New Daily Hits Street This Week

By Teresa Rochester

Nov. 12 -- With little fanfare, a new daily Santa Monica newspaper is set to hit stands early this week, joining a crowd of weeklies and Web sites competing to inform local readers in the wake of The Outlook's closure three and a half years ago.

The Santa Monica Daily Press, with an approximate circulation of 4,000 copies, is set to quietly launch its first edition on Monday or Tuesday, sources said. It will primarily be available in downtown Santa Monica.

The paper was founded by Dave Danforth, who co-founded the Aspen Daily News in 1978; Ross Furukawa, who served as the Aspen paper's publisher, and Carolyn Sackariason, who will serve as the Santa Monica paper's editor. The Aspen newspaper has a circulation of 12,350, according to its Web site.

Word of a new Santa Monica newspaper has been circulating for a little more than a month. This week City officials began receiving phone calls from Sackariason and a reporter. In several of the calls, the representatives declined to give an affiliation.

When reached by The Lookout, Sackariason confirmed the Daily Press will launch soon but declined to give details about the paper.

City spokesperson Judy Rambeau met Sackariason Friday at City Hall at a hearing held by Assembly member Fran Pavley.

"She came and introduced herself," Rambeau said. "We will add them to the media list. We wish them well."

Santa Monica's media list has grown since the 123-year-old Outlook folded in March 1998. Currently four weeklies -- the Santa Monica Mirror, the Santa Monica Bay Week, The Argonaut and the Santa Monica Observer -- publish in the City. The Santa Monica Sun is an entertainment-focused publication printed monthly. Plans by at least one of the publications to print daily have not materialized.

As a result, the only daily news is currently provided on the Internet.

In the last year a number of Santa Monica-based publications have been vying for the legal distinction of being a general circulation newspaper in the city in order to reap lucrative City advertising dollars. So far none has been successful.

Last month a Santa Monica Superior Court judge turned down a request by Observer publisher David Ganezer to have his publication recognized as Santa Monica's "Official Newspaper."

Santa Monica Bay Week Publisher, Steve Hadland, is expected to apply for general circulation newspaper status in the near future.

Although it is perceived as a lucrative market, Santa Monica has proven elusive for even large newspapers with deep pockets. After the demise of The Outlook, The Los Angeles Times launched Our Times, which appeared twice a week.

After initial talk of going daily, the supplement folded last year. So did the Times' Westside Weekly, a supplement targeting the Santa Monica area, which ceased publication in September.