In honor of J.’s 130 year legacy of prolific archives and serving the Bay Area Jewish community, I created an event centering community stories, archives and local history on Mar 22. Partnering with the Magnes Jewish Collection of Jewish Art & Life at UC Berkeley, the Sunday afternoon was a free, accessible event.

There was a collaging table using our past print issues, a panel discussion with two local scholars in conversation with our archives columnist, a walkthrough tutorial of browse to use our archives and an opportunity to participate in a published audio-history project. Rotary-style phones were laid out with instructions for participants to leave their names and the story of how their families came to call the Bay Area home. We then kept the line open until April 15th and published these voicemails in chronological order with transcripts for participants to share with their loved ones and for readers to learn more about their community.

I hadn’t really established any expectations for the reactions participants would have after their experience participating in the published audio-history project.

It turned out that there was an overwhelming outpouring of emotion once they hung up the phone: wide grins, belly laughs, a few tears and embraces with strangers. Multiple participants were moved by the experience and encouraged friends and loved ones to participate. Due to the volume of interest, we kept the line open after the event and published an open call for stories.

Throughout the event, reporters and editors were floating the room, speaking directly to our readership about what we can do better over light refreshments and community fun. Over 125 people RSVP’d, readers and non-readers alike. Some people commuted from as far as San Jose to attend. It was an incredibly moving sight, watching as our intergenerational audience mingled with one another and shared their family histories with us.

I learned the necessity of gaining trust and visibility in readership through in-person experiences. News can feel so disconnected to its readers. It is so vital for audiences to feel seen and heard individually by members of a newsroom. Editors and reporters can both participate and serve the communities they cover. Additionally, community-centered engagement projects with accessible, free in-person experiences help bolster the capabilities of reach and impact of nonprofit newsrooms.

For any newsrooms who want to try this audio-history project, I would suggest attending other in-person events beforehand. Note: It is essential that you wear the ‘community member’ hat while in attendance at these events, keeping the gnawing ‘work’ hat at bay. See what it is that concerns your community most. Mingle and listen. Finding a partner to host the event will be easier once you establish the theme and mission for the event. When just starting out at J., I found very quickly that our archives are very important to our readers. Once we turned 130, I knew I wanted to commemorate our efforts in historical preservation. Then I got to chatting and brainstorming.

Contributed by Yael Bright

Cite this article

Bright, Yael (2026, June 2). J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/j-the-jewish-news-of-northern-california/