The second term of the Trump administration begins on Monday. That makes it a good time for me, as publisher of the Alameda Post, to reaffirm our commitment to providing authentic, accurate, and factual reporting and information. We have always been committed to independence and honest, truthful reporting. We are grateful for your trust so far, and we want to make sure we maintain our status as your reliable source for Alameda news and information.

The Alameda Post is not going to change any of our policies with the arrival of the incoming administration. One of the reasons we launched as a nonprofit was to avoid the embarrassing episodes recently reported about the owners/publishers of the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times interfering with their newspapers’ editorial decisions—pushing them to align more with the incoming president’s views—and giving large sums of money to the transition team to curry favor.
On our Policies page, we declare our editorial independence thusly: “Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization.” That means our editorial staff, led by our managing editor, Kelsey Goeres, makes the decisions about what we publish, not our advertisers, sponsors, or donors, nor any outside influences such as local government, or for that matter, the federal government.
Everyone has bias, even the Alameda Post. Our review on the independent website Media Bias/Fact Check correctly identifies us as being left-center. We are in favor of progress, community involvement, diversity and inclusion, preserving the environment and fighting climate change, and providing the services that our residents, businesses, and visitors need. But that doesn’t preclude us from reporting facts. Our rating on that page states we have “high credibility,” explaining, “We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record.”
Facts are important, and they are not subjective. Objectivity is going to be a challenge in the coming four years. Facts are already being challenged and disputed by those who wish to change narratives to suit their goals. We see it in the reporting on the Los Angeles fires, which supporters of the incoming administration largely blame on DEI policies, not the combination of conditions in the area that made a fire of this magnitude a certainty.
Chances are, we’re too small of a target to really feel any pressure to change our policies directly. But we’re sure to feel it in other ways, including the decline in civil discourse among commenters on social media, and pushback against left-of-center issues. Opportunities for public funding for news and information will decline as well, as the incoming president has made it clear that the press is a favored target for his wrath and retribution.
We believe that facts are absolute. Read Kelsey’s editorial on the site today. We will not publish rumors or unverified information. Our writers are committed to thoroughly checking their facts as they report on stories, and showing their homework. Our editorial team reviews and verifies the content several times before it is approved for publication. We have room for opinions on our pages as well, and they are clearly labeled as such.
We welcome your letters and comments on this issue, and on others in the future—please see our policy on how to submit your opinion to us.
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.
Editorials and Letters to the Editor
All opinions expressed on this page are the author's alone and do not reflect those of the Alameda Post, nor does our organization endorse any views the author may present. Our objective as an independent news source is to fully reflect our community's varied opinions without giving preference to a particular viewpoint.
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