The Abridged version:
- The Abridged Community Reporters program has tapped six local residents to serve as its first cohort.
- Community Reporters will highlight untold or underreported local stories from across the Sacramento region.
- No previous news experience is required, and team members receive comprehensive training from the Abridged by PBS KVIE staff.
Abridged, the local digital news source powered by PBS KVIE, has officially launched its Community Reporters program, welcoming its first cohort.
The new team, made up of six Sacramento region residents, will lean into the belief that local stories are best told by the people who live and work here. This cohort will live up to that ideal by highlighting untold and underreported stories from areas and topics that other media outlets too often ignore.
What is Abridged by PBS KVIE Community Reporters program?
The Abridged Community Reporters program puts the power to tell the stories of the Sacramento region into the hands of those who know the community best — the people who live, work and play here. No previous journalism experience is required, and Abridged provides comprehensive ongoing training and editorial support for team members.
“We created the Community Reporters Program to build trust by inviting the community into the work of journalism itself. By reporting with our neighbors instead of simply on them, we are strengthening connection, expanding whose voices are heard, and building a more resilient newsroom rooted in shared ownership and purpose.”
PBS KVIE President and General Manager David Lowe
The first cohort gathered at the PBS KVIE station in South Natomas on Feb. 20, where members completed training in reporting skills, ethics, media law and visual storytelling.
Throughout the year, this cohort will receive in-depth training in each of these areas from experienced journalists, newsroom leaders and other industry experts.
Adam Eisenberg, an Abridged by PBS KVIE editor and University of Florida journalism instructor based in Carmichael, leads the team, combining a wealth of journalism experience and robust background in higher education.
Keep up with Community Reporters
Stories from Abridged by PBS KVIE Community Reporters are regularly featured in our morning newsletter.
Meet the Abridged Community Reporters team
Team members come from across the region and bring a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences to the cohort.
Get to know them, in their own words:
Emilie DeFazio – Community Reporter
I’ve lived in Sacramento all my life. I spent my childhood in Hollywood Park, went to school in Greenhaven-Pocket, have degrees from UC Davis and Sac State and lived in Midtown for five years. The entire region has made me who I am today, and I’ll tell just about anyone to move here. I love my town — and I know you all do, too. Abridged has given me the opportunity to talk about all the things I love about this city. I’ve worked in media for a decade now, and at this point in my life I get to spend my days seeing movies at my favorite local theaters, walking my dog around McKinley Park, going out to new restaurants (and old favorites) with my family, and reading Sacramento Public Library books on my porch in nearly year-round sunny weather. Because of this community contributors’ program, I’m lucky enough to share this life with you.
Grace Gollihur – Community Reporter
Hi there, I am a high school student in Carmichael and I’m ready to represent the potential of my generation. Journalism has been a major part of my life for the past four years, but I am ready to step away from Friday night football games and dive headfirst into important local stories that matter. After all, my class is ready to enter the workforce and take on new opportunities. As a Community Reporter at Abridged, I’m ready to tell the myriad stories that Sacramento has to offer. This city is a wonderful melting pot of the past and the future, and I will strive to use my voice to amplify the specialness of the city that has raised me. When I’m not working, I’m reading, watching movies, or spending time with my friends. Last note: Never stop learning.
Magui Martinez – Community Reporter
Hi! My name is Magui Martinez. I was born and raised in central Mexico, and at the age of 9 my family and I immigrated to Stockton, California. Ever since I have called Stockton home. I have a deep love for the Central Valley and the Sacramento region, and all of California in general! I attended UC Davis for undergrad, where I wrote for the features desk at “The California Aggie.” I will be an Abridged Community Reporter in 2026, and I am really excited to start this new journey. I am excited to uplift, highlight and celebrate the stories of communities that are often not represented or are not represented enough. Apart from Abridged, I am a Youth Programs Manager, supporting youth in their development of leadership and advocacy skills. Community is at the core of all my work and passions. In my free time, I love thrifting, reading, watching movies and crafting. These past few years I have also enjoyed learning and diving into the world of professional football and Formula 1 racing. Whenever I can, I love going out to dance and sing karaoke.
Natachi Mez – Community Reporter
Whether performing poetry or baking sweet, moist cornbread, I seek to nourish. Writing is a way I digest the world while feeding others and myself. As a poet, facilitator and event producer, I employ improvisation, call and response, and collective breathing to deepen audience engagement and celebrate community voice. Born and based in the region, with roots in Nigeria, I am grounded both locally and globally. I believe there are many ways to travel: dancing, running, cooking, catching a concert or a flight. As a Community Reporter, I produce stories that honor the diverse souls and rhythms of the region.
James Smith – Community Reporter
Hi, I’m James. Sometimes life takes us on a long, winding adventure. I‘m returning to my journalism roots after being a registered nurse for 20 years! I’m a Philly boy. I graduated from Temple University’s Annenberg School of Communication and started my career writing and producing corporate news and video programming for a Fortune 500 company. I moved on to write marketing and recruitment materials for University of Pennsylvania Health System and School of Medicine. Always up for adventure, I moved to New York City on a whim! I was a medical project director for a pharmaceutical medical education company on Times Square. At the National Kidney Foundation, I was able to use my journalism skills to work with nephrologists from around the world to publish the guidelines that are now the universal guide to managing kidney disease. On to another adventure, I went to nursing school because of my admiration for nurses. As an RN at Valley Children’s Hospital, I cared for children with cancer and cystic fibrosis. Most recently, I retired from state service as a nurse investigator for the State of California, where I used my interviewing, note taking and sleuthing skills to investigate nursing home and hospital complaints. In my free time, I study French at Alliance Française Sacramento, bike along the American River Parkway, and take long daily walks through the city with Patrick, my husband of 26 years. We’ve loved living in Midtown for the past 10 years, exploring every alley and street on foot, photographing, interviewing and taking video of the dynamic people who serve as the invisible ties that make our town what it is. I’m excited to contribute to Abridged to bring those stories to you!
Andrew Spittler – Community Reporter
Born and raised in the Sacramento area, I’ve been a long-time appreciator and consumer of engaging local journalism. Now, I’m excited and honored to be a part of the Abridged by PBS KVIE team. After studying environmental science at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, I returned home to study environmental history at Sacramento State. Having worked in the local environmental sector for the past 11 years, I’ve built a life in the city I know and love. As a Community Reporter, I’m interested in covering local environmental issues and sharing stories that explore our relationship with the natural world. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking in the Sierra, biking on the American River Parkway, tending to my garden, and watching movies at home with my wife and two cats.
Adam Eisenberg – Citizen Journalism Editor
My journey into local journalism began 20 years ago at my hometown newspaper in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I worked side-by-side with the reporters and columnists I read every day growing up. In the two decades since, I’ve worked in a variety of editorial, digital and audience development roles in both for- and nonprofit newsrooms. I’ve also spent a number of years in the college classroom helping aspiring journalists develop the skills they need to thrive in the contemporary news landscape. As Citizen Journalism Editor at Abridged, I combine my editorial and education experience to train and empower citizens across the Sacramento region to find and tell the stories of our community. In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn about a community than to hear from the people who live there. When I’m not working, I’m ferrying my two daughters between dance competitions and basketball games or exploring all that my adopted home of California has to offer, and that’s enough to keep me very, very busy.
How can I get involved?
The Community Reporters program is always accepting applications and will keep them on file until the next recruitment period opens later this year.
You can submit an application here. Abridged is also seeking local leaders for a Community Insights Panel to support the work of the community reporting team. If you are a local leader who is interested in learning more or know someone you would like to nominate, let us know by emailing Citizen Journalism Editor Adam Eisenberg.
Our Community Reporters program is rooted in the belief that no one can tell the stories of a community better than those who live, work and play there. The job of a news service is not to simply give a community a voice. Every community has its own voice, and it’s our responsibility to elevate that voice. We’re honored that this program will help cultivate the next generation of journalists in the Sacramento region.
PBS KVIE Associate General Manager of News Ryan Lillis
Abridged is also seeking community partners to host listening sessions, team training events and mobile newsrooms, as well as to serve as thought partners who can help strengthen bonds across the region. If you are interested in forming a community partnership, email PBS KVIE Director of Editorial Strategy Savanna Smith.
Community members who wish to support the Community Reporters program can contribute to the Abridged Local Journalism Fund at sacregcf.org or give directly through PBS KVIE by contacting Colleen Schulman at cschulman@kvie.org.
Adam Eisenberg is Citizen Journalism Editor at Abridged.