What Easy Reader News does

Easy Reader News & Peninsula Magazine is a privately held, hyperlocal weekly newspaper and digital media outlet serving four beachside communities in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County — Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Founded in 1970 and headquartered at 67 14th Street in Hermosa Beach, the publication covers local government, community events, schools, sports, dining, arts, entertainment, and letters to the editor under brands including Easy Reader News, Peninsula Magazine, and Peninsula People Magazine. It is owned and published by Kevin Cody and operates under the management of holding company ALCO USA Inc.

The publication's product surface spans a WordPress-based website (easyreadernews.com), mobile applications on Google Play and the Apple App Store, a free email newsletter, and free print editions distributed at grocery stores (Vons, Ralphs, Smart & Final), public libraries, community centers, and coffee shops across the South Bay. A premium membership tier provides paying readers with full content access, digital issues, a digitized print archive stretching back to 1970, and ad-free viewing. Companion products include an events calendar, a food and dining guide, and a reader-submitted letters platform.

The business operates on a dual revenue model combining local print, digital, and sponsored-content advertising with a recurring premium subscription. It targets two primary customer segments: South Bay community residents seeking hyperlocal news and information not covered by regional outlets, and local small and medium-sized businesses purchasing advertising to reach that same community. Technology infrastructure is limited to a standard WordPress CMS, email-newsletter tooling, and native mobile apps; no APIs, AI features, integrations, or proprietary technology stack is disclosed. The company operates with a small editorial and advertising-sales team (1–10 employees) and runs no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or external funding.

Name

Easy Reader News

Legal name

Easy Reader News & Peninsula Magazine

Website

https://easyreadernews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Easy Reader News & Peninsula Magazine is a privately held hyperlocal weekly newspaper and digital outlet, founded in 1970, serving Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula with print, website, and mobile-app coverage of community news, events, and local advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Publication

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Local news publication
• Community journalism
• Print newspaper
• Digital news media
• News subscription

Headquarters

HQ city

Hermosa Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Services: Premium subscription services offering digital issues, archives, and ad-free viewing. Members can upgrade to access full content across all platforms.
2. Advertising: Print, digital, and sponsored content advertising across the South Bay area. Revenue generated from local businesses and national advertisers targeting the community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Easy Reader News publishes a weekly newspaper and digital news platform providing hyperlocal coverage of news, community events, sports, weather, entertainment, dining, and local government for the South Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula communities. The publication operates across print, digital, and mobile channels and offers a premium membership tier with digital archive access, ad-free viewing, and full content access across all platforms.

Product overview

Easy Reader News operates as a multi-platform local media company offering both digital and print publications. The core products include Easy Reader News (hyperlocal digital news website) and Peninsula Magazine (print publication covering the Palos Verdes Peninsula). Additional offerings include a membership/subscription service providing premium access to digital archives and ad-free content, a print edition archive system, an events calendar for community listings, a letters-to-the-editor submission platform, and a dining guide. The company serves the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, focusing on hyperlocal coverage of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and surrounding communities. The publication has been operating since 1970 and is managed by ALCO USA Inc.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Easy Reader News Hyperlocal digital and print news publication serving the South Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula communities with local news, community stories, sports, weather, entertainment, events, dining, and civic affairs coverage across Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
• Peninsula Magazine

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ALCO USA Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationWeb hosting and management partner for Easy Reader News digital platform. ALCO USA Inc. provides technical infrastructure support for the publication's WordPress-based website and digital operations.
• Meta (Facebook)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media marketing channel for content distribution and community engagement
• InstagramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media marketing channel for visual content and community stories
• X (formerly Twitter)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media marketing channel for news distribution and community engagement
• YouTubeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVideo content distribution platform for multimedia stories

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Nextdoor: Neighborhood-level social platform that aggregates hyperlocal news, events, and recommendations. Competes with Easy Reader for local community mindshare and SMB advertising attention.
• Axios Local: Axios's local-market newsletters and digital editions covering specific US cities. Competes for the same email newsletter-driven hyperlocal readership and SMB advertising relationships.
• Voice of San Diego: Member-supported nonprofit digital local news outlet. Represents the membership-driven alternative model that Easy Reader's premium subscription tier partially mirrors.
• Lookout Local: Digital-first local news operator running city-level community newsrooms. Represents the nonprofit/digital subscription model that is reshaping the hyperlocal news category Easy Reader competes in.

Direct peers

• Palos Verdes Peninsula News: Local newspaper covering the Palos Verdes Peninsula, directly overlapping with Easy Reader's Peninsula Magazine territory. Comparable community weekly format and SMB advertiser base.
• Patch: National hyperlocal digital news network with dedicated South Bay pages covering the same cities Easy Reader serves. Represents the digital-first competitive model for local news and SMB advertising.
• The Beach Reporter: Community newspaper covering Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and the surrounding South Bay area. Closely comparable in geography, format (print + digital), and hyperlocal editorial focus.
• Daily Breeze: Long-standing daily newspaper covering the South Bay including Torrance, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach—the same micro-market Easy Reader serves. Both compete for the same local advertisers and reader attention in overlapping coverage zones.

Broad incumbents

• Los Angeles Times: Dominant regional newspaper with broader LA County coverage that includes occasional South Bay stories. Represents the broad incumbent competing for some regional and classified advertising share.

Regional players

• Easy Reader Press / South Bay Magazine: South Bay-focused lifestyle publication covering parts of the same coastal LA geography. Adjacent category (lifestyle/community magazine) targeting overlapping advertisers and readership demographics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/easyreadernews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@easyreadersouthbay7684
• Facebookfacebook.com/EasyReaderNews
• Instagraminstagram.com/easyreadernews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/easy-reader-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Easy Reader News