Editor's Note
NorthBay biz at 50
The local media landscape has changed— but the passion and dedication remain
By Jason Walsh W
hen NorthBay biz launched 50 years ago, local news was a different ballgame. Regional
local residents reporting local news. By our count, NBb is the only locally owned publication left standing whose coverage area includes Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties. Diving into our archives for a story on NBb’s 50th anniversary has been an education in late 20th century magazine publishing—the gonzo-ish writing style, the graphic design (or lack thereof) and the general Let’s Put On A Show! vibe of questionably qualified reporters dipping their toes into journalism for nothing more than the fun and excitement of it (and certainly not for a fat paycheck). Today, our magazine production crew and stable of writers are still lean and
daily papers were thriving, most towns boasted their own hyper- local weekly and alternative publications in some communities outnumbered mainstream press. “Owning a newspaper is like a license to print money,” 20th century Canadian media mogul Roy Thomson is said to have claimed. Thomson died in 1976—the same year NorthBay biz began publishing, then titled Sonoma Business . At the time, one
Walsh, when his editing was done with red crayons and wedge erasers.
couldn’t walk down the street of any Sonoma, Marin or Napa community without tripping over one or two newspapers in every driveway—locally owned and locally produced. There were the well-known local mastheads of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Marin Independent Journal —SF staples E xaminer and Chronicle were even more prevalent—on top of literally scores of smaller pubs like the Santa Rosa News Herald, the Mill Valley Record , the Novato Advanc e, the San Rafael News Pointe r and the Ross Valley Recorder. Not familiar with some of those publications? That’s because 50 years later, they no longer exist. Meanwhile, pubs that managed to keep the lights on over that time—like the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Pacific Sun, Petaluma Argus Courier, et al—are owned by publishers outside the region. The PD , of course, was purchased last May by NY-based Alden Global Capital, which already owns the Marin IJ down the road. Locally owned publications in the North Bay are a rare breed in 2025—after region-wide ‘zines like NorthBay biz and Marin magazine, which launched in the early 2000s, one has to look at hyper-local-on-steroids titles like the Point Reyes Light or Sebastopol Times to find
passionate, but we’ve honed our chops in a more traditional sense—bylines are from professional journalists trained in media with resume experiences often at much larger publications; expert columns are by industry professionals, who also happen to be engaging writers. Luckily, we also have long-time staff members with the institutional knowledge that allows us to navigate an ever-evolving media landscape. Perhaps most importantly of all, however, is that local ownership by Amaturo Sonoma Media Group—a Santa Rosa-based multi-media company with eight radio stations, along with NBb —whose management team, staff members, advertising clients and readership all live in nearby communities, shop at the corner markets, do business with the local banks, dine at family restaurants and are regulars at favorite watering holes. And there’s much to be said for that. Fifty years after NBb’s debut, local media’s license to print money has long expired. But, for those publications that carry on locally, membership in the community is set for life. g
December 2025
NorthBaybiz 11
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