By Gina Cuclis


The announcement Thursday that four employees of the Sonoma Valley Sun have purchased the paper from founder and former publisher Bill Hammet signals hope for the financially struggling tabloid. Previous posts on this blog have discussed changes at the Sun and questioned whether two newspaper can survive in Sonoma Valley. The other paper is the Sonoma Index Tribune, which has existed since the 1800s. The Sonoma Valley Sun is less than six years old.

New corporation formed

The Sun's former corporate owner, Three House MultiMedia, Inc., has been dissolved. Its assets — the weekly printed paper and its website — have been purchased by the newly formed Sonoma Valley Sun, Inc. Sonoma Valley Sun, Inc.'s four owners are: the Sun's design director Barney LaHaye, advertising manager Kelly Magner, and news reporters/editors Jody Purdom and Val Robichaud.

In an editorial, the new owners indicate they plan to make changes. They say: "We look forward to continuing to serve this community, infusing the enterprise with more relevance to the way Sonoma Valley residents have come to live."

What that means is unclear. No specifics are given. However, I look forward to seeing how the weekly evolves. Not long ago Purdom was a freelancer for the Sun, Robichaud has worked there less than a year.

Good luck

Often when a group of employees buys a struggling business, it's because no one else is interested and the owner is willing to sell on reasonable terms. This sale is a lifeline for the Sun. Whether the new owners can make enough money to give themselves paychecks will be interesting to see. I wish them good luck. Sonoma Valley is better served by having two papers.

Please share your opinion about this new arrangement. If you live in Sonoma Valley, do you read both community papers regularly?