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Outlet profile

Long Beach Post

U.S. local news, center-left

Owned bySince December 2023, the Long Beach Post has been owned by the Long Beach Journalism Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. A volunteer board of Long Beach residents oversees it. Before that, it was a for-profit outlet owned by Pacific Community Media, a company of local investor John Molina's firm Pacific6. David Sommers is the publisher.
FundingMostly donations and grants, which made up about 81% of reported revenue (roughly $572K of $709K) in fiscal 2025. The rest comes from advertising, sponsorships and other earned revenue. The outlet says it discloses donors who give more than $5,000. Past disclosed donors include local businesses, colleges, the Port of Long Beach and the Long Beach city manager's office. This means some funding comes from local institutions it covers. Molina promised $500,000 to support the nonprofit transition and gave $175,000.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Long Beach Post was founded in 2007 by Shaun Lumachi and Robert Garcia as a local news site. Garcia later became mayor and is now a congressman. After Lumachi died in 2011, ownership changed hands, and in 2013 Garcia and Lumachi's widow sold their remaining stakes to Cindy Allen. In 2014 investor John Molina, a scion of the Molina Healthcare fortune, bought the Post through his company Pacific6 and named David Sommers publisher. Under Pacific Community Media, the company later bought the Long Beach Business Journal. In late 2023, both outlets reorganized as charities under the nonprofit Long Beach Journalism Initiative, which shifted the business model toward donations and grants. The newsroom has faced financial strain, including layoffs and a reporter strike that drew coverage in the local press. Its donor-disclosure policy is meant to address potential conflicts, but it does take money from government-linked and business entities it reports on. Its recent coverage of the second Trump term has focused on local effects, such as ICE operations, protests and National Guard deployments in the Long Beach area. This coverage reports the actions and claims of federal officials but gives substantial space to residents and local officials affected by the policies. The outlet generally publishes straight news rather than partisan opinion, and its tone is moderately left of center on social issues.

Sources

  1. In historic shift, Long Beach Post, Business Journal reorganize as nonprofit newsroom
  2. Who owns the Post?
  3. Our donors
  4. Long Beach Journalism Initiative Form 990 financials
  5. Long Beach Post - InfluenceWatch
  6. Who Owns the Media in Long Beach - The Southlander
  7. Anti-ICE protesters rally in Long Beach, condemn agents' killing of man in Minneapolis
  8. After major enforcement operations, the Trump administration recalibrates its immigration crackdown

Profile compiled 2026-10-21; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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