About Us
We started Oakland Report as a volunteer endeavor to capture and publish high quality articles by and for the citizens of Oakland and neighboring communities.
Our goal is to provide reasoned, evidence-based, and well-sourced analyses and critiques of the policies, actions, and inactions of our city, county, and state governments.
We seek integrity, accessibility, and quality in the articles we publish. We seek truth.
We don’t expect everyone to agree with everything that is published, but we do expect that the articles are grounded in verifiable evidence and logic so that all observations and conclusions may be rationally challenged.
We aim to sustain this effort through volunteer article submissions, with no paid executives or editorial staff. This is to avoid the conflict of interest that arises from sponsor or member supported jobs. If no decision-makers are being paid, there is less incentive to publish content that only tells people what they want to hear.
— Oakland Report Team
Editorial and submission guidelines
Oakland Report’s editorial and submission guidelines were created to help contributors prepare and submit their work for consideration. Before submitting an article, please review our editorial and submission guidelines:
You can contribute too
We encourage submissions (articles, letters, comments, ideas, research) from anyone in Oakland and neighboring communities.
Articles will be reviewed and collaboratively edited for adherence to our principles. Opinions must be explicit, well-reasoned, and supported by evidence. Superfluous adjectives (implicit judgement) will be removed.
Or share your reflections and ideas in the comments, or with a letter to the editor (some of which we may publish, with your permission).
We welcome story leads, bits of information, and primary research too.
Letters to the editor: letters@citizensoakland.org
Article submissions, leads, and story ideas: oaklandreport@citizensoakland.org
Confidential tips
Do you have a confidential tip with documentation or evidence about local governance in Oakland? Let us know at oaklandreport@citizensoakland.org. We adhere to ethical journalism best practices for protecting our confidential sources.1
New York Times contributors. “Protecting Confidential and Privileged Information.” Ethical Journalism: A Handbook of Values and Practices for the News and Opinion Departments. New York Times, March 26, 2025, Chapter 2. https://www.nytimes.com/editorial-standards/ethical-journalism.html#protectingconfidentialandprivilegedinformation
