‘Indy’ Creative Director Sends a Thank-You to Readers
Caitlin Fitch Gives a Shout-Out to Everyone Who Makes the 'Independent' Possible
When I think about it, I’ve always been a bit of a news junkie. As a middle schooler in suburban Maryland, I begged my mom for subscriptions to Time, U.S. News & World Report, and USA Today so I could “compare the reporting.” I stayed up late on election nights awaiting results and keeping my own tallies to check the pundits’ work. In high school, I fell in love with Jodi Cobb, Steve McCurry, and photojournalism. I decided to follow that spark to Brooks Institute’s Visual Journalism program, where I learned I definitely was not going to change the world through photography and to turn my dreams elsewhere. After graduation, I wandered a bit, but in 2013, I landed back on the South Coast and — thanks to a bit of good luck — got a part-time editorial design job at the Independent. The middle-school kid inside me was totally elated.
Now, as creative director, I am part of a team of people who, I can say with confidence, are truly dedicated to this community. Each week making the newspaper is a collaborative effort and a labor of love. There are people whose bylines you never see working together to make the Independent. The copy editor who pores over the placement of every last comma and checks every fact, the graphic designers who ensure the stories are easy to read, our publisher, editors, web team, sales staff, and delivery drivers — every single one of us is aiming for this one goal: to live in a well-informed community where we can make better decisions because we are armed with facts. And right now, it’s hard to see the facts through the fog of confusion without a little help from reporters trained to find them.
Through the experience of this pandemic, we are learning that Santa Barbara is dedicated to us, as well. The outpouring of support has been nothing short of inspiring, and we are already using the donations we have received to better serve our readers. Last week, we were able to translate our cover story into Spanish, online and in print, so we could reach more of our neighbors. We want to keep doing things like this, and more. But we can’t do it without your continued help.
So, as a kid from the East Coast who has fallen in love with this West Coast town, I ask that you please continue to support us. Help us provide the information you deserve, and in return we will continue to do everything we can to give that to you. We can’t change the world, but we can certainly do our best for our beautiful corner of it. So thank you for helping us in weird times so that we can continue to be here for you when we’re back in normal times.
How to Give
- Give a one-time or recurring credit card contribution at independent.com/support
- Sign up for an annual digital subscription for $29.99 through our Indy+ service at independent.com/subscribe
- Make a tax-deductible donation, to support environmental and social-justice journalism, of $100 or more by sending checks payable to SBCAN (memo: Journalism Fund) mailed to:
SBCAN
PO Box 6174
Santa Maria, CA 93456
Or at sbcan.org/journalism_fund
Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose Tax ID is 73-1676916.
Subscriptions or contributions made directly to the Santa Barbara Independent are not tax-deductible. We can accept checks mailed to 12 E. Figueroa St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
