Local news is a global crisis.

Newsroom jobs are down 57% in the US. Since 2004, 2,100 local papers have shut down. What we’re left with is underfunded, undersupported, and under threat.

Bland scale distributes a fast food product that tastes the same in Sarasota or Syracuse. Big networks and national goals concentrate ownership. Not really local at all. That’s not publishing to inform, it’s pretending to serve.

Created by a team of journalists and built on a foundation of community listening, Cityside is the parent organisation of Berkeleyside, founded in 2009, The Oaklandside, launched in 2020, and Nosh, which covers the East Bay’s food and drink scene.

Berkelyside has a reputation nationally as a model for trusted, intensely local journalism that does more than survive.

Cityside aims to do more than survive. Its model for civic minded, intensely local newsrooms is ready to thrive.

Cityside has been named Publisher of the Year by LION, the Local Independent Online News Publishers Association. “The vision and principles Cityside has built for its role in the community is powerful,” the judges stated.

Letterhead led the naming exploration, provided advice on the relationships between the brands, and created the tagline:

Building community through local journalism.

I've used Letterhead for 3 naming projects, and they have delivered great results each time. Their expertise and process lead to unique, smart, strategically powerful brand names. And they are highly collaborative and great to work with.

Steve Sachs
Managing Director, US
The Guardian