Press Democrat adds Sara Edwards to business team

In a bid to better cover Sonoma County’ active business community, The Press Democrat has added a new reporter to the staff.

Sara Edwards, a recent graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in journalism, joined the staff last week.

Edwards, 23, joins Press Democrat business columnist Bill Swindell and staffers from the North Bay Business Journal, which, like The Press Democrat, is part of Sonoma Media Investments. Working collaboratively, they bring a sharper focus to the post-COVID economy in Sonoma County and other parts of Northern California.

Edwards will cover consumer trends and issues, as well as monitoring the small business scene and Northern California’s tribal casino industry.

“With talk about inflation and recession at the top of many concerns, consumers are going to turn to their local news organizations to understand what’s going on,” Edwards said. “I’m super excited to help the consumers of Sonoma County navigate this challenging and rapidly changing economy.”

Richard Green, The Press Democrat’s executive editor and chief content officer at Sonoma Media Investments, said Edwards brings passion, experience covering business and a desire to engage with local readers to the job.

“Sara came highly recommended from former colleagues of mine in Arizona and USA Today, where she was a summer intern,” Green said. “After spending time with her, it was immediately apparent her intellectual curiosity and ability to connect with consumers and sources would bring a much-needed dimension to our coverage of the business scene.”

While studying at Arizona State, Edwards covered business and consumer news for multiple publications, including West Valley View, Phoenix Business Journal and Cronkite News. She tackled a number of important topics — from housing and supply chain shortages to educational funding issues.

Edwards also was involved in multiple diversity organizations at Arizona State, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

She helped start the school’s first Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition in the summer of 2020 as the organization’s founding co-secretary in hopes of creating an advocacy group for students.

After graduation, Edwards interned at USA Today for the Money and Consumer News team where she wrote about topics of inflation, real estate and business policies.

One specific story — how Walgreens customers complained they were being denied birth control and condoms on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of a federally protected right to a legalized abortion — drew national attention.

Her coverage made it to the floor of the U.S. Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, asked Walgreens, the Illinois-based pharmacy, to review and change its policy that allows pharmacists to deny birth control requests because of religious beliefs.

Green looked forward to seeing Edwards’ previous experience brought to bear on the North Bay.

“There are many facets to life in the North Bay area, and the business community is a key element of it,” Green said. “We’re happy Sara is with us. She shares our newsroom’s commitment to elevate our collaborative coverage of the companies, consumers, issues, challenges and successes related to our local marketplace.”

Edwards is eager to meet with business leaders and consumer groups. You can reach her at 707-521-5378 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat.com. Follow her on Twitter @sedwards380.