My goodness, the number of decisions that go into running a local newsroom:

Even at the scale of La Verne Daily News—a one-woman operation—it means constantly asking: Is this a story? Is it ready? Is it worth my neighbor's time (and mine)?

Because here’s the thing, I don’t take this lightly. Just because I can doesn't mean I should pursue a story. With the ability to publish comes real responsibility.

Every story I choose to cover (or not cover) sends a signal. That’s not just a gut feeling—that’s actually rooted in something called agenda-setting theory. In simple terms, the stories we see shape what we think about.

And these days, it’s not just journalists doing that work.

Scroll through any local social media platform and you’ll see agenda-setting and gatekeeping in action. What gets posted, what gets approved, what gets traction, what gets ignored—they're shaping our conversations too. The difference is, those decisions aren’t always rooted in verification, context or accountability.

That’s where I come in.

In March, I published a story about flyers that appeared in La Verne neighborhoods promoting a program related to Southern California Edison customers. The flyers referenced a real California rebate program for energy storage systems. But residents were unsure what the flyer actually was—a legitimate program, a marketing campaign, or something misleading.

After the story was published, someone commented on social media, saying a lot of these types of flyers are circulated around our community, “Why is this one so special?”

It’s a fair question.

From the outside, it might look like just another flyer. But from a community journalism perspective, the decision to report on it was pretty straightforward.

People in La Verne were asking questions.

When residents start wondering whether something tucked in their front door is legitimate—or potentially a scam—that’s where local journalism steps in. My job is to take those questions and do the work most people don’t have time to do themselves.

That means calling sources.
Checking public records.
Looking up company registrations.
Searching websites and domain records.
Reaching out to government officials or regulators.

In the case of the flyer story, I contacted Southern California Edison, researched the program cited on the flyer, looked into the organization named on it, and gathered information for residents to better understand what they were seeing.

That’s what community news is supposed to do.

Sometimes a story is newsworthy simply because people in the community are asking questions and deserve clear information.

In journalism school, we learn about traditional news values—things like impact, timeliness, relevance, and proximity. For me, there's another important one: community curiosity.

If enough people are wondering about something happening in town—whether it’s a confusing flyer, a newly empty building, or construction on local roads—that’s usually a good signal that it’s worth looking into.

Many of the stories I publish start with a conversation with a neighbor on the street, or a comment posted to social media, or an emailed tip or question from a reader. Like this story about a recent incident where a police SWAT vehicle was spotted in a local neighborhood. A reader emailed me about it.

If you see something unusual, interesting, confusing, or important happening in La Verne, I want to know about it. Send La Verne Daily News a direct message on Facebook or Instagram. Email me staci@lavernedaily.org. Or even text me at (909) 450-4227.

Of course, one challenge of running a small local newsroom is that I can’t cover everything. As much as I might like to, there’s only one of me. So, I may not be able to pursue every story, but your questions help shape what I investigate and report on.

Because at the end of the day, local journalism works best when it’s listening to the community it serves.

Speaking of which, I want to hear from you!

If you haven’t completed my reader survey yet, I hope you will. Your voice directly helps shape the future of local news in La Verne.

👉 Share your feedback here: https://forms.gle/wJcEPqa3UMJydrg76

Thank you for helping me build a newsroom powered by community, curiosity, and trust.

Staci Baird
Editor & Publisher
La Verne Daily News

➡️ La Verne Daily News is free to read thanks to community supporters. If this work matters to you, consider becoming a SUBSCRIBER. I also welcome one-time and recurring donations through Tiny News Collective (and they're tax-deductible!).