Next Speaker

November 16th, 2025 Sunday Meeting 10am to Noon

Subject: Lookout’s Local News Revival in an Age of National Journalism Crisis

Speaker: Ken Doctor, Founder of “Lookout” – Local digital Newspaper

The national signs are ominous as Presidential pressure and financial consolidation constrain the watchdog role of the national press from the Washington Post and LA Times to CBS and NPR. Meanwhile, a once-reliable local press has disappeared across much of the country, as vulture capital has gobbled it up. In Santa Cruz and now in Eugene, Oregon, Lookout is a contrarian, building a digital replacement for the lost print products. Founder and CEO Santa Cruzan Ken Doctor talks about how Pulitzer Prize-winning Lookout and its peers now build from the ashes, at a time when democracy is imperiled

Ken Doctor spent twenty-one years with Knight Ridder, long the country’s second-largest newspaper company, until its sale in 2006. He served in key editorial and executive roles and then completed his career there as VP/Editorial, VP/Strategy and VP/Content Services for Knight Ridder Digital in San Jose.

Would you like to recommend a guest speaker? Please email Barry Bowman at bbowman@ucsc.edu.