Silicon Valley Community Newspapers Debuts as Independent Company; David Cohen Takes the Helm as Publisher/CEO.

News & Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001

The six community newspapers which have been published under the umbrella of Metro Newspapers have begun operating as an independent business under the banner of Silicon Valley Community Newspapers (SVCN Inc.). David Cohen, who co-founded Metro, Silicon Valley's weekly alternative newspaper, in 1985, has been named SVCN's Publisher/CEO.

According to Cohen, the decision to spin the community newspapers into a separate company came about because both Metro and the community newspapers were growing, but the focus of each division was different. "Increasingly, Metro has become a regional voice for alternative coverage," Cohen said.

Metro Newspapers recently purchased the Oakland weekly Urbanview and relaunched the Sonoma County Independent as the Northern California Bohemian, with distribution extended to Napa and Marin counties. Metro Newspapers also publishes Metro Santa Cruz. The group of four alternative newspapers will be headed by Metro co-founder Dan Pulcrano.

"Our community papers concentrate on community news, and each paper is fiercely local," Cohen said.

He also pointed to "mixed messages" that resulted with community and alternative papers under one umbrella as a reason for the separation of the companies. "Because the content of the alternative papers is so different from the content of the communities," Cohen said, "our community sales staff frequently found themselves having to explain the difference between the two types of products."

Community newspapers are generally home delivered in a single town or neighborhood, while readers pick up alternative newspapers at workplaces and in business districts throughout a region. Community newspapers cover the activities of schools, municipal government and local law enforcement, as well as publish features on community members. Alternative weeklies focus on arts, culture and entertainment and provide an alternative perspective to mainstream news. More than 100 alternative newspapers are published in North America, and they are frequently characterized by provocative, colorful writing laced with wit, humor and opinion, as well as investigative journalism. The primary business reason for the decision to spin off the community papers, however, was simply the unexpected success of the publications.

Metro entered the community publishing field in 1990 with the purchase of the Los Gatos Weekly and the more than century-old Los Gatos Times-Observer, which were combined as the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. In 1991, the company acquired the weekly Saratoga News and the Willow Glen Resident, a monthly, which now publishes weekly. Cohen admits that starting the communities was "sort of a sideline."

In 1993, Metro Newspapers began publishing a weekly newspaper in Cupertino, and acquired its competitor, the Cupertino Courier, in 1995. The company also founded The Sun in Sunnyvale in 1993 and The Campbell Reporter in 1999.

Soon the papers were getting recognition for editorial content -- both the Los Gatos Weekly-Times and the Saratoga News have earned the prestigious "Newspaper of General Excellence" designation from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Last year, the Weekly-Times earned CNPA's Public Service award for its efforts to bring a senior center to the community. In its first year of publication, the Campbell Reporter took first place for design in the CNPA competition. Other community papers in the company were also earning statewide recognition for photography, editorial cartooning, spot news and feature writing.

Meanwhile, advertising revenues were growing, and the papers became more substantial. "With the momentum growing, it became clear that we needed to stop treating the communities as a sideline," Cohen said. "The fact is that our community papers were reaching more than 100,000 homes in Santa Clara County each week and had a readership of approximately 250,000."

Cohen says the company slowly began separating functions about two years ago with the goal of eventually creating two separate companies, but it wasn't until the end of last year that things got on the fast track. "We had been thinking of hiring a publisher from outside the organization, but I started to realize it was a job I'd really enjoy doing myself. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got," Cohen said.

Both Cohen and Pulcrano agreed the move made sense, as it would give Cohen the opportunity to focus on growing SVCN while Pulcrano concentrated on Metro and its three sister publications in the Bay Area.

To maintain the historic link between the two founders of Metro Newspapers and the companies they created, Cohen will serve as chairman of the board of Metro, and Pulcrano will be chairman of the board of SVCN.

This summer, SVCN will move into its corporate headquarters at 1085-1095 The Alameda. A staff of approximately 40 will be housed in the building. Cohen points out that the end result of separating the companies will be improved service. "By focusing on community publishing with a clear, new identity, we can serve the exceptional communities we cover even better."

Jeannette Close, who has been Advertising Director of the six community newspapers, continues as Ad Director of SVCN. Dale Bryant, former editor of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times and Saratoga News, as well as managing editor of the community papers, succeeds Pulcrano as Executive Editor. Lisa Thomas, a long-time Metro employee, who has served in a number of capacities, has been named Operations Manager.