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Mission & Company Culture

Founded in 1988, we're evolving with an unrelenting focus on public benefit, recognizing the value and responsibility that comes with being a locally owned and independent media company. We have learned firsthand that good journalism is good business. 

For years our unofficial focus has been on a triple-bottom line: people, planet and profits. Back in 1991 we revived a funky, run-down office building in Seaside, California into an airy, open, and energetic place. Turns out the great architect Charles Moore was the original designer of the building — many a staff person will tell you that the office itself, working in our mid-century modern building, is an unofficial employee benefit.

More than a third of our staff have worked at the Monterey County Weekly for more than 10 years. Our employee benefit package includes both a healthy 401(k) match and profit sharing. We also provide a masseuse for chair massages on our deadline day, weekly deliveries of fresh-picked, organic produce grown by a local farmer and memberships at a local fitness center. After working here for a number of years you can even take a "well" day (yes, you can take the day off by calling in well).
 
We continue to be committed to being a leader and steward of the environment, a challenge but worthwhile expense for nearly every business in this age. We started using recycled newsprint and soy ink for our newspaper as soon as they became commercially available in the early 1990s. In 2007, we became the first newspaper in the country to provide 100 percent of our company's electrical power from sunshine, installing a 33kw solar energy system on our rooftop. In 2013, after a series of upgrades to improve our heating, ventilation and recycling program (toss in some composting), we earned LEED Platinum: Existing Building, the highest level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (and the first commercial building in the tri-county area to obtain this certification), further pressing our Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

What's next? We do our best to live our mission every week, to continue to create and recreate our company that serves the public benefit, best we can. 

Our mission is to inspire independent thinking and conscious action, etc. With a print, web, mobile, tablet and video platform, we've become Media for the 21st Century.

 

 

 

In Print