way to raise enough revenue to pay a journalist,” Roberts said. “In looking ahead, we’d like to be able to have at least one professional journalist who organizes things, who works with local freelancers and others to produce their stuff and put it all there.”
The head of Roberts’ site is his weekly show Newsmakers, where he brings together local journalists to talk about their stories, and explain the context beyond what was published. Roberts has shown to be influential in political circles.
His 2,500-word editorial released a few days before the March 5, 2024 primary is widely credited for helping to swing votes toward Roy Lee, who upset Das Williams in his what-was-thought-to-be easy re-election campaign.
Roberts explains his editorial piece in the podcast.
“Elections are about choices and you just saw a 180-degree difference about the way to be in local politics and I think Roy Lee is someone who is in it for the constituents,” Roberts said. “He’s not trying to climb the political ladder. He doesn’t see it as his career.”
Roberts described how he “gathered a lot of string” on Williams and the Santa Barbara County cannabis ordinance, which Williams supported and took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the industry.
“I just felt I could have let things go maybe, but this cannabis ordinance is the scandal that just won’t go away,” Roberts said.
Roberts also takes swings at Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, the corporate media, and Trump’s cabinet picks. Toward the end he offers a touching tribute to Sheila Lodge, who stepped from the Santa Barbara Planning Commission after 12 years.
Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College. He formerly covered politics and land use for the San Jose Mercury News. Santa Barbara Talks is an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.