The Contra Costa Pulse is a community news and media outlet, committed to amplifying the voices of East and West County’s under-served residents. Our reporting is led by young people with the intent of serving the entire community.
We began as the Richmond Pulse in 2011 as an antidote to the city’s bad reputation. Oftentimes, when people speak about Richmond or we hear about it in the news, what we hear is overwhelmingly negative: Killings, rapes, lack of jobs, bad schools, and unhealthy pollution levels are just some of the stories. All of these things paint a picture of a community in crisis.
But that is only part of the story. Often missing are the voices of the residents themselves, the people most impacted by the conditions that exist. We started the Pulse to amplify more voices, to tell the stories that weren’t being told and ask the questions that weren’t being asked in the mainstream media and to highlight the good in the community without ignoring the bad.
Then, as the Bay Area’s high cost of living started pushing people out, we noticed that many of the challenges facing Richmond residents were being increasingly felt by people on the other side of the county. We saw that East and West County had a lot in common. So in 2023, we began exploring an expansion, reaching a hand across the county.
It is in this spirit that we chose our new name: The CC Pulse. Contra Costa. Cross-cultural.
What makes The CC Pulse different?
What makes The CC 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 are 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 is distributed widely throughout the county of Contra Costa, and beyond. The CC Pulse benefits the city by providing a way for young people to get paid while developing employable skills as multimedia producers. Through this community-driven media outlet, residents may begin to inform not only themselves but the policymakers and power brokers whose decisions directly impact the health of their community.
The Contra Costa Pulse was founded by New America Media and is supported by grants from The California Endowment and the East Contra Costa STRONG Collaborative Fund.
