Voice of OC Publisher and Editor in Chief, Norberto Santana, Jr. this week joined a host of local journalists for  the 40th anniversary Laist show tour celebrating Larry Mantle’s AirTalk at the Santa Ana Bowers Museum.

“Great to be back for another event in Orange County,” Mantle said, “surrounded by people who live here in Orange County.”  

The show taping at the Bowers Museum was made up of two panels – one addressing OC media and the other, OC politics. 

The first panel included journalists, Nick Gerda and Jill Replogle from LAist, and Teri Sforza from the Orange County Register alongside Santana discussing the state and evolution of journalism in Orange County. 

Santana emphasized the importance of strong local news for the health of the county.

“With less coverage there is more corruption,” Santana said. 

With a lack of local news to keep agencies in check, Santana noted a trend towards loose spending and less transparency adding, “with that contraction, our democracy also contracts.”

Gerda – a former county reporter for Voice of OC and now a Watchdog Correspondent for Laist – spoke to his longtime reporting on corruption in Orange County, which most recently spurred a federal investigation that led to O.C. supervisor — Andrew Do — pleading guilty to a federal bribery charge and resigning. That work won the Dan Rather Medal for News and Guts, was a finalist for an Investigative Reporters and Editors award and earned Gerda recognition as Journalist of the Year in the region and the state. 

As LAist’s OC reporter, Replogle – who also led reporting on the Do scandal – discussed her coverage about Huntington Beach and across the county, noting the importance of local reporting grounded in community. 

Sforza – a Watchdog Columnist for the OC Register – noted that at one time in Orange County, “there were hundreds of reporters” and that “even then it wasn’t enough to cover everything.”

The panel served to show the importance of local journalism for the health of the county. 

Santana encouraged coverage of local topics that directly affect the community which keep large agencies in check and keep citizens involved in their local issues.

“We try to focus on nuts and bolts: housing, transportation, crime…” said Santana

For the second panel, California Republican National Committee member Shawn Steel, UCI Dean of Social Ecology, Jon Gould, UCI American Studies professor, Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, and Democratic campaign consultant, Orrin Evans joined Mantle and Santana, addressing Orange County’s political landscape – a discussion that at times became contentious.

Overall, the panel highlighted the benefits, drawbacks and effects on citizens of living in a county with such a balanced mix of voter registration between Republicans and Democrats, a trend popularly called, a “Purple County.”

“We look different than most counties in the country,” Gould said, adding that of the top 25 counties in population, there are only three across America that are Purple. 

The other two being Maricopa County in Arizona and Tarrant County Texas.

Gould noted, “We really are a shining example of what a large Purple county looks like in America.”