Technology, Community, and the Future of Local News
The what, how and why of The Hermosa Review
What's This All About ?
By John Burry
When we publicly launched The Hermosa Review two weeks ago, we had no idea how it would be received. We didn't really know if anyone would read it. The response has genuinely overwhelmed us. Hundreds of subscribers signed up within days. We've received emails from residents thanking us for coverage they didn't know they were missing, and a whole load of suggestions for potential stories.
So we want to take some time to address questions about what we're doing here and what we hope to achieve.
This week's Easy Reader will publish a thoughtful piece about the role of artificial intelligence in local journalism, framed as a "Gutenberg moment", a reference to the impact that the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in the 1400's had on the transmission of information to the masses. Editor and Owner Kevin Cody, who has served our community for 55 years, raises important questions about technology's role in journalism. He's right to be skeptical, but not necessarily fearful.
His article gives us an opportunity to explain our approach, our methods, and our vision for what local journalism can be in 2025. And a chance to explain our relationship with him and the Easy Reader.
Kevin emailed me the other day with some feedback on an article we had published. I'm still not quite sure what to make of this :
"No reporter, even without a deadline could come close to matching the quality of this story, not just for thoroughness, but for readability. The layout is amazing, and would be effective in print as well"
I'm flattered, and yet slightly unnerved at the same time. I'll attempt to explain why in this column.
This long read, squeezed.
(Click to unfold a brief summary of this article)
This article in brief :
The Hermosa Review was launched as a community experiment to provide comprehensive, timely coverage of Hermosa Beach civic issues that were being under-reported or poorly explained with existing platforms.
AI is used as an organizational tool, not a replacement for journalism - humans attend meetings, conduct interviews, gather facts, and make all editorial decisions, while Claude helps structure stories and transcribe content from verified source material.
The publication addresses the crisis in local journalism where traditional economic models have collapsed, by using modern technology to make comprehensive coverage financially sustainable without advertising or subscription fees.
Digital publishing removes print constraints and enables new storytelling approaches like embedded video, expandable sections, data visualizations, and same-day coverage (like publishing a full Veterans Day ceremony story within 2 hours).
The founders maintain a collaborative relationship with Easy Reader - sharing content and resources rather than competing, with The Hermosa Review focusing specifically on deeper Hermosa coverage while Easy Reader serves all beach cities with its established print presence.
How This Started
Two years ago, I started watching every Hermosa Beach city council meeting. Then commission hearings. Every single one, start to finish. Former Mayor Jim Rosenberger (who has since become a firm friend) describes people like me as 'civic nerds'. He admits to being one too, so I will assume it's more of a compliment than an insult :)
What I discovered was nerdily fascinating: our local government makes consequential decisions every month that affect property values, public safety, quality of life, and the character of our community. Important stories were being under-reported or not reported at all. When they were covered, information sometimes broke too late to participate in public comment or understand decisions before they were final. Complex issues were often explained in ways that left readers confused rather than informed. One councilmember said that 'well...people don't really care'. I choose to be more optimistic and believe that they don't care, because they don't know.
I wasn't alone in noticing this 'knowledge gap'. A small group of us had been discussing for some time the deficit in local news coverage—not just what wasn't being covered, but how slowly information moved and how poorly complex issues were being explained to residents who deserved to understand what was happening in their community. And the decidedly analog nature of a weekly print cycle.
Yes, community Facebook groups exist. They have their place, and they serve a purpose. Facebook can be instant, which is valuable. But it's also a double-edged sword. Trying to find useful information in a Facebook feed can be like drinking from a fire hydrant—overwhelming and unpredictable. Whether you find what you need in that moment is a lottery. And Facebook is limited in its ability to present subjects simply and clearly, without forcing readers to wade through reams of comments to extract the relevant information.
So that's why we launched The Hermosa Review—to provide comprehensive, timely, and curated coverage of what's happening in our community. Not just government meetings, but restaurant openings, community events, local business developments, and the civic issues that shape daily life in Hermosa Beach. Some of these, such as housing development, or the impact of changing consumer habits and the economy on our downtown are deeply complex. They warrant more coverage than the print page allows. Both sides of the arguments deserve to be heard.
Who We Are and Why This Matters
We're not (all) career journalists. We're a tiny group who care deeply about civic issues. We know what gets discussed in City Hall because we're there, physically or virtually, every time.
I'm also an operator, investor, and advisor in some truly disruptive businesses that have emerged over the last decade. I've watched technology fundamentally change entire industries—including consumer brands and retailing, which I know best. I've seen how young founders have used new technology to create transformative companies with access to funding, media and markets that would have been impossible 20 years ago.
That experience taught me something crucial: technology doesn't just make existing businesses more efficient. It makes entirely new models possible. Models that can accomplish things that weren't economically feasible under the old system.
That's what we see happening in local news and journalism.
News In Crisis
Kevin writes eloquently about the history of local journalism in Hermosa Beach—the original Hermosa Beach Review, founded in 1907, which ceased publication in the 1970s. What he doesn't mention is that this pattern has repeated across America. Between 2005 and 2024, the United States lost more than 2,500 local newspapers. Newsroom employment dropped by half.
The economic model that sustained print journalism for generations has collapsed. Classified ads moved to Craigslist and then to Facebook. Display advertising shifted to Google and Meta, more recently to TikTok. Subscription revenue couldn't cover the costs of printing and distribution.
We now have some "local" news that reads like a strange mash-up of syndicated regional and national stories with a smattering of local press releases. Regional rollups have acquired community newspapers across the country, creating publications that look local but primarily serve advertisers rather than communities.
That's the real threat to local journalism—not technology, but the corporatization of community news.
The Easy Reader has survived as genuine local journalism by relying on advertising. But that model is fragile, as Kevin knows better than anyone.
We didn't start The Hermosa Review to compete with the Easy Reader. We started it as a community experiment—to inform and illuminate local news and happenings, and to enable local citizens to join in creating that content. We don't charge for subscriptions. We don't accept advertising.
What Technology Actually Enables
Kevin's article focuses on our use of Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant. He's concerned about "hallucinations"—instances where AI might generate inaccurate information.
He's absolutely right to be skeptical. That's why we don't use AI in a way that permits that.
Here's an example of our actual workflow: we attend official meetings, conduct interviews and search for supporting documents. We use video analysis tools and audio transcription, to create searchable text. We come up with themes and ideas. Then (and only then) do we use Claude (and other 'AI' technology) to help structure stories and reports based on that verified source material. We fact check in much the same way as traditional journalists always have, but train our 'AI intern' to conduct additional layers of verification.
Claude doesn't invent facts or quotes for us. It helps us organize them. It doesn't replace journalism. It enables us to produce comprehensive coverage that would otherwise require a full-time newsroom.
Let me give you real examples from the past week:
Yesterday, I attended Hermosa Beach's Veterans Day ceremony at the veterans memorial. I spoke with attendees, recorded Dr. Leo Rodriguez's keynote address, took photos and video. Within two hours of the ceremony ending, The Hermosa Review published a complete story with photos, video, and the full text of Dr. Rodriguez's remarkable speech.
That's simply not possible without assistive technology. But it meant that veterans or residents who couldn't attend (and families across the country) could experience what happened at our memorial. They could read Dr. Rodriguez's words in full, not a three-paragraph summary days later.
Hermosa Review
Or consider our restaurant reviews. Claude doesn't eat the food. A real person—a food expert—visits the restaurant, orders dishes, evaluates the experience. They use AI as a virtual assistant to record their thoughts and observations while they're eating. The technology helps someone who knows food inside and out, but isn't a professional writer, turn those expert observations into reviews that readers find entertaining and informative.
Hermosa Review
The expertise, the judgment, the experience—that's all human. The technology just helps express it clearly.
Technology doesn't replace the journalism—someone still has to be there at the Veterans Day ceremony, someone still has to taste the food, we still conduct interviews and make editorial decisions about what matters. But it multiplies what we can accomplish and deliver to readers in real time.
We have just completed a deep analysis of seven years of Hermosa crime statistics. It's raised some questions, as you might expect. So next week, we'll meet with the Chief of Police and his crime analyst to discuss what we found. Maybe that will result in an article, maybe not. But the machine won't decide.
The Digital Infrastructure Revolution
The Hermosa Review runs on Ghost, a modern content management system designed for independent publishers. When we were researching publishing platforms, we were introduced to dozens of new local and hyperlocal newspapers across the United States and Europe. Some founded by professional journalists, some by community enthusiasts. All discovering the same thing: modern CMS platforms make professional-quality publishing accessible to anyone committed to serving their community.
We don't need advertising revenue or subscription fees because our costs are manageable, and we give our time for free. Hopefully this will let us focus entirely on the story rather than serving advertisers or managing paywalls.
But the economics are only part of the story. Some 75% of news is now consumed on a phone. Around 75% of video content on phones is watched with sound off, using captions. People expect digital products to meet them where and when they want it—working seamlessly, allowing easy interaction. Those expectations are changing fast. We have tried to create a site that functions perfectly on both phone and desktop, while looking great at the same time.
All that said, we are just volunteers, hoping that more volunteers will join this experiment.
Digital Storytelling: Beyond the Print Page
A print newspaper is constrained by physical space. Every story competes for inches on the page. Editors must choose: run full city council coverage or trim it to make room for other stories? Include the budget details or summarize them in a paragraph?
Digital journalism removes those constraints and opens new possibilities.
We're experimenting with different approaches—summary boxes, expandable sections, embedded data visualizations and video, linked source documents. Not everything works. But we're not limited by the confines of the print page, and that fundamentally changes how we can structure a story.
My Relationship with Easy Reader
Kevin mentions that I "am helping Easy Reader incorporate AI into its ad sales and production." That's true, but I think that understates our relationship.
I hugely admire what Kevin has contributed to our community since 1971. When he's been attacked by Hermosa Beach councilmembers—which happens more often than it should—I've defended him, both publicly and privately. A free press that holds local government accountable is essential to democracy, even when officials don't like the coverage.
Kevin and I are actively sharing content, ideas, and resources. When he asked for help understanding AI tools, I spent time demonstrating how they could streamline his production process. We've had fascinating late-night debates about what this all means—not just for local news, but for human society as a whole.
These aren't just abstract questions. We're both grappling with how technology changes what journalism is, what it can be, and what it should be. Kevin approaches these questions with decades of experience and understandable skepticism. I approach them as someone building something new while trying to understand the tradeoffs in news between speed, style and format.
Easy Reader does things we don't: comprehensive coverage of all the beach cities and beyond. They have decades of institutional knowledge, and a weekly print presence that many residents still treasure. The Review focuses specifically on Hermosa, presented in a deeper digital format that might appeal to a new audience.
The experiment should be judged by results
Kevin writes that "technology is inevitable." He's right. But technology isn't autonomous. It's shaped by the people who use it and the values they bring to it.
The Hermosa Review exists as a community experiment—to see whether modern technology can support comprehensive, accurate local journalism without advertising or subscription fees. To see whether citizens can contribute meaningfully to covering their community. It will survive if enough people care and contribute. I'd be more than happy to fund the platform and hand it over to the community if there are people in Hermosa who care enough to take it forward.
So, in conclusion, judge us by our work, not our workflow.
And once again, thank you so much for your response so far. It means a lot to us humans. The machine doesn't care.
The ideas expressed in this article are all my own. Claude Sonnet helped me to organize my thoughts.
You can read our full Technology Policy here: https://www.hermosareview.com/our-technology-policy/
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