California free weeklies suspend August publication

Posted by Erina Lin on July 31, 2008 at 11:04 PM

Publication of three California free weeklies will be suspended in August, U.S. publishing company Sun Community Newspapers announced Thursday, Editor & Publisher reported.

“Sun Community Newspapers will be on hiatus for the month of August, exploring options that will allow us to continue to bring our fiercely local publications free to the community every week,” Publisher Kelly Mayfield said in a statement.

Civic leaders in the San Fernando Valley said the suspension will hurt their communities, E&P reported.

“It means a lot to the community; it's a viable publication that represents the best of Studio City. It would be a shame for it to stop its publication. The chamber and community rely on it for local news,” Studio City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Esther Walker told the Los Angeles Daily News.

Sun Community Newspapers published its first title in 2002, and has expanded to a trio of newspapers since then. According to the company’s Web site, the combined circulation of the three papers reach 50,000 and the total readership exceeds 126,000, E&P reported.