If you haven’t followed us on Instagram yet (@sbindependent) or any of our other social media, then you have been missing the skilled mastery of our Social Media Manager Maya Johnson. Johnson has been working hard to help deliver the freshest news we offer to every reader with an eye-catching style.
How long have you been with the Independent and what originally piqued your interest to start working here? I’ve been with the Indy for about 7 months now. While studying at UC Santa Barbara, I followed the Independent’s online publication and loved how community-oriented the Independent was compared to other places I got my news from at the time. One day, during one of my journalism classes, a job ad for a Social Media Coordinator popped up on my Instagram and I thought: “This is exactly the kind of job a terminally online writer like me was made for.” The rest is history.
As our social media manager, what have been some of the new additions you’ve made so far that you’re most proud of? How has it been adding more videos and reels? What I’ve loved most about taking over the Independent’s socials has been creating a unique style of content that our online audiences want to interact with and share with others, which, for me, includes lots of video content. I’m most proud of being able to reach more people and share the great work that our writers and photographers are producing.
How important is social media in our current day and age? How important is it for local news and where do you see our social media landscape going? In 2025, more Americans get their news from social media than they do television or print. This is a somewhat troubling fact as social media platforms, if used improperly, can be the perfect breeding ground for misinformation, rage-baiting, and political polarization. Our goal as a local publication on social media is to represent the people of Santa Barbara County — their art, their issues, and their culture — in a way that is comprehensive and accurate and to, hopefully, to cut through some of the more disruptive noise on these platforms.
On top of running our social media channels, you have also taken on getting stories designed on our website, including the timeline of the ICE raids in Carpinteria. What was it like collaborating with our reporters to put it all together? “How It Happened: Timeline of Immigration Raid in Carpinteria” was a digital feature on the Glasshouse raids of July 10 that I got to work on with one of our amazing summer reporters Elaine Sanders. This was an important project because our staff was some of the first on the ground to witness and report on an event that became a national topic of conversation, and we wanted to get it right.
Ryan P. Cruz, one of our senior reporters, had put together an incredibly comprehensive timeline of ICE sightings throughout the day from local activist organizations and community members. The question for the web design was then: How could we visually supplement a story when the media accompanying it was fragmented in social media posts across the internet? The video timeline was the way to do it.
When you aren’t working, what do you get up to in your free time? Do you have any favorite places here in Santa Barbara that you frequent often? Originally, I’m from Long Beach, California, so any city on the west coast feels like home to me. In my free time I write — I published my first book Searching for a Black Writer in 2024 and am currently working on my second — I cook, collect beautiful items of clothing, and (because it’s my job) scroll endlessly on social media.
You must be logged in to post a comment.