Voice gets a new sister paper Voice gets a new sister paper (August 27, 2004)

The Mountain View Voice's parent company, Embarcadero Publishing Co., has purchased the Pacific Sun , an award-winning weekly newspaper serving Marin County.

The Sun , with offices in Mill Valley and a circulation of 36,000, becomes Embarcadero's fifth newspaper. In addition to the Voice , the company owns the Palo Alto Weekly , The Almanac in Menlo Park, and the Pleasanton Weekly .

The purchase coincides with the 70th birthday of Sun owner, publisher and editor Steve McNamara, who purchased the paper in 1966 and grew it into an award-winning newsweekly known for its quality writing, environmental advocacy and commitment to journalistic independence and building a strong relationship with the community it serves.

"Steve and I have known each other and shared our challenges and ideas with each other for the last 25 years, and this seems like a natural outcome of that relationship," said Embarcadero CEO and Palo Alto Weekly publisher Bill Johnson.

"When he approached us about buying the Sun , we leaped at the opportunity," Johnson said. "Our publishing goals and values are as alike as any two companies can be, and the Marin community is a perfect complement to the markets we already serve."

Prior to purchasing the Sun in 1966 from its founders, Merrill and Joann Grohman, McNamara was the Sunday Editor of the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle . His goal was to transform the weekly into a high quality magazine-style, locally-focused paper similar to the Village Voice in New York City, with an emphasis on good writing and analytical reporting.

In the years that followed, dozens of similar papers began emerging throughout the country and McNamara became the first president of the fledgling National Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, which now has more than 130 member papers.

"Steve's leadership during the early years of alternative weekly journalism contributed to the creation of a new genre of newspaper -- one which proved that a local newspaper needn't be a boring chronicler of minor events, but could penetrate the fabric of a community, advocate for social and political change and bring that community and its residents alive through good writing," Johnson said.

Among the Sun's innovations was the creation of "The Serial" by Armisted Maupin, which later moved on to become a popular feature in the San Francisco Chronicle as "Tales of the City." And among the Sun's many acclaimed employees was U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, who worked as a reporter before moving on to politics.

Johnson started Embarcadero Publishing Company in 1979 with the launch of the Palo Alto Weekly . In 1993, the company purchased The Almanac and a year later acquired the Mountain View Voice . In 2000, Embarcadero expanded into the East Bay with the launch of the Pleasanton Weekly .

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