Amid the crisis facing the news media industry, the once Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press has ceased publishing and laid off all staff following a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing by its parent company, Ampersand Publishing. The paper had recently halted its print version and operated as an online-only publication for the past month, making its financial struggles apparent.
Owner and ex-wife of cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw, local billionaire Wendy McCaw, took control of the newspaper in 2000 after buying it from The New York Times Co. According to Deadline, since then, the Santa Barbara News-Press experienced years of turbulence under her leadership, leading to a series of controversies, including a large exodus of staff members, followed by unionizing attempts by remaining newsroom employees.
The proud newspaper changed the media landscape in 1962 when it won a Pulitzer Prize under the ownership of Thomas M. Storke. As reported by the Associated Press, the closure of the 168-year-old publication leaves the wealthy coastal city, known for its stunning landscapes, luxury living, and wine industry, without a daily newspaper.
Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism local news expert, Tim Franklin, points out that the problem is systemic, as on average, two newspapers close each week in the US. The nation could lose about a third of all newspapers by 2025 while media companies continue to struggle competing with Google, Facebook, and Amazon for ad revenues without a profitable local news business model. Franklin emphasizes that this crisis extends to affluent cities and suburban markets as well.
Although Santa Barbara still has a weekly paper, The Independent, and digital news source Noozhawk, the closure of the Santa Barbara News-Press demonstrates the ongoing challenges that news media companies.
