California Post will premiere in Los Angeles Jan. 26 in a much-anticipated debut, ushering in what its sister publication, New York Post, calls a “new era of common sense and accountability” in Southern California.
Seven days a week, the News Corp. subsidiary will bring print and digital news from its new Century City newsroom on the Fox studio lot. Beyond its home base, Los Angeles has the second-largest concentration of New York Post readers, racking up 3.5 million unique visitors a month. That favorably positioned the expansion, according to the initial announcement in August from New York Post Media Group.
Ever contrarian, the conservative-leaning tabloid will mirror its New York counterpart in coverage and tone, the company said.
“From January 26, we will be setting the agenda, entertaining and disrupting the status quo,” said California Post Editor-in-Chief Nick Papps in a Jan. 5 statement. “People are tired of legacy media, they want change, and that change starts on January 26.”
Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp., said last August that the Post was “an antidote to the jaundiced, jaded journalism that has sadly proliferated.”
Truth is, local journalism has been going through a lot.
Legacy news media companies are struggling. The 144-year-old Los Angeles Times saw dwindling subscription and advertising sales, with Adweek reporting a revenue loss of $50 million and London-based Press Gazette pointing out a 25% drop in daily print circulation in 2024. The publication hemorrhaged at least 115 employees – or over 20% of its newsroom – January 2024 and laid off 14 more last May. Billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong also announced his plan last July to take the newspaper public through a Regulation A offering, or a “mini IPO” with a limit capped at $75 million. The decision attracted criticism not only from his staff but also media analysts who said Soon-Shiong was lowballing the company.
National Public Radio affiliates LAist and KCRW recently faced layoffs too, while alternative newspaper LA Weekly saw an editorial level exodus in March 2024 after a buyout announcement from the publisher.
California Post seems eager to make waves despite.
“Already, the reaction to our arrival and investment in journalism in this state has been so positive,” said Papps. “The California Post will be a game-changer across news, sports, opinion and entertainment.”