One of California's oldest Newspapers, the Santa Barbara Paper, Ceases Publication after the Owner files for Bankruptcy

One of California's oldest newspapers, the Pulitzer Prize–winning Santa Barbara News-Press, has discontinued publication after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication insolvent.

on Jul 25, 2023

One of California's oldest newspapers, the Santa Barbara paper, ceases publication after the owner files for bankruptcy | Frontlist

One of California's oldest newspapers, the Pulitzer Prize–winning Santa Barbara News-Press, has discontinued publication after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication insolvent.

In April, the newspaper exclusively published online. However, the publication's final digital edition was published on Friday when owner Wendy McCaw declared bankruptcy.

The News-Press' website was still accessible on Monday, with the most recent articles having been posted on Friday. Nothing about it ceasing to publish or declaring bankruptcy was mentioned.

The Associated Press left a voicemail message on the newsroom's phone on Monday, but it wasn't immediately returned.

According to federal court records, Ampersand Publishing, the parent business of the Santa Barbara News-Press, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, claiming to have assets of less than USD 50,000 and debts and expected liabilities of between USD 1 million and USD 10 million. On September 7, a meeting of creditors, who range in number from 200 to 999, will take place.

When contacted by phone or email for comment, Anthony Friedman, the attorney listed for Ampersand Publishing in the bankruptcy petition, did not respond right away. McCaw was unreachable.

At its peak, the 1855-founded newspaper, which served the affluent metropolis of 90,000 inhabitants in Santa Barbara, had a daily circulation of 45,000 and was published seven days a week. Thomas M. Storke, an editorial writer, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 for his editorials on the John Birch Society.

In October 2000, McCaw, a local millionaire philanthropist involved in animal rights and environmental causes, purchased the daily from The New York Times Co. A few months later, she and her fiancé, Arthur von Weisenberger, were named as acting co-publishers.

Six years later, the editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press, Jerry Roberts, along with four other prominent editors and a columnist, resigned in protest of McCaw's actions, which they said damaged the reputation of the publication. The editors who left criticized the publishers' interference in stories as having jeopardized the newspaper's moral standards. In one instance, the editors claimed McCaw intervened to halt a second story after objecting to releasing a first one regarding an editor's drunken driving arrest. The editorial page editor of the newspaper had been named acting publisher by McCaw, which angered the departing editors.