InterView
By Chris Murphy
The Modesto Focus
Local news has never been more important. Local and experienced journalists have never been more necessary in our society. In this day and age of swipes and scans, a local focus you can count on is sometime elusive. That’s one of the reasons I started ModestoView back in 1997, to focus on the good in our community. I intentionally did not want to be a newspaper.
News is all about seeking the truth, having the journalistic skills to get the facts and then make sure that the community is well covered and the information professionally delivered The free press, or the “4th Estate” is essential for common community knowledge and holding power to account. Over the last few decades we have seen the closure of thousands of local newspapers and newsrooms. Local news is making a comeback and hyper-local news and magazines are vital to an informed community.
Thanks to community demand, grants from the Stanislaus Community Foundation and the James B/ McClatchy Foundation, the Modesto Focus is now serving Modesto. The best part is that this is staffed by journalists formerly of the Modesto Bee. The Central Valley Journalism Collective is lead by regional editor Joe Keita, formerly the Executive Editor of the Modesto Bee and Fresno Bee. The Modesto Focus operation is lead by long-time reporter Bee reporter Marijke Rowland, well known to our community and someone that I have personally worked with for over 20 years.
This new effort will greatly shine more sunlight on area leadership, highlight local accomplishments, issues and concerns. I am honored to be on the local advisory committee. Modesto will be served by both the Modesto Bee and Modesto Focus, each offering a unique point of view. Let’s get reacquainted with Joe and Marijka.
ModestoView: How did the Modesto Focus come to be?
Marijke Rowland: The Modesto Focus, or MoFo as we like to call it, is a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality of local news in the San Joaquin Valley. CVJC has launched three newsrooms: The Modesto Focus, The Merced Focus and The Intersection, our health equity lab. CVJC also funds other nonprofit publishers in the San Joaquin Valley as well as provides free training to Valley journalists.
JK: The Stanislaus Community Foundation conducted a landscape study into the local media ecosystem in 2024, and this study uncovered a need for more robust local news on important community issues. In September of 2024, SCF awarded a grant to our CVJC to start The Modesto Focus. After much preparation and additional fundraising efforts were complete, CVJC soft-launched the news site in mid-August of this year. We now have a staff of three journalists, a local advisory committee, and are conducting significant outreach into the community ahead of a late January 2026 formal launch.
MV: What makes the Modesto Focus different?
MR: We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan independent newsroom with full-time professional staff all living in the Valley. Our mission is to provide in-depth, well-researched coverage of Modesto and Stanislaus County that helps people both understand and connect to the community better.
JK: Our goal is to make sure Modesto and Stanislaus County are provided with quality, public service journalism that shines a light on issues that aren’t currently being covered. We’re not doing our jobs if we’re simply matching what other news organizations already are reporting. We want to dig for the truth, hold power to account and respect our audience’s intelligence. We also want to celebrate this incredible region and tell stories of its successes.
MV: Social media has become a key source of information, but is loaded with opinion and mis-information and conspiracies when it comes to news. How do we take this issue on?
MR: Social media has made it too easy for people to live in information silos, and only see news that reconfirms their existing beliefs — if they see any news at all. We want to give people more news, period — through socials or our site or sharing our articles with other area publishers to republish for free.
JK: Marijke is right; social media algorithms serve up a steady diet of content that only affirms your views or makes you angry. The point of the algorithm is to increase the time you spend on social media platforms and this strategy works very well for big tech. I agree with Marijke that we combat this by providing more news and making it local, but we also need to increase news literacy skills. Much of what passes for news on social media is opinion shot from the hip by creators who know how to push the right buttons to increase their engagement. We want to connect you with facts and build appreciation for truth-telling journalism. To do this, we must be transparent in how we do our jobs and constantly listen. That’s why we have a community advisory committee.
MV: What do you think are the areas most needed for reporting?
MR: Well, more local news period. But also more context, more stories that help people understand how policies passed on the federal, state, county and city levels affect people directly in Modesto and Stanislaus County.
JK: Everything Marijke said is spot on. I’d add that local media needs to better cover Stanislaus County’s significant Latino community, and that’s why we’ve hired Ximena Loeza, our bilingual communities reporter.
MV: Clicks and readership are important, how will you grow this without sensationalism?
MK: Well, we don’t rely on clicks the same way much of legacy commercial media does. We don’t have a corporate bottom line, and we don’t have pageview quotas to meet. We are trying to grow our audience through high-quality work and community outreach.
JK: I measure the success of our journalism through impact. If we’re doing our jobs the right way, we will create journalism that rights wrongs and changes the course of local events. We will need to be transparent about what we do and build an audience that is willing to financially support us.
MV: What can readers expect?
MR: Just more local news, but not just investigations or reporting on government accountability. We also want to highlight the interesting and exceptional about our community.
JK: They can expect to see themselves. We want to truly be community-rooted in everything we do. They also can expect us to be responsive and available and to be active participants in our community. We can’t run this from afar or take cues from faraway bosses. We will be rooted here.
MV: How can readers help your community view?
MR: First and foremost, read out stories. Sign up for our free newsletter<themodestofocus.org/the-modesto-focus-newsletter/>. Share our stories on socials, we are on Facebook<www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578882860627> and Instagram<www.instagram.com/the_modesto_focus/>@the_modesto_focus. Tell your friends and family about us.
JK: Perhaps the single most important thing that can be done to support us is to talk with us! Our journalism is only as good as our sourcing. Tip us off to what’s happening! Beyond this, sign up for the free newsletter. And if you value what we do, help us keep it going by making a recurring donation<themodestofocus.org/donate/>, no matter how small. We’ve created donor tiers: Mini MoFo/Mighty MoFo/Mega MoFo, but these are just suggestions.
MV: You have a local group of advisors, how has this helped your launch?
MR: We are community-based news, so we rely on community members to help guide our editorial strategy and also spread the word about our work and mission. We are still looking for people to join the committee, reach out.
MV: What has surprised you about the news scene in the last few years?
MR: How little people see of local news anymore. Most people don’t seek out news about their communities, so they don’t go to regional news sites. What they get is whatever the algorithm on their social media feeds shows them.
MV: How can people read and share the Modesto Focus?
MR: We are free to read at our site, www.themodestofocus.org<www.themodestofocus.org/>. Our site is in English and also fully translated in Spanish. We believe in more access to local news, so we vow to never have a paywall.
MV: Do you anticipate doing anything in print ?
MR: We do not have plans for a print edition, but you can catch some of our articles reprinted by other local publishers. We provide them for free to all regional publishers and many, including the Turlock Journal, Ceres Courier, Riverbank News and more, have run our work.
MV: What makes you optimistic about the future of Modesto?
MR: We are a community of doers, and the community has been able to come together over the years to make many worthy projects happen from the Gallo Center to Modesto Children’s Museum and so many others.
JK: Modesto has a strong civic spirit and is poised for continued growth. It’s also home to some really cool people who are doing amazing things, like the Modesto Artists Movement<www.modestoartistsmovement.org/>. Modesto and Stanislaus County deserve media that honors this vibrancy.
MV: Anything that you want people to know about the Modesto Focus?
MR: We are working hard to earn your trust and write stories that both educate and entertain. And we’re always looking for new story ideas.
MV: What Modesto things do you enjoy the most?
MR: I love going to the Modesto Certified Farmers Market on a clear fall day and seeing everyone enjoying all the bounty the Valley has to offer.
MV: The ModestoView signature question, Beatles or Stones?
MR: Beatles
JK: Beatles
Reach out and connect to Joe Kieta at joe@cvlocaljournalism.org<mailto:joe@cvlocaljournalism.org> and Marijke Rowland at marijke@cvlocaljournalism.org<mailto:marijke@cvlocaljournalism.org>
Visit The Modesto Focus at www.themodestofocus.org<themodestofocus.org/>
Become a MoFo supporter at www.themodestofocus.org/donate/
