Julia Baum is a seasoned and multi-skilled journalist with more than a decade of experience in Sacramento, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, covering breaking news, state and local politics, business, development, education, and crime and courts, and specializing in cannabis news and issues.
Besides earning the respect and trust of the communities she covers, and triggering action and change in them, her work has also caught the attention of major media outlets like BBC News, for which she's been a regular contributor since 2017. Julia's stories have also been picked up by "Good Morning America", CNN, NBC, FOX, HLN, the Mercury News, East Bay Times, Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sydney Morning Herald, Toronto Globe, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, The Independent (UK), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and more.
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Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, Julia started her journalism career at California State University Sacramento, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Communications. As a cub reporter she interviewed high-profile public figures like FedEx-Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea and Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, sister of former President Barack Obama, while also honing her multimedia and graphic design skills. During this time she also worked as an event organizer and promoter for some of Sacramento's biggest nightclubs, lounges and dance studios, and learned the ins and outs of communications, marketing and event management from internships with Sutter Health Group and CBS Radio.
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Julia spent time afterwards covering local news, elections, city council and public utility meetings throughout the state capitol for Messenger Publishing Group. She came on board with Bay Area News Group in 2015 and spent several years as a general assignment reporter in San Jose, where she quickly earned a reputation for hunting down relevant news and had her work profiled in San Jose Inside.
Since 2018 she's actively freelanced for San Jose Inside/Metro News, covering mostly local politics and cannabis news. Julia's reputation has made her a sought-out figure for speaking engagements, media appearances and hosting events in Silicon Valley. Julia is also a founding staff member and news writer for San Jose Spotlight, the first nonprofit newsroom in the country's tenth largest city.
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Growing up in a small Northern California college town, Julia has valued learning and sharing knowledge with others from a very young age. She believes that journalism provides endless opportunities to both learn something new every day and help others connect that information to their own lives in a meaningful way.
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When she's not busy chasing leads, Julia enjoys live music and spending time with her two dogs and cat. A certified dance instructor and SAG-eligible actress, Julia is also an accomplished performer who's appeared in several major TV and film productions, including Netflix's "13 Reasons Why" and Marvel Studios' "Ant Man and The Wasp".