Davis Vanguard

U.S. left / progressive

Background

David Greenwald launched the Davis Vanguard in 2006 as a local watchdog blog covering city and county government in Davis, California, after relocating there to attend graduate school in political science at UC Davis. In 2010 he expanded the outlet by creating a court-watch internship program that embedded UC Davis students in Yolo County Superior Court to cover criminal hearings. In 2012, Greenwald formalized the operation as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) under the name The People's Vanguard of Davis Inc. and created an editorial board. The outlet subsequently expanded its criminal justice coverage beyond Yolo County to Sacramento, San Francisco, and statewide California issues, and also launched a student publication at UC Davis. Greenwald's own editorial background includes a stint as editor of the California Progress Report, a liberal California politics blog, which is consistent with the Vanguard's long-standing progressive perspective. The outlet relies almost entirely on reader donations and periodic fundraising drives, giving it independence from corporate advertisers but also a precarious financial footing. Coverage of the Trump administration's second term (beginning January 2025) has been broadly critical, focusing on immigration crackdowns, termination of Temporary Protected Status, restrictions on voting access, and concerns about executive overreach.

Sources

1. About Us – Davis Vanguard
2. David Greenwald's 15-Year Journey with the Davis Vanguard
3. The People's Vanguard of Davis – GivingEdge / Big Day of Giving
4. The People's Vanguard of Davis Inc. – Network for Good
5. Op-Ed: Documenting the Trump Administration's Mass De-Documentation Project – Davis Vanguard
6. Op-Ed: But Does Any of This Matter? (Trump approval analysis) – Davis Vanguard
7. David Greenwald – Muck Rack profile
8. Ground.news interest page – Davis Vanguard

Profile compiled 2026-08-28; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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