The Argonaut

What The Argonaut does

The Argonaut is a community newspaper serving the Westside of Los Angeles, distributed free of charge every Thursday across Del Rey, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Santa Monica, Venice, and Westchester, with a stated weekly distribution of approximately 30,000 copies. Founded in 1971 and operating as a member publication under Times Media Group, Inc. (a conglomerate focused on local journalism), it holds adjudicated Newspaper of General Circulation status in Los Angeles County, which confers standing for publishing public notices and legals. The publication covers local news, community events, business, arts and entertainment, education, youth activities, and opinion content for Westside LA residents, supported by a small team of roughly 11–50 employees including editorial, photography, and sales staff.

The product portfolio is single-product: the weekly print newspaper plus a companion digital edition accessible via the PageSuite professional platform on the website (argonautnews.com). Distribution extends across free weekly print drop, the website with sections for News, Community, Business, Opinion, Arts & Events, Youth, Education, and Westside Happenings, an Affiliate Content feed sourced from external providers, and organic social channels on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and Vimeo, plus an email newsletter. There is no mobile app, no paid digital subscription product, and no disclosed proprietary technology platform beyond standard CMS and digital-edition infrastructure.

The business model is primarily advertising-led. Revenue streams include display advertising (sold by a Director of Sales and a National Sales Director), classified advertising, public notices and legal advertising (leveraging the adjudicated circulation status), and affiliate/sponsored content; reader subscriptions are free. Customer segments are local residents of Westside LA on the read side and small-to-medium local businesses, services, and real estate advertisers on the buy side. Pricing is freemium for readers, with advertising sold directly through a small sales team and dedicated contact channels.

Name

The Argonaut

Legal name

Times Media Group, Inc.

Website

https://argonautnews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Argonaut is a free weekly community newspaper serving the Westside of Los Angeles (Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey, and surrounding communities) with ~30,000 weekly print distribution and an accompanying digital edition, generating revenue primarily from local display, classified, and public-notice advertising under Times Media Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper / Community News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Community newspaper
• Local news
• Print publishing
• Display advertising
• Public notices

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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. Display Advertising: Local businesses advertise through display advertising placements in the newspaper and on the website. Contact sales team via Nick Oliveri (Director of Sales) and [email protected].
2. Classified Advertising: Classified ads for employment, services, and other categories. Contact [email protected] or 480-898-5624.
3. Public Notices/Legals: Legal and public notice publications, an adjudicated Newspaper of General Circulation. Contact [email protected] or 480-898-5624.
4. Subscription Revenue: Free subscription available for digital/print delivery, with subscription options promoted on the website.
5. Affiliate/Sponsored Content: Third-party affiliate content provided by external services, clearly labeled as not reflecting views of Times Media Group.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Argonaut publishes a free weekly community newspaper covering local news, community events, business, arts, education, opinion, youth activities, and public notices for Westside Los Angeles neighborhoods including Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, and surrounding communities. The publication also offers a digital edition through its website and a digital editions platform, supported by display, classified, and public notice advertising sold to local businesses.

Product overview

The Argonaut is a single-product local newspaper publication that delivers community journalism to the Westside of Los Angeles. The publication offers its core newspaper product in both print (weekly distribution) and digital formats (website and digital editions). The product portfolio consists of the main newspaper and its digital edition companion, with no additional modules, sub-products, or platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Argonaut Weekly Newspaper A free weekly community newspaper covering local news, community events, business, arts and entertainment, education, youth activities, opinion, and public notices for Westside Los Angeles neighborhoods (Del Rey, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester). It is an adjudicated Newspaper of General Circulation with distribution of approximately 30,000.
• Digital Editions Online digital edition of the weekly newspaper accessible through argonautnews.com via the PageSuite professional platform, allowing readers to view the publication in an interactive digital format on any device.
• Display Advertising Paid display advertising placements in the weekly print newspaper and on argonautnews.com, sold to local businesses through the Director of Sales (Nick Oliveri) and Times Media Group sales team.
• Classified Advertising Classified ad placements for employment, services, and other categories, sold via [email protected] / 480-898-5624.
• Public Notices / Legals Advertising Legal and public notice publication placements in The Argonaut, leveraging its adjudicated Newspaper of General Circulation status; coordinated via [email protected] / 480-898-5624.
• argonautnews.com Website The Argonaut's full content website with sections for News, Community, Business, Opinion, Arts & Events, Youth, Education, Westside Happenings, Obituaries, and Digital Editions, plus free email newsletter subscription.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Times Media GroupcoreOthersThe Argonaut is a proud member of Times Media Group, a company committed to the preservation and advancement of local journalism. Times Media Group is recognized with numerous awards for journalistic excellence and offers effective platforms for advertisers seeking to reach local audiences while investing in communities they serve.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Canyon News: LA-area local community newspaper covering neighborhoods across the San Fernando Valley and greater LA — a comparable free-distribution, community-focused weekly serving overlapping SMB advertiser segments.
• LA Weekly: Alternative weekly covering Los Angeles with print + digital editions, arts and culture coverage, and display advertising — a more urban alt-weekly peer that competes for the same local advertiser pool and reader attention.
• Larchmont Chronicle: Hyperlocal weekly newspaper serving the Larchmont Village and Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles, with a free distribution model and community-focused journalism mirroring The Argonaut's operating approach.
• Beverly Press / Park LaBrea News: Long-standing LA community newspapers covering Beverly Hills, Mid-Wilshire, and surrounding areas with weekly print distribution and local advertising — comparable format, audience, and revenue mix to The Argonaut.
• The Eastsider LA: Hyperlocal digital news site covering Eastside LA neighborhoods with community journalism — comparable hyperlocal coverage model and competing for LA SMB advertising spend, though in a different geography.
• Santa Monica Daily Press: The Santa Monica Daily Press is a community newspaper covering Santa Monica and neighboring Westside LA areas — directly overlapping The Argonaut's geography and SMB advertiser base with similar print + digital local news model.

Emerging players

• Patch: Network of hyperlocal digital news sites serving individual towns and neighborhoods nationwide, including several Westside LA communities — competes with The Argonaut for digital local news audiences and SMB advertisers in overlapping ZIP codes.
• Nextdoor: Hyperlocal neighborhood social network that delivers local news and information to Westside LA residents — an emerging competitor for the same community-news audience attention and a potential SMB advertising channel substitute.

Broad incumbents

• Los Angeles Times: The dominant LA daily newspaper; covers Westside LA communities within a much broader geographic scope, competing for both reader attention and major local advertisers despite operating at vastly different scale.

Others

• Times Media Group (sister publications): The parent conglomerate's network of community newspapers — internally comparable in editorial and operational model, often bundled in shared sales efforts and shared back-office, making them both peers and corporate siblings to The Argonaut.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArgonautNews
• YouTubevimeo.com/user213011425
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheArgonautNews
• Instagraminstagram.com/argonautnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 The Argonaut