Santa Barbara News-Press

On January 22, 2025, NEWSWELL, a nonprofit affiliated with Arizona State University Media Enterprise announced it had acquired rights to the Santa Barbara News-Press and intended to resume online-only publication.

James Ashbury Johnson became the sole owner and immediately changed the name to the Santa Barbara Press.

[4][5] Years later Johnson was assaulted and badly beaten by Mayor Jarrett T. Richards on Election Day.

Gray was a Republican running for district attorney and attacked Glancey for calling him a hoodlum and a law-breaker in his paper.

[22] Between July 2006 and February 2007, 60 staff (out of 200 total employees), including all but two news reporters, resigned or were fired from the News-Press.

McCaw authored several right-wing editorials during the following years, including criticism of social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[27] On July 21, 2023, the Santa Barbara News-Press' owner, Ampersand Publishing LLC, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

[28] The July 21 edition of the paper was the last as Wendy McCaw said all jobs were eliminated and the business had no money to issue final paychecks.

[29][30] In March 2024, with a tentative bankruptcy sale for $250,000 to Weyaweya Ltd., a Maltese company, the court scheduled a final bidding opportunity for April 9; bidding started at $260,000 in $5,000 increments and sale included the domain names, website contents and social media accounts.

[35] Romo donated the News-Press' intellectual property to NEWSWELL, a nonprofit affiliated with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.