Huntington Beach News, Sister Paper Face Closure
The Huntington Beach News and its sister publication, the Long Beach News, two of the oldest weekly newspapers in the coastal area, will cease publication Aug. 21 if negotiations to sell them fall through, said William Quinn, assistant publisher and editor of both papers.
Most of the 10 full-time and six part-time employees already have been laid off, he said.
The Huntington Beach paper, which started publication in July, 1904, has a circulation of 17,000. The Long Beach paper, formerly called the Marina News, has a circulation of 24,000 after 58 years in business.
“It will take a lot of capital to keep these papers running,” Quinn said. The weeklies are not in debt, he said, but are not making any money, either, despite efforts of new owners to boost advertising and circulation.
The owners, George Koppel of Long Beach and William Lansdale of Huntington Beach, bought the papers two years ago, the third buyers in four years, Quinn said. They could not be reached for comment.
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