(Yup, it’s the fundraising post. Already convinced? Click here to get started on making your tax-deductible donation.)
Normally at this time of the year, you’re bombarded with non-profits (and the Daily Press) asking for donations while demonstrating how well positioned they are for the next year. After seeing steady growth since our 2022 relaunch in all metrics, including advertising support, 2025 saw a large decline in our advertising support even after 2024 demonstrated both the critical role that Next can play in a city that is swamped in misinformation, and that Next can compete and even surpass Santa Monica’s traditional media in readership.
Which means that if we want Next to continue to publish regularly and thrive in 2026, it’s going to rely on readers such as yourself. If it’s in your budget, please consider supporting Santa Monica Next today.
While I’ll admit I am personally frustrated that the city, Downtown Santa Monica, and Santa Monica College continue to buy ads with every news outlet in town besides Next, it hasn’t stopped us from working hard to bring you the news and views that shape Santa Monica politics.
On a shoestring budget, we brought on Todd Flora, the former editor-in-chief of Westside Voice to help with our coverage of the City Council. Todd’s pieces are posted the next day, beating the well-funded legacy outlets by at least a day (sometimes much more). Over the summer, we experimented with also bringing next-day news briefs from the Council meetings, which proved popular and will return in 2026.
We also struck a deal with former County Supervisor and state legislator Sheila Kuehl that allows us to republish her weekly Kool Happenings emails to subscribers. Kool Happenings joins the OPA Newsletter, The Swish, and the Healthy City Local as regular columns at Next.
Next also continued its role as media watchdog, calling out blatantly false or at-best biased news stories before they could shape the news. That being said, I’m honestly still in shock that “CA Senate Passes Bill that Will Allow LA to Buy Fire Ravaged Lots to Build Low Income Housing” is still live at LA Magazine. Nearly every word in that article is incorrect…and Next is pretty much the only outlet that called them out for it.
We want to continue to do this important work next year, and build on our successes to create a sustainable funding stream to support the website’s steady growth. To do that, we need your support today. If it’s in your budget, please consider donating to support Santa Monica Next.
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