Veteran US journalists Levi Sumagaysay and Pati Navalta have partnered with Bay City News Foundation to launch Race and Coronavirus – a new media platform featuring a weekly newsletter and podcast. It will cover issues such as healthcare, education, housing, transportation, misinformation, and more – all through the lens of race and the pandemic – according to the partners.
“Our mission is to cover the people, places and issues that deserve more attention and this project will help do that,” said Katherine Ann Rowlands, Founder and Executive Director of Bay City News Foundation, which publishes free local news at LocalNewsMatters.org. “This is a critical moment for the nation, and for journalism. We want to be sure that more stories get told.”
DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT
“As longtime storytellers, we know we are in the middle of one of the biggest stories of our lives,” stated Levi Sumagaysay, who has spent most of her career at the San Jose Mercury News, specialising in technology and business news. “Race and Coronavirus is going to address something close to our hearts: tracking the effects of this pandemic on minorities and immigrants. Even though we keep hearing that COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, we know that in the US, black and brown people are disproportionately affected on many different levels,” she explained.
“While there have been numerous stories on how minorities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, there is no media outlet focusing solely on the volatile intersection of race and the global pandemic,” added Pati Navalta, Editor-in-Chief at the San Francisco Magazine. “Race and Coronavirus will fill this void at a time when consistent and in-depth coverage on this issue is not only timely, but crucial.”
PODCAST LINE-UP
Race and Coronavirus‘ first podcast will be with California Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) on the anti-Asian backlash in the US. Other guests lined up for future episodes include: US Republican Ro Khanna (CA 17th District); Alida Garcia, Vice President of Advocacy for FWD.org; and ABC7 Anchor, Dion Lim.
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