Jacob Simas

Managing Editor

The Oaklandside

Jacob Simas is managing editor of The Oaklandside, a nonprofit newsroom and part of Cityside Journalism Initiative. He previously led social-impact initiatives at Univision and and Fusion Media Group, where he established the Rise Up: Be Heard journalism training program for young people and community organizers in underserved areas of California. He was a senior editor and the director of youth and community media at New America Media/Pacific News Service, where he led a community news network that amplified student and youth reporting in California news deserts. He is an advisory board member for Youth Beat in Oakland and a former volunteer host and producer with KPFA. Prior to journalism, he was a counselor and director of nonprofit programs serving Latino immigrant youth and families in San Francisco. He is a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism.

Participating Sessions

WITNESS OR ACTIVIST? DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE

What is the role of journalists and filmmakers in a time of existential peril to democracy? Recent Supreme Court decisions on voting rights, state regulations aimed at creating obstacles for Black and brown people to vote, and dozens of court cases across the country ensure the question will only loom larger in the months and years ahead. With voting rights under fire across the country, is it the role of...