The city of Richmond has a bad reputation in the Bay Area.  Oftentimes, when people speak about Richmond, or when we hear about Richmond on the 5 o’clock news, what we hear is overwhelmingly negative: Killings, rapes, lack of jobs, bad schools and unhealthy pollution levels are just some of the stories we hear.  All of these things paint a picture of a community in crisis.

Yet the media coverage in Richmond only tells part of the story.  Often missing are the voices of Richmond residents themselves, the people most impacted by the conditions that exist.  Why do these things happen in Richmond, and how are each of these issues connected?  Who is responsible for the many problems that impact the health of a community, and how can those problems be addressed? We believe that these questions are not currently being asked often enough by the mainstream media in their news coverage, which is why we are creating the RICHMOND PULSE, a new community media outlet for Richmond, California, that will strive to ask and answer some of these important questions.

What makes the RICHMOND PULSE different from other news organizations is that it is community based, youth-led, and with a focus on any issue that affects the health of the overall community.  Young people will be trained in the craft of multimedia reporting, effectively becoming the eyes and ears of their community and bringing their stories to a wider audience through the web as well as a local newspaper that will be distributed widely throughout the city of Richmond, and beyond. RICHMOND PULSE will also benefit the city by providing a way for young people to get paid while developing employable skills as multimedia producers.  Through the creation of this community-driven media outlet, residents may begin to inform not only themselves, but the policy makers and power brokers whose decisions directly impact the health of their community.