Pasadena StarNews

A newspaper as part of the culture and the environment? Absolutely. While the Pasadena Star-News is not a museum nor an orchestra nor an ecological movement, it mirrors Pasadena's life—the politics, art and science of it. The Star-News is intertwined into the local tender land, hitting driveways and newsracks and hawkers' hands each day for the last 118 years.

The year 1886 was pivotal for Pasadena. The boom town incorporated into a city. And our precursor, The Pasadena Star, was founded in the heart of what is now Old Pasadena. Then as now, it was a great place to cover. Culturally, Pasadena was one of the most important places on the West Coast, a leader in the arts with its plein-aire painters, in politics and literature with writers such as Upton Sinclair, in architecture with the Greene Brothers and the Arts and Crafts movement, in science with Caltech.

A Mirror of Local Life and Art
The evolution of the Star-News can be compared to the natural changes in the environment and the development of tastes and styles in art. In its own way, the paper is an art form that positions photography, text, paper, ink and graphics into a recyclable product that evokes emotion, shapes policy and voices opinion. Unlike many medium-sized cities across the country, Pasadena has long supported its local paper even given the myriad media choices of the 21st century. The Star-News continues to reflect and contribute to the world-class culture that is Pasadena.

Reflections on Tender Land
We cover all of our fellow Tender Land participants in our news and features pages, and operate in particular partnership with the Pasadena Symphony's Musical Circus; with Caltech Presents; with One Colorado through our annual Charles Cherniss Tournament of Toys; and with the Pasadena Museum of History, repository of our large photography collection.

Through the Tender Land festival period, some Star-News reporters will break out of their usual objective writing to tell stories in the first person; photographers will try on new ways of looking at their work; editorials and op-ed pieces from staffers and community members will discuss the art of daily newspapering.

A Link to Our Partners
To see first-hand the intersection of art and science that gives Pasadena its unique character, visit Art Center College of Design’s two exhibits - ear(th) at the Williamson Gallery, and gardenLAb at the South Campus.