May 2026 Newsletter
Welcome to our May newsletter! Big reporting, new support, and real momentum for local news. Here’s what happened this month. Let us know if you have any feedback by emailing [email protected].
Investigative reporting grant yields review of Guide Dogs of the Desert
Photo Credit: CV Independent and Mark Talkington
With staffing tight, it’s often difficult for local news organizations to keep up with breaking news, let alone the kind of watchdog reporting that requires weeks of tracking down sources, reviewing documents, and conducting in-depth interviews.
That’s why CVJF invited Valley news organizations to apply for an investigative reporting grant when they find they need extra resources to tackle a big story.
The first of those grants, a $5,000 award, went to The Palm Springs Post and the Coachella Valley Independent. Together, the two news organizations hired freelancer Maggie Miles to look into safety, leadership, and financial concerns at Guide Dogs of the Desert. Their joint investigation was published April 23 after six months of reporting.
In an email to CVJF, Mark Talkington and Jimmy Boegle, publishers of The Palm Springs Post and the Coachella Valley Independent, respectively, said the $5,000 grant “allowed us to commit to this as a true investigation and stick with it over a six-month reporting process. … It’s exactly the kind of work we think local journalism should be doing more of, and your support made that possible.”
CVJF will fund internships in 7 Valley newsrooms in 2026
This summer and fall, the Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation will spend $45,000 to fund internships at seven Valley news organizations. It is the fifth consecutive year that CVJF has funded internships as a way of helping new journalists gain a foothold in the industry.
"Thanks to our generous donors, our internship granting program has become the single largest investment that CVJF makes in support of the local journalism ecosystem,” CVJF President Randy Lovely said. “We are proud to help provide staffing resources for local newsrooms while also giving young journalists a chance to gain invaluable experience."
CVJF has spent more than $100,000 on internships since 2022.
The seven news organizations hosting a CVJF intern this summer and fall are:
City News Service — A fall or summer intern will cover a variety of assignments while being guided in the fundamentals of news judgment, beat work, and cultivating sources.
Coachella Valley Independent — In September, the Independent will receive its second California Local News Fellow from the UC Berkeley Journalism School. The internship grant would contribute to the fellow’s salary.
The Desert Sun — The intern will help with sports coverage in the fall.
El Informador del Valle — A summer intern will file reports for the Valley’s Spanish-language community, including photography and video.
Gay Desert Guide — A summer intern will help improve local news coverage of the LGBTQ community with an emphasis on stories from its senior members.
KESQ — A summer intern will assist on the assignment desk, post to the station’s website and social media channels, and produce a story to air on television.
Palm Springs Post — A summer intern will primarily write personality profiles and other feature stories.
Welcome back, Christine Hughes
We’re delighted to have Christine Hughes rejoin the CVJF Board of Directors.
A retired marketing and communications executive, Christine has served on the Rancho Mirage Library & Observation Foundation board since 2018 and was chair from 2021-2023. Christine has chaired the Lincoln Club of Coachella Valley since 2022 and was previously president of the club in 2019. She joined the board of the World Affairs Council of the Desert in 2024.
Christine served on the CVJF board for about a year starting in July 2024. Previously, she was president of CalWatchdog, a non-profit, non-partisan journalism organization that conducted and produced research on California policy issues from 2015 to 2020.
Campaign to help The Indio Post ends with $18,000 contribution
With your help, we’re donating a total of $18,000 to the fledgling Indio Post. The free website and newsletter serving the Coachella Valley’s largest city debuted just over a year ago – a rare expansion of local news in the Valley. We pledged to help with start-up costs, contributing $12,000 and launching a campaign to raise matching funds. We extend a special note of thanks to the donors who contributed to the cause.
Find the Valley’s local news sources on Linktree
Did you ever wish that your sources of local news were consolidated in a single spot on the web? Well now they are. CVJF has created a Linktree page with links to local news sources in the Valley. Check it out here, and be sure to bookmark it for future reference.
Local News Day in photos
About three dozen of you showed up for our celebration of the nation’s first ever Local News Day on April 9. We brought Valley residents together with some of the journalists who cover our communities to chat over a cup of coffee at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen in Palm Desert. Thank you for your support!
Kate Franco, executive editor of the Desert Sun newspaper, and CVJF Board Member Julie Makinen
Journalist Marcos Palma, right, talks with a Local News Day attendee.
Rick Rodarte, a local journalism supporter, with Dewey Berry of Palm Desert Citizens on Patrol and Sunshine Wood.
CV Independent Editor Jimmy Boegle talks with local journalism supporter Robbie Sherwin and an unidentified attendee.
CVJF Board Member Nicholas Robles and Hernán Quintas of Telemundo 15.
Chef Tanya Petrovna shows CVJF Board Member Julie Makinen a recent L.A. Times story recommending her restaurant.
Hector Felix of El Informador del Valle, the local Spanish-language newspaper, talks with CVJF board member Julie Makinen.
Randy Lovely, Board President Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation