| Type | Alternative weekly |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | News Time Media Group |
| Editor | Camillia Lanham |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Santa Maria, California |
| Circulation | 12,000 (as of 2023)[1] |
| Sister newspapers | New Times |
| Website | santamariasun |
The Santa Maria Sun is an American free weekly newspaper that serves Santa Maria, California and Santa Barbara County.[2] Edited by Camillia Lanham,[3] it is published on Thursdays.[2]
History
[edit]The Sun was founded in 2000 by Steve Moss, who saw a need for a weekly community newspaper that could act as a “town square where everybody could participate.”[4]
Shortly after its founding, Lompoc, California Economic Development Committee member Justin Ruhge contributed a controversial editorial to the Nov. 16 issue. It stated that "Muslims are out to destroy our world."[5]
Steve Moss died in 2005.[4] For fifteen years, Ryan Miller edited the Sun. During the 2005 Michael Jackson trial in Santa Maria, Miller provided local commentary for national and international news outlets.[6][7] Miller left the Sun in 2015.[8]
Awards
[edit]In 2013, the Sun won an award for its investigation of a corrections officer's death at the Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc. The Sun uncovered a pattern of administrative malfeasance and abuse that may have contributed to the death of two corrections officers.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "NTMG Media Kit 2023 by New Times, San Luis Obispo - Issuu". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- ^ a b Stevenson, Paula. "Research Newspapers by State: California" (PDF). gotoanr.com. American Newspaper Representatives. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Santa Maria Sun". USNPL. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Steve Moss, 56: Started Two Weekly Papers and 55-Word Short Story Contest". The Los Angeles Times. 17 May 2005.
- ^ "Panelist Faces Ouster Over Anti-Muslim Letter". The Los Angeles Times. 24 Nov 2001.
- ^ Inskeep, Steve (9 June 2005). "Santa Maria: More than the Michael Jackson trial". NPR Morning Edition.
- ^ Glaister, Dan (31 January 2005). "About a boy". The Guardian.
- ^ Blackburn, Daniel (17 April 2015). "New Times' staff riddled by departures". Cal Coast News.
- ^ Saylor, Teri (10 September 2013). "'We have got to be the people's eyes, ears, and the squeaky wheel with our voices'". NNA News. National Newspaper Association.