Pacific Sun

What Pacific Sun does

Pacific Sun is a community weekly news publication founded in 1963 and headquartered in San Rafael, Marin County, California. It operates as part of the Weeklys media group, which owns multiple alternative weeklies across the Bay Area. The publication delivers hyperlocal coverage of news, government, arts and entertainment, dining, wellness, and community events to Marin County residents, and extends its product surface through four digital sub-brand magazines (50up, Profiles, Boheme, Explore) distributed via Issuu.

The underlying technology stack is a standard web publishing platform delivering articles across the News, Arts & Entertainment, Columns, Food & Drink, Best Of, Calendar, and Magazines sections of pacificsun.com, with a digital e-edition replica served through PageSuite and event-submission functionality powered by CitySpark. The publication has no proprietary technology features, no mobile app, no API, and no AI capabilities. Distribution is multi-channel: a print edition distributed to racks across Marin County, the primary website, the PageSuite e-edition, and active social profiles on Facebook (3,002 fans), Instagram, and Twitter/X (3,850 followers), supplemented by email newsletters.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (i) local advertising including display ads, classifieds, obituaries via Legacy.com, legal advertising via PublishMyNotice, and event promotions via CitySpark; (ii) print and digital subscriptions; and (iii) the annual Best of Marin awards event, which produces sponsored-category and voting-participation revenue across 11 subcategories. The primary customer segments are Marin County residents seeking local news and local businesses seeking community-targeted advertising reach. The publication maintains a small editorial staff of 11-50 employees led by Editor Daedalus Howell, with reporter Nikki Silverstein (20-year tenure) and contributor interns.

Name

Pacific Sun

Legal name

Pacific Sun

Website

https://pacificsun.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pacific Sun is a community weekly news publication serving Marin County, California, delivering hyperlocal news, arts, dining, and event coverage to local residents and advertising reach to local businesses, distributed via print, web, and four digital sub-brand magazines as part of the Weeklys media group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local newspaper publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local news publication
• Weekly newspaper
• Community journalism
• Arts entertainment coverage
• Marin county news

Headquarters

HQ city

San Rafael

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Local businesses advertise through display ads, classified ads, obituaries, public notices, and legal advertising. The publication offers digital advertising options and a media kit for advertisers.
2. Subscriptions: Print and digital subscription options available for readers seeking ongoing access to local news content.
3. Events and Awards: Annual Best of Marin awards event generates revenue through participation fees and sponsored categories.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pacific Sun is a weekly newspaper and digital news publication serving Marin County, California. It produces original local journalism covering community news, local government, arts, entertainment, dining, wellness, and lifestyle content, distributing through a weekly print edition, the pacificsun.com website, a Pagesuite-powered digital E-Edition, and a portfolio of branded sub-publications including 50up, Profiles, Boheme, and Explore.

Product overview

Pacific Sun is a local news publication serving Marin County, California, operating as a single unified media brand with both digital (website and e-edition) and print distribution channels. The publication's core offering is its weekly news coverage spanning local news, features, arts and entertainment, dining, wellness, and community events. Pacific Sun also publishes several specialty magazine sub-brands including 50up, Profiles, Boheme, and Explore, which are distributed through the publisher's network and digital publishing platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pacific Sun Weekly Publication The flagship weekly newspaper of Marin County covering local news, local government, arts, entertainment, dining, wellness, lifestyle, and community events for individual readers and local advertisers.
• Pacific Sun E-Edition A digital replica edition of the weekly print publication, delivered through the Pagesuite e-edition platform for subscribers who prefer to read online rather than in print.
• 50up Magazine A branded sub-publication of Pacific Sun targeting the 50-and-up demographic with curated lifestyle, wellness, and community content, distributed via Issuu.
• Profiles Magazine A branded sub-publication of Pacific Sun providing feature-style profiles of Marin County personalities, businesses, and community figures, distributed via Issuu.
• Boheme Magazine A branded sub-publication of Pacific Sun focused on arts, culture, and bohemian-style lifestyle content for Marin County readers, distributed via Issuu.
• Explore Magazine A branded sub-publication of Pacific Sun featuring outdoor recreation, travel, and local exploration content for Marin County residents, distributed via Issuu.
• Best of Marin Awards Event An annual community awards event that recognizes top local businesses, attractions, and services in Marin County, monetized via paid participation and sponsored categories while reinforcing Pacific Sun's brand authority in the local market.

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Weeklys (Parent Company)coreOthersPacific Sun is part of the Weeklys publication group, a network of community newspapers and magazines serving the California Bay Area and Central Coast regions. The Weeklys network includes other local publications such as East Bay Express, Metro Silicon Valley, North Bay Bohemian, and various community weeklies.
• PublishMyNoticeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPacific Sun partners with PublishMyNotice for handling legal notices, public notices, and legal advertising, redirecting these services to a specialized platform.
• Legacy.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPacific Sun partners with Legacy.com for obituary services, redirecting obituary submissions and listings to the Legacy.com platform.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SF Weekly: Long-running San Francisco alternative weekly with comparable coverage categories (news, arts, music, food, opinion) reaching a nearby but distinct Bay Area audience at larger scale.

Direct peers

• East Bay Express: Sister Weeklys alternative weekly serving the East Bay with the same content categories (news, A&E, food, columns, Best Of awards); structurally identical business model under shared ownership.
• North Bay Bohemian: Alternative weekly serving the North Bay under the same Weeklys parent, with overlapping arts, music, dining, and community event coverage in adjacent Marin/Sonoma geography.
• Metro Silicon Valley: Another Weeklys alternative weekly covering Silicon Valley, with parallel editorial sections, sub-brand magazines on Issuu, and Best Of awards framework mirroring Pacific Sun.
• Marin Independent Journal: Daily newspaper covering Marin County with overlapping local news, advertising, and subscription offerings; the closest direct competitor for Marin readers and advertisers.
• Marin Magazine: Local lifestyle magazine focused on Marin County covering dining, arts, real estate and community profiles, directly competing for the same affluent reader and local advertiser base.

Emerging players

• Berkeleyside: Independent local digital news outlet serving Berkeley, exemplifying the community-funded online news model that competes for Bay Area reader attention and local advertising dollars.
• Lookout Santa Cruz: Member-supported digital local news startup in coastal Northern California, demonstrating a modern subscription-and-engagement model that contrasts with Pacific Sun's traditional print+advertising approach.

Regional players

• Point Reyes Light: Hyperlocal West Marin news outlet covering community news within Pacific Sun's broader Marin footprint, serving overlapping readers with a narrower geographic focus.
• Bohemian (Sonoma County): Alternative weekly covering Sonoma County with similar lifestyle and arts coverage, competing for overlapping North Bay advertisers and event audiences just outside Pacific Sun's core Marin geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pacificsun
• Facebookfacebook.com/PacificSunNews
• Instagraminstagram.com/pacificsunweekly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-sun-newspaper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Pacific Sun