📰 Santa Barbara’s Old-Timer News-Press Taps Out! Was Digital the Culprit or Just No 💸? 🤔
TL;DR: The legendary 150-year-old Santa Barbara News-Press waves goodbye. From thriving print to bankrupt digital, what went down? 😲
Once upon a time in Santa Barbara, California, a 150-year-old newspaper had the honor of winning a Pulitzer Prize. 💪 Now, fast forward to today, and it’s all digital silence. The Santa Barbara News-Press, after having its glory days, has sung its swan song. This iconic newspaper, one of California’s most ancient, pushed its last digital byte online this past Friday. The cause? Bankruptcy, with owner Wendy McCaw calling it quits.
So, imagine you’re part of the News-Press squad, you’re updating stories, and then BAM! 💥 Managing editor Dave Mason sends out an email bombshell: “Hey team, it’s a wrap! We’ve run out of moolah 💰. You’ll get your last checks after the bankruptcy court says ‘Alright!'”
As of now, their website’s still breathing. 🌐 But any insider news about the end or the bankruptcy? Nah, zip, nada. It’s like a movie where the ending’s left to your imagination.
Some behind-the-scenes tea ☕? The parent company, Ampersand Publishing, spilt in their bankruptcy docs that they’re nearly $10 million in the hole. And creditors? Between 200 to 999 of them. September 7th is gonna be a busy day with all those folks.
Remember when newspapers were THE thing? 📰 The News-Press, founded in 1855, had its peak moments with a whopping 45,000 daily readers. And let’s not forget Thomas M. Storke’s editorial masterpieces about the John Birch Society that snagged a Pulitzer in 1962.
And oh, the drama! 🎭 Six years after Wendy McCaw, our philanthropist with a heart for animals and the environment, took the reins, top editors bounced, claiming McCaw’s interference compromised the paper’s credibility.
Jerry Roberts, one of the past editors, expressed it wasn’t shocking, given the paper’s “downhill slide”. But Santa Barbara losing its only paper? Ouch. That’s gotta sting. 💔
Santa Barbara isn’t just about the news. This coastal beauty, located roughly 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is a magnet for celebrities, tourists, wine, and all things lovely. 🍷🌊
Now, politics alert! 🚨 Did you know the paper, under McCaw’s leadership, was among the few to endorse Trump in 2016? Quite a shocker, given Santa Barbara County’s Democratic leaning.
Local news expert Tim Franklin serves a reality check: “We’re losing two newspapers a week in the U.S.” 😔 Google, Facebook, and Amazon are grabbing chunks of the ad market, and no one’s cracked the code for a profitable local news model.
With the Santa Barbara News-Press down for the count, will other newspapers rise or share the same fate? Can media giants carve out a new era for local news? 🤷
Question to leave you with: As we witness the transition from print to digital and observe such historic institutions going dark, what’s the future of local news? Should local communities step up, or should tech giants bridge the gap? Let the debate begin! 🔥👇
