People’s Press is an online Citizen Journalism publication and nonprofit, non-partisan network of creators dedicated to the effective application of Free Speech and community advocacy, proudly funded by journalists, for journalists, in rural Imperial Valley.
beyond the bipartisan . what media has been, and where it’s going
Having written for local news media outlets on both sides of the aisle—and at least one that tried its best to walk the line—I can tell you firsthand that limiting your journalistic perspective is a surefire way to misrepresent the truth. Spend enough time interviewing subjects, and you’ll find that deifying identity politics always leads to dead-ends, just about every controversial figure is still a regular person, and what you read in print is almost never the full story. We’d like to think we represent the face behind the name, not the man behind the curtain. How does that saying go? “United we stand, divided we fall…”
nurturing homegrown voices
We are raising up the next generation of storytellers; writers, orators, and advocates, as well as planting seeds for and nurturing budding local talent
At People’s Press, we believe that every voice has value—not just the most palatable or polished ones. Our nonprofit publication is proud to be invested in raising up the next generation of native storytellers, writers, orators, and advocates born and raised right here where you were. No one knows the land like the people who work it, and that’s why we want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Here on our 100% organically-grown platform, you’re bound to find folks that echo your own wants and needs because at the end of the day we all came up from the very same soil.
a new way forward
We strive to speak to the state of the world, leaving old ways behind. We are reassembling the rubble and “working rain or shine to keep this community afloat’. We’re all on this ship together
Growing up the daughter of Mexican immigrants, I often heard stories from my parents, grandparents, tias and tios of their experiences with extreme poverty and unthinkable hardship in the not-so-distant past. As a child, I was always keenly aware of the privileges that came with US citizenship as well as the economic good fortune I had been born into just before the turn of the century. But as we look ahead into the new world, it is no longer an option to proceed the same as we have. So whether you call it the Last Days or Late-Stage Capitalism, the message is clear: you and I are going to have to roll up our sleeves and rebuild these bridges—come hell or high water.
We aim to nurture hyperlocal, cross-cultural, and heart-centered storytelling by investing in homegrown voices that deepen social ties through positivity, integrity, and authenticity.
At People’s Press, every voice has value—not just the polished ones. We proudly invest in the next generation of native storytellers, born and raised right here. No one knows the land like those who work it, and that’s why we want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.
Core Programs and Services
People’s Press operates as a grassroots nonprofit news publication committed to nurturing hyperlocal journalism and civic storytelling in the Imperial Valley. Our core programs will and currently include:
Citizen Journalism Training: In order to combat the county’s massive talent leak, we will provide workshops and mentorships programs to train local residents—especially youth, those whose require physical and learning accommodations, bilingual speakers, and underrepresented voices—in basic reporting, interviewing, fact-checking, and multimedia storytelling.
Editorial Publication: We publish original articles and community stories on our online platform. We prioritize stories that uplift community voices, challenge dominant narratives, and spotlight both struggles and solutions. Too often, the story mainstream media tells is flat, detached, or oversimplified, but our readers have come to know our team always goes the extra mile—no matter the cost.
Public Forums and Dialogues: We will host moderated, respectful public forums where residents can engage in open dialogue on civic, social, and political issues affecting the Imperial Valley in a style and setting that feels familiar and approachable to the demographic we serve.
Civic Literacy and Engagement: We partner with local organizations to distribute accessible information regarding city infrastructure updates, free assistance programs, county legal disputes, and more. Our latest project was a website regarding a major lawsuit about a proposed hyper-scale data center, which was funded out of pocket by our team in the interest of transparency and broad cooperation. In the future, we will maintain a comprehensive event calendar, host town hall meet-ups, and more.
Youth Media Program: We will offer media literacy and storytelling programs designed for high school and college students, fostering a new generation of local journalists and creative communicators. We have given presentations for career day in the past and are working with staff at the community college level to create space to host their regular newsletter.
Together, these programs empower the people of the Imperial Valley to tell their own stories, hold power to account, and foster a culture of integrity, connection, and community awareness.
Sarina Guerra is an interdisciplinary artist, community activist, and vigilante medicine woman residing on the Kumeyayy lands of Southern California otherwise known as Imperial Valley. She is the founder, CEO, and editor of the region’s first and only grassroots nonprofit media outlet, a multidimensional concept born of the frustration of her own experience on the field as a journalist for local news outlets.