Weeklys
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Publishing |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | San Jose , United States |
Key people | Dan Pulcrano (Founder and Executive Editor) |
| Products | Alternative weekly newspapers, community newspapers, digital media platforms |
| Website | www |
Weeklys, previously known as Metro Newspapers,, is a media organization established in 1985 with its main office located in San Jose, California.
The company produces five complimentary alternative weekly publications throughout Northern California: Metro Silicon Valley, Good Times, Pacific Sun, East Bay Express, and North Bay Bohemian. Additionally, it operates ten community newspapers, which include the Gilroy Dispatch, Healdsburg Tribune, Hollister Free Lance, King City Rustler, Los Gatan, Morgan Hill Times, Salinas Valley Tribune, Aptos Life, The Pajaronian, and Press Banner.
Collectively, these outlets reach an estimated weekly readership of around 500,000, supported by their digital media platforms.
The alternative weeklies are distributed free of charge in a tabloid format, emphasizing news, local affairs, arts, and cultural content. Meanwhile, the community newspapers are printed as larger broadsheets and delivered directly to residences within their respective areas.
Alternative Weeklies
The Pacific Sun holds the distinction of being the United States’ longest-running continuously published alternative weekly.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, the Metro weekly established itself as the premier free publication in Northern California’s South Bay region. It was among the pioneers to feature Matt Groening’s comic strip Life in Hell and Rob Brezsny’s column Real Astrology.
Founded in 1975, Good Times stands as the highest-circulation newspaper in Santa Cruz County, California. It has earned top honors at the California Journalism Awards for four consecutive years due to its outstanding investigative journalism.
Prominent former contributors from these publications include British journalist Louis Theroux, New York Times opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg, ex-Vice News Director Michael Learmonth, typographer Conor Mangat, and film producer Zack Stentz.
Community Weeklies
The organization initiated its venture into community newspapers in 1990 by acquiring Los Gatos Weekly and Los Gatos Times-Observer, which were consolidated into the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. During the 1990s, the Silicon Valley Community Newspaper group broadened its scope by adding titles such as Saratoga News, Campbell Reporter, and Cupertino Courier before being sold to a company executive in 2001.
In 2014, Weeklys (then operating as Metro Newspapers) re-entered community publishing by purchasing Santa Cruz’s Good Times along with newspapers serving Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and Hollister. The company further expanded its holdings with established publications in Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Salinas Valley, Healdsburg, and introduced a new title in Los Gatos. Notably, acquiring the Healdsburg Tribune preserved this historic publication after its nonprofit owner ceased operations following 157 years.
History
In 1984, founder Dan Pulcrano brought together investors from Silicon Valley and the entertainment sector and enlisted LA Weekly executive David Cohen to launch Metro, increasing circulation from 40,000 to nearly 100,000.
By 1990, Metro had purchased Pulcrano’s Los Gatos Weekly along with the Los Gatos Times-Observer owned by the Chicago Tribune. These were merged into the Los Gatos Weekly-Times as part of Metro’s expansion into community journalism.
In 1994, Metro introduced Metro Santa Cruz and acquired the Sonoma County Independent. This coverage was broadened in 2000 under the new name of North Bay Bohemian.
On its 15th anniversary in 2009, Metro Santa Cruz was rebranded as Santa Cruz Weekly. In 2014, Metro Newspapers acquired several local weeklies including Good Times, Gilroy Dispatch, Hollister Free Lance, and Morgan Hill Times, combining Good Times with Santa Cruz Weekly.
The acquisition of the Pacific Sun followed in 2015; distribution changes led to the Bohemian focusing on Sonoma and Napa counties.
The firm rebranded as Weeklys in 2020 while acquiring the East Bay Express, launching East Bay magazine, and purchasing Scotts Valley’s Press Banner. In 2021, Weeklys took over Silicon Valley design agency LunaGraphica (now Metro.Agency), appointing its president Cindy Couling as Director of Creative Services.
In 2022, a Weeklys affiliate acquired Bay Area Parent from Dominion Enterprises.
Weeklys remains under the leadership of founder and longtime executive editor Dan Pulcrano, whose strategic vision has propelled growth and strengthened its presence within alternative and community media markets.
Silicon Valley Community Newspapers
Metro established a collection of weekly community papers, which included the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, Saratoga News, Campbell Reporter, Willow Glen Resident, and the Sunnyvale Sun. While under Metro's management, this newspaper group received several accolades, notably the California Newspaper Publishers Association's "General Excellence" distinction. On December 17, 2001, Metro's co-founder Cohen took ownership of the group—then comprising six titles—and operated Silicon Valley Community Newspapers as an independent entity. Three years later, he sold it to Knight Ridder, which in turn transferred ownership to McClatchy Corp. Shortly thereafter, McClatchy divested SVCN to Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group. In 2014, distribution of these newspapers was adjusted by Bay Area News Group to be delivered exclusively to Mercury News subscribers rather than through broad home delivery.
Early online player
Metro was among the pioneers in digital media, debuting Livewire in 1993—an early online platform launched by a non-daily publisher—that provided complimentary email services, e-commerce options, chat rooms, forums, and editorial content. The following year, Metro rolled out Virtual Valley, a site dedicated to Silicon Valley communities that supported online municipal engagement for cities including San Jose, Milpitas, and Los Gatos. Also in 1994, the company introduced Boulevards, a network of websites covering prominent metropolitan regions across the United States, predating similar ventures such as Citysearch and Microsoft's "Sidewalk." In 1995, Metro launched Metroactive, a web-based newspaper platform that featured various publications alongside downloadable PDF versions.
Awards
Metroactive along with its affiliated newspapers have been honored multiple times within the industry for excellence in editorial content and design:
- Six newspapers within the Metro Newspapers portfolio received awards at the California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspapers Awards held in July 1997.
- Three newspapers were distinguished at the National Newspaper Association's 1995 competition.
- Five newspapers garnered recognition at the California Newspaper Publishers Association awards ceremony in July 1996.
- Metro Silicon Valley earned two awards during the California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspapers Awards in October 2008.
References