From the editor: Subscribers help us do investigative work like the LeFever Mattson story

On Thursday afternoon, just minutes after we posted reporter Phil Barber’s in-depth investigation of the development team behind a $242-million real estate buying binge in Sonoma and along Highway 12, we heard from readers.

In comments that lit up our pressdemocrat.com readers’ comments page and in social media, critics and supporters pulled no punches.

It was either a “hit piece” or reporting that was “important and necessary to the community.”

One described it as “scandal mongering disguised as news,” while another praised Barber’s story, saying, “As someone who has followed this for quite some time, I applaud the paper for tackling this complicated and puzzling issue.”

I found this to be the most thoughtful and aligned with our decision to pursue this story, which took three months to thoroughly report, write and edit.

“People who live in a community have every right to inquire about why someone is buying up local properties,” a commenter on our site said. “Resident input is one of the things that keep a community alive and thriving. To say it is none of their business is to have no real understanding of community.”

And that really is the cornerstone of what we do as a locally owned, independent news organization — the largest between San Francisco and Portland.

This is a challenging time for our industry, and sadly, this kind of journalism is falling by the wayside in more and more markets.

But not here. The support of local subscribers makes it possible. It is the oxygen that powers our newsroom, from deep investigative projects to our daily coverage of Sonoma County’s cadence of community events.

I sincerely thank our subscribers. Just as America needs journalists, journalists need subscribers.

Almost immediately upon my arrival to Sonoma County 26 months ago, I heard from many of those subscribers. They’ve inundated me and fellow editors and reporters with questions about who is buying key parcels and high-profile properties in Sonoma and along Highway 12.

We’ve worked with our sister publication, the Sonoma Index-Tribune, over the past few years in reporting the various acquisitions and the community public meetings that have convened, often with the questions, “Who are these guys and what are their plans for Sonoma?” being asked.

Late last year, we launched Barber, a veteran Press Democrat reporter, on the story to dig even deeper. To tell this story, he waded through public records, property transfers and other documents while also talking with dozens of residents and national experts. He sifted through data at the Sonoma County assessor’s office and the Solano County Superior Court.

The goal was simple: Tell readers more about the developers, explain their business dealings and investment strategies, detail their purchases, ask why they’re so interested in Sonoma, examine their financing methods and, hopefully, share their future development plans.

I believe we accomplished almost everything on that list, outside of the final question: What are the developers’ plans for the 116 properties in and around Sonoma they’ve acquired since March 2015?

The development team snubbed our repeated efforts for an interview. Their San Francisco PR firm said, “Due to repeatedly being misrepresented in local media, they have no interest in participating in this story.”

We asked for details about those alleged misrepresentations, but the Glodow Nead Communications team did not elaborate.

While describing it as one of the most challenging investigative stories he’s pursued, Barber said it was important to look deeper into the Mattson-LeFever partnership.

“Sonoma Valley residents are feeling their community being snatched out from under them. They love where they live, and that includes quirky small businesses and a feeling of inclusivity,” he said.

“They see LeFever Mattson as a threat to that and are worried that if they don’t begin to act, it will be too late to reverse it. Maybe (the story) will help Sonoma Valley residents who are confused and worried.”

John D’Anna, our senior news director for investigations, worked closely with Barber on the story. He underscored its importance and our efforts to ensure a fair, yet fearless look into the developers and how their purchases have triggered worry among many Sonoma residents.

“The framers of the First Amendment talked about the importance of providing the public with the information they need to make decisions about their government, and it’s an honor to be able to do that here at The Press Democrat,” D’Anna said.

“There’s a lot of speculation, rumor and innuendo circling Ken Mattson and Tim LeFever, and our challenge was to wade through all of that and present a fact-based report to help people make sense of what is happening.”

In my two-plus years here as The Press Democrat’s editor and chief content officer of our parent company, Sonoma Media Investments, I’ve loved the interaction with readers. I’ve worked in several markets across the country, and I’ve never seen a closer relationship between residents and the publications that provide coverage across Sonoma County.

You share your thoughts and opinions. Good or bad, I appreciate hearing from you. I hope that continues.

However you may perceive Barber’s project, be assured this is the kind of revelatory and enlightening work that a good community newspaper should pursue and publish for its readers, I believe. Our job is to enlighten, inform and address — as best we can in this instance — the swirling speculation about these developers.

Our job is to tackle important community issues and answer readers’ questions, including this one: “Why are out-of-town developers spending nearly a quarter-billion dollars to buy property in such a small, close-knit community without answering the often-asked question, ‘What are your plans?’”

It’s a question that deserved our attention and was worth the three months of time needed to dig into it.

We’ll continue to deliver that kind of in-depth reporting in the months ahead. I know that’s what you expect of us. And that, I can assure you, is our standard.

As always, thanks for reading The Press Democrat and our SMI publications.

Richard A. Green can be reached at rick.green@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter: @EditorRAG