The publisher of the La Canada Outlook is acquiring three recently closed community newspapers from the parent company of the Los Angeles Times, it was announced Thursday.
Outlook Newspapers owner Charlie Plowman agreed to take immediate ownership of the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Canada Valley Sun two weeks after The Times announced that it was folding the three newspapers.
The Times, in a letter to readers on April 16, called it “a difficult business decision in a trying time for community newspapers compounded by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Plowman, 52, said the plan is to combine the two La Canada papers under the name the La Canada Outlook Valley Sun, and restart the Glendale and Burbank papers with new editions on Saturday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Whether any of the 14 former staff members of the shuttered papers would be rehired was not immediately known.
“We are thrilled to have acquired three iconic newspapers with deep roots and historic legacies in their respective communities,” Plowman said. “I heard the outpouring from local residents, as to how much they love these publications, and want to support them.
“Our goal is to increase the coverage in the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader, and expand our coverage of La Canada with the newly-combined publications, in the months to come,” he said. “We can do that with the support of the community, in terms of both advertisers and subscribers.”
Plowman has published the La Canada Outlook since 1998, later adding the Pasadena Outlook and titles in South Pasadena and San Marino.
“We feel that local journalism is critical to the life of a healthy city,” Plowman said. “What readers will see in the months to come is our commitment to quality journalism as we cover local events, write feature stories, perform investigative reporting and highlight the community’s youth through their achievements in academics, athletics and the arts.”
The Glendale News-Press dates to 1905, and the Burbank Leader was founded in 1985, a successor to the Burbank Daily Review, which was founded in 1908. The La Canada Valley Sun was launched in April 1946.
The Times purchased the News-Press and Leader in 1993 and the Valley Sun in 2005. The papers became part of The Times Community News division. They were distributed for free at local businesses, in newspaper racks and to The Times home-delivery subscribers in those areas.