48 Hills
48 Hills is an independent, community-supported online news publication covering San Francisco politics, arts, and culture. Operated by the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center, it is funded entirely through reader donations and memberships with no paywall.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What 48 Hills does
48 Hills is an independent, non-profit online news publication operating as the official media arm of the San Francisco Progressive Media Center. Founded circa 2013-2016, it produces daily coverage of San Francisco politics, city hall, housing, public safety, arts, and culture from an explicitly progressive editorial perspective, positioning itself as an alternative to billionaire-owned local media. The publication is built on a standard digital publishing stack, principally WordPress CMS, with email newsletter delivery, RSS feeds, and social media distribution across Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram; no proprietary technology or mobile applications are present in the product portfolio.
The product surface extends beyond the core news site to include the Bay Guardian Archives (a digitization project with the Internet Archive preserving the San Francisco Bay Guardian, 1966-2014), the Best of the Bay annual awards, the Puff cannabis column, and The Agenda political newsletter. Content is distributed free of charge with no paywall. The business model is community-supported journalism: tax-deductible donations and memberships are the sole funding mechanism, with a stated fundraising target of 1,000 donors contributing $20 per month. There are no enterprise customers, no advertising scale, no venture funding, and no subscription product. The organization employs 1-10 staff and operates from a single San Francisco headquarters.
The primary customer base is San Francisco Bay Area residents seeking progressive local journalism; the publication explicitly competes on editorial independence and community alignment rather than on technological differentiation. Strategic emphasis has been on brand reinforcement (nine 2026 California Journalism Awards), community partnerships (Internet Archive, Rainbow Grocery, SFJFF46), and content vertical expansion within the existing geographic footprint, rather than on growth in headcount, revenue scale, or geographic reach.
48 Hills firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 48 Hills
- Legal name
- San Francisco Progressive Media Center
- Website
- https://48hills.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- 48 Hills is an independent, community-supported online news publication covering San Francisco politics, arts, and culture. Operated by the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center, it is funded entirely through reader donations and memberships with no paywall.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
48 Hills industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Local Online News Publication
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)
Keywords
Where 48 Hills is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
48 Hills business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Membership: Tax-deductible donations from readers, with a target of 1,000 donors contributing $20/month. The publication emphasizes its independence from deep-pocketed owners and investor funding as rationale for community support.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
48 Hills product offering
Product offeringCore offering
48 Hills is an independent, community-supported online news publication that delivers daily progressive journalism covering San Francisco politics, city hall, housing, arts, culture, and community issues. It is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center and operates without a paywall, funded by reader donations and memberships. The publication also maintains the Bay Guardian Archives, a digitized archive preserving the 1966-2014 San Francisco Bay Guardian alternative newspaper in partnership with the Internet Archive.
Product overview
48 Hills is a community-supported independent news publication operated by the San Francisco Progressive Media Center. The core offering is its daily online news publication covering San Francisco politics, arts, culture, and local issues. The publication is augmented by the Bay Guardian Archives (a digitized archive of the historic 1966-2014 alternative newspaper), a newsletter delivery system, and a membership/donation program for community support. Additional content sections include Best of the Bay awards, special sections, and topical coverage spanning news, arts, culture, nightlife, and cannabis-related content through the Puff column.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bay Guardian Archives: Digital archive project preserving San Francisco Bay Guardian content from 1966-2014
- Puff
- Best of the Bay
- The Agenda
Products and services
- 48 Hills Online News Publication Independent daily online news and culture publication offering progressive journalism covering San Francisco local politics, city hall, housing, arts, and community issues. Content is freely accessible to all readers without a paywall.
- Bay Guardian Archives Digitized historical archive of the San Francisco Bay Guardian (1966-2014), offering flip-through editions and text articles from the historic alternative newspaper, available through the dedicated archive portal.
- 48 Hills Newsletter Email newsletter delivering curated 48 Hills news updates, political agenda coverage, and community engagement content to subscribers who sign up via the website.
Companies that use 48 Hills
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
48 Hills technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
48 Hills partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- San Francisco Progressive Media Centercore48hills.org is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center, which provides organizational backing and non-profit status for community-supported journalism.
- Internet ArchivecoreOngoing project to scan and preserve every issue of the San Francisco Bay Guardian (1966-2014), making historical archives available to readers through digital access.
- Rainbow GroceryminorRainbow Grocery cooperative sponsored the Bay Guardian Archives digitization project as a community partner.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
48 Hills competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mission Local: San Francisco-based nonprofit, community-supported local news outlet covering politics, housing, and neighborhood issues. Closest operational comparable to 48 Hills in geography, funding model, and editorial scope.
- Berkeleyside: Bay Area nonprofit local news outlet operating on a similar donor/membership model. Comparable in scale, mission, and focus on hyperlocal civic journalism adjacent to 48 Hills's footprint.
- In These Times: Independent, progressive nonprofit magazine covering politics, labor, and culture. Comparable in nonprofit structure, donor-supported funding, and progressive editorial identity to 48 Hills.
- Truthout: Nonprofit progressive news organization funded by reader donations covering politics, environment, and social movements. Comparable nonprofit, donor-funded, independence-model editorial operation.
Broad incumbents
- KQED: San Francisco Bay Area's flagship public-media organization (NPR/PBS affiliate). Covers regional news, arts, and culture in the same geography as 48 Hills but at substantially greater scale and with a broader broadcast + digital portfolio.
- The San Francisco Chronicle: Dominant paid daily newspaper in SF covering politics, city hall, arts, and culture. Sets the competitive news agenda 48 Hills counter-programs against; differs in scale, ownership, and subscription model.
- San Francisco Examiner: Long-running SF daily newspaper covering local politics, civic affairs, and culture. Competes for the same local-news audience as 48 Hills but with much larger staff and legacy distribution.
Regional players
- The Stranger: Long-running Seattle alt-weekly covering local politics, arts, and culture with a progressive editorial stance. Closest non-SF analogue to the alt-weekly/independent press model 48 Hills operates.
Emerging players
- L.A. Taco: Independent, reader-supported digital publication covering Los Angeles neighborhood news, arts, food, and culture. Comparable in digital-first, donor-funded, and progressive-independence positioning, but in a different metro.
- Capital & Main: California-based nonprofit news outlet covering economy, environment, and politics with donor support. Comparable nonprofit newsroom model and California regional focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
48 Hills social profiles
Digital presence48 Hills financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
48 Hills leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
48 Hills funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
48 Hills M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 48 Hills
What does 48 Hills do?
48 Hills is an independent, community-supported online news publication that delivers daily progressive journalism covering San Francisco politics, city hall, housing, arts, culture, and community issues. It is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center and operates without a paywall, funded by reader donations and memberships. The publication also maintains the Bay Guardian Archives, a digitized archive preserving the 1966-2014 San Francisco Bay Guardian alternative newspaper in partnership with the Internet Archive.
Is 48 Hills a public or private company?
48 Hills is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was 48 Hills founded?
48 Hills was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is 48 Hills based?
48 Hills is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does 48 Hills make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Membership.
Who are 48 Hills's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mission Local, Berkeleyside, In These Times and Truthout. Broad incumbents are KQED, The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner. The Stranger is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are L.A. Taco and Capital & Main.
Does 48 Hills have an API?
No public API is recorded for 48 Hills.
What industry is 48 Hills in?
48 Hills's product category is Local Online News Publication. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAH, Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press. Its NAICS code is 5162.