16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com ways to bring money in to pay those who report the news. The Monterey County Weekly, for instance, has historically relied on advertising to fund its operations, being a free publication. But when pandemic lockdowns shut many businesses down, the paper lost a major chunk of its revenue. It turned to readers for support, which became the Weekly Insiders program, to help close the gap. “Reader revenue is new to us, but it’s what a subscription is to anyone else,” Weekly Publisher Erik Cushman says. Carmel Pine Cone Publisher Paul Miller says Big Tech companies such as Google, Meta and Apple “are always trying to monopolize the advertising from even the smallest local businesses, making the competition for revenue ever more difficult. “At the same time, the people of the Monterey Peninsula have a growing need for reliable local news,” Miller says. “My guiding principle is that, as long as we provide accurate, timely and plentiful local news coverage, they will reward us with their loyalty, which will drive ad dollars—and survival.” As the owner of the Pine Cone for 29 years, Miller has seen hundreds of local newspapers across the country go out of business. But he says his principle has been proven correct, as the paper “set an all-time record for revenue last year,” with plans to grow its newsroom. “The Peninsula is lucky to have several news sources that are 100-percent local,” he says. “Let’s hope it stays that way. I know we aren’t going anywhere.” Recently, local publishers have also had to contend with competitors operating under a relatively new funding model for news, one that Pulcrano says furthers the very problem it claims to solve. Pre-pandemic studies focused on the rise of foundation-funded journalism. One study from 2018 by Northeastern University found that most funding was concentrated among a few dozen media nonprofits while a “disproportionate number” of partisan outlets were granted money. Other studies delved into ethics— how do foundations influence what newsrooms cover, and what is the line between journalism and funding? Pulcrano, though, notes that these deep-pocketed foundations impact well-established news institutions in other ways. Weeklys, in particular, operates 15 publications from Healdsburg in the north to King City in the south. Across its markets, it faces competition from various news outlets backed by foundations. Santa Cruz-based Lookout Local, for instance, which covers Santa Cruz County and Pajaro, launched in 2020 with funding from the Knight Foundation, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Google News Initiative and others. When it began its fundraising efforts, Lookout positioned itself as an alternative to the Alden Global Capitalowned Santa Cruz Sentinel (the same hedge fund that owns the Herald), likening Santa Cruz as a “news desert” since staffing has been decimated at the daily paper over the years (now at seven editorial staff, down from around 40 more than 20 years ago). In the markets his newspapers are based in, Pulcrano says he’s seen the financial impacts—using data from IRS Form 990s and estimating salaries based on the number of employees, he figures nearly $50.6 million has been spent by the six nonprofit and public benefit corporations operating news outlets in his markets since 2016. “No business can compete against that,” he says, noting that it affects an already limited talent pool. “It’s tougher to operate in an environment in which big players put their thumb on the scale in local markets,” he says. “When these new competitors, awash in cash, recruit and hire our ad directors, sales reps, most experienced writers and Latino or Black writers, it reduces the talent pool and experience base of established entities.” Pulcrano notes he believes foundations have good intentions, but they did not receive the full picture beyond the struggles of the daily newspapers. “Funders didn’t do enough due diligence to investigate whether they were actually filling news voids or simply cannibalizing locally-rooted independents who were already doing some of the state’s best award-winning reporting and played a key role keeping local governments transparent,” he says. Lookout Local CEO and Founder Ken Doctor says start-up costs were funded by philanthropic efforts, but the news outlet now relies on reader and advertiser support to fund its operations. “Our model is to make our way forward not on philanthropy but on revenue from the two same sources that most publications have used for over 200 years: reader revenue and advertising,” he says. “Our success here just shows that people want to know more about where they live.” Local newspapers are much more likely to invest in their communities, not just cover them, Pulcrano notes. He points to the Monterey County Weekly and Good Times in Santa Cruz that have bought and restored older buildings in prominent locations, and spearheaded fundraising efforts for local nonprofits. Monterey County Gives! and Santa Cruz Gives, for example, raised more than $17 million and $2 million in 2025, respectively. Karen Jernigan was hired as a reporter for the King City Rustler in 1977. At that time, the Rustler had two reporters, an editor and a publisher. The reporters would be at every city council and school board meeting, and being a small-town community newspaper, would cover car crashes and run a log of arrests. As the staff dwindled, so did the coverage and the staff’s visibility in the community. Today, the paper is down to one editor and a freelance sports reporter, with the editor also overseeing other publications in the Weeklys group. “I love the local newspaper, and I only want the best for them,” says Jernigan, who was a member of the King City City Council from 2012-2016. “I was looking at my Rustler today, and it was so thin. You’ve got to look forward and figure out how to live in this digital age.” Jernigan and her husband John are historians of King City, and are constantly looking at old newspapers—the historic record of the communities they cover. “I believe really strongly that newspapers are historic preservation,” she says. “If we don’t have them, we don’t have their pictures, we don’t have their words, descriptions, interviews. We are missing an important part of our town. “That’s why I value and love newspapers, for the life of the city that gets preserved.” Print readership has declined. According to a “statement of ownership” form published in the Rustler in October 2025 (a document required by the U.S. Postal Service), the paper prints a total of 1,393 copies a week. That’s down from 1,736 in 2017. The Tribune, meanwhile, cites 1,050 copies. Circulation numbers for the Herald and Californian are not publicly available, and representatives of both publications declined to comment for this article (although a USA Today Co. spokesperson emailed a statement, saying, “Print continues to remain a vital part of our ecosystem, especially for our valued subscribers and advertisers who recognize our reach and impact,” adding that the company is balancing “rising production costs with evolving reader habits,” pointing to its e-newsletter). Recent estimates suggest the Californian has a print circulation of less than 2,500, and the Herald below 10,000. These papers are far from alone. According to a Pew Research Center study, daily newspaper circulation (both print and digital) was estimated at 20.9 million in 2022, down from a peak of 63.3 million in 1984. But examining print circulation alone no longer provides an accurate picture of a paper’s full reach. Print is The old Salinas Californian building on West Alisal Street in Salinas takes up an entire city block, with 23,610 square feet of office space and 13,603 square feet of warehouse space, according to a real estate listing. DANIEL DREIFUSS
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