In the latest twist of a story in its second decade, Santa Barbara’s daily newspaper dropped a notice along with the Thursday morning paper informing subscribers that the News-Press carrier would stop making deliveries as of Monday, October 24. First reported by KEYT, the notice stated the change was due to “labor shortages, higher gas prices, and other current economic challenges.”
Known as the Santa Barbara News-Press since 1932, the daily was owned by the New York Times Corporation for several years before it was bought by Wendy McCaw in 2000. It has suffered declining circulation since six editors and columnist Barney Brantingham resigned in 2006, protesting the publisher’s meddling in the newsroom. What became known as the “News-Press Mess” saw the paper lose nearly all its reporters, who had begun a unionizing effort that is unresolved to this day.
Currently, the paper is down to a single sheet, folded into four pages. Instead of the traditional carrier, the paper will arrive via same-day delivery by the U.S. mail, said Managing Editor Dave Mason.
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