Highway 29 Media Company, the small Napa Valley nonprofit that swooped in to keep the Yountville Sun and Calistoga Tribune alive, is shutting down and laying off about a dozen newsroom staff. Both weeklies are slated to publish their last issues next Friday, leaving two long-running community institutions without a local owner and putting several Napa Valley coverage beats in limbo as readers and advertisers wait for the final print run.
According to The Press Democrat, Highway 29 Media said in last Thursday's notice that it will “cease operations” and that its publications will print for the last time next Friday. The outlet reports the closure will affect roughly a dozen employees, and that founder Marc Hand, who bought the Yountville Sun and Calistoga Tribune in November 2022, cited rising operating and printing costs and thin advertising support in last Thursday's letter. In that note, he asked potential buyers to get in touch and said he plans to step back from his volunteer role at Highway 29 at the end of the month.
How the rescue started
Highway 29 Media launched in January 2023 as a public-benefit corporation designed to keep the two weeklies locally owned, build donor backing and create the Napa Valley News Group to receive tax-deductible contributions, according to the Napa Valley News Group. The effort took over the Yountville Sun and Calistoga Tribune after their longtime publishers announced retirements, then expanded its footprint by publishing Conéctate Napa County, the American Canyon Current and the Napa County Times.
The bigger picture
The shutdown tracks closely with the broader economics of local news. A Napa Valley Community Foundation landscape study describes a fragile media ecosystem in the region, with disappearing print advertising revenue and rising production costs, leaving small weeklies on shaky financial ground. The report, along with wider industry data, shows many community newspapers across the country have closed or scaled back in recent years, making rescue attempts and nonprofit ownership models a tough long-term bet.
What’s next for readers
Organizers say donors and would-be buyers can use the Napa Valley News Group’s contact and donation pages to connect with the team and support ongoing digital coverage, according to the group’s site. Hand will stay active in public media circles as CEO of the Public Media Venture Group, per that organization’s staff listing, but Highway 29 Media’s wind-down leaves an immediate gap that local nonprofits, readers and advertisers will have to contend with as the weeklies head toward their final editions next Friday.
