The Press Democrat has added a new reporter to its staff so that it can do a better job of covering the fast-paced business world in Sonoma County.
Last week, we welcomed Sara Edwards to the team. She just got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Edwards, who is only 23 years old, will be working alongside Press Democrat business writer Bill Swindell and North Bay Business Journal employees, both of which are owned by Sonoma Media Investments, the same company that owns The Press Democrat.
They collaborate to provide a more concentrated effort to the post-COVID economy in Sonoma County and other areas of Northern California.
Edwards will be responsible for covering consumer trends and challenges, as well as keeping an eye on the scene of small businesses and the industry of tribal casinos in Northern California.
“Consumers are going to look to their local news organisations in order to grasp what is going on,” Edwards said. “Talk about inflation and recession are at the top of many people’s worries.”
“I couldn’t be happier to help the people of Sonoma County figure out how to deal with this tough and rapidly changing economy.”
According to Richard Green, the executive editor of The Press Democrat and the chief content officer of Sonoma Media Investments, Edwards brings to the role a love for the work, expertise in covering businesses, as well as a drive to interact with local readers.
According to Green, “Sara came highly recommended from previous colleagues of mine in Arizona as well as USA Today, where she was a summer intern.”
After spending some time with Kate, it became immediately evident that her intellectual curiosity and her ability to connect with customers and sources would provide a much-needed depth to our coverage of the business environment.
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During his time as a student at Arizona State University, Edwards worked as a business and consumer news reporter for a number of publications, including Cronkite News, West Valley View, and the Phoenix Business Journal.
She discussed a range of crucial problems — from housing and supply chain shortages to educational finance challenges.
Edwards was also engaged with a number of diversity groups when he was a student at Arizona State University. Some of these organisations include the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Association of LGBTQ Journalists.
In the summer of 2020, she was a founding co-secretary for the Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition at her school, which she helped organise with the goal of establishing a student advocacy group.
After graduation, Edwards worked at USA Today for the Money and Consumer News team. She wrote articles about a wide range of topics while she was there, such as corporate policy, real estate, and inflation.
In one case, people who went to Walgreens complained that they couldn’t buy birth control or condoms because the Supreme Court had ruled that getting an abortion legally was no longer a federally protected right. This story got a lot of attention from the media.
Her story made it to the floor of the U.S. Senate, where Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, told Walgreens, a drugstore in Illinois, to look at its policy that lets pharmacists refuse birth control requests based on religious beliefs and change it.
Green was excited to see how Edwards would put his past knowledge to use in the North Bay.
Green said that there are many different aspects to living in the North Bay region, and one of the most important aspects is the local business community.
“Sara’s presence makes us very pleased. She wants to improve how our newsroom covers the businesses, customers, problems, challenges, and successes in our local market. So does the rest of our newsroom.
Edwards is ready to meet with influential members of the corporate community as well as consumer advocacy organisations.
