Embarcadero Media Foundation

Embarcadero Media Foundation

Company type	Private
Industry	Publishing
Predecessor	The Embarcadero Publishing Company
Founded	1979
Founder	William Johnson, Robert Heinen, Roger Sanford
Headquarters	Palo Alto , United States
Key people	Adam Dawes (CEO), William Johnson (Chairman)
Products	Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly, The Six Fifty, Palo Alto Online

Embarcadero Media Foundation operates as a publishing enterprise with a portfolio that includes the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly, The Six Fifty, and Palo Alto Online.

Originally established in 1979 under the name The Embarcadero Publishing Company by founders William Johnson, Robert Heinen, and Roger Sanford, the company adopted the Embarcadero Media name in 2009. William Johnson held the roles of president and CEO until 2022, when Adam Dawes took over leadership; Johnson continues to serve as chairman of the board.

In November 2023, the organization revealed plans to convert into a nonprofit entity.

On September 26, 2023, journalists at Embarcadero Media organized a union representing reporters, editors, and visual journalists. With authorization cards signed by 90% of non-management newsroom staff, the union aligned itself with the Pacific Media Workers Guild and achieved voluntary recognition one month later.

Transition to Nonprofit Status

Embarcadero announced on November 15, 2023, its decision to become a nonprofit organization, attributing this move to substantial difficulties such as a 42% drop in print advertising revenue since 2019. This decline was largely due to pandemic-induced closures of local businesses and evolving consumer habits. CEO Adam Dawes reported an overall revenue decrease of 32% across print publications, seven news websites, and three newsletters. Executive Chairman Bill Johnson emphasized that the nationwide reduction in advertising income caused by digital media trends threatens the survival of many news outlets.

Hacking

On September 17, 2015, all websites managed by Embarcadero Media—including paloaltoonline.com and almanacnews.com—were compromised by hackers who replaced content with a message purportedly from Anonymous. This message criticized The Almanac for publishing material claimed to endanger public safety. Following a two-year investigation by the FBI, Ross M. Colby was convicted for orchestrating the cyberattack. Although no personal information was exposed, two articles in The Almanac were modified during the incident.