Boutique travel website Junkets & Jaunts has announced a content distribution partnership with San Diego community newspaper group Local Umbrella Media. The deal involves having J&J’s travel content being picked up and run in Local Umbrella’s 36 community publications, which are mailed to 125,000 San Diego homes each month.
The partnership kicked off in the May 2019 issues of several neighborhood newspapers. Junkets & Jaunts’ recent travel story about sailing in the Santa Barbara Bay ran in several Local Umbrella Media issues, including Hillcrest, University Heights and others.
“I’m excited to join forces with Local Umbrella Media,” says Junkets & Jaunts founder and editor Ron Donoho. “It’s an opportunity for an extra 125,000 people each month to read these unique travel stories.”
While newspapers in general have been in steady decline for years, a report from The Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism shows there are several reasons small, local papers are faring better than bigger ones.
From that Tow Center report: “Local newspapers may be in a stronger position than their metro cousins. While local outlets face the same challenges associated with their larger regional and national counterparts…they’ve experienced notable resilience thanks in part to exclusive content not offered elsewhere, the dynamics of ultra-local advertising markets, and an ability to leverage a physical closeness to their audience.”
Local Umbrella Media
Brad Weber, group publisher of Local Umbrella Media, couldn’t agree more. A veteran of publishing and direct marketing, Weber bought North Park News in 2015 and since then has steadily increased his company’s number of local titles.
“People love news about where they live, and they like well-written stories,” Weber says. “Our papers celebrate the community, and we’re continually getting more requests to come into more areas.”
Currently, Local Umbrella Media’s 36 titles are located all over the greater San Diego area—from Coronado to La Mesa, and Rancho Bernardo to Carlsbad. Papers are not distributed to racks in convenience stores or on streets. Rather, in each community, the newspapers are targeted to homeowners and delivered by mail.
The newspapers’ hyperlocal content aims to be positive and upbeat, focusing on local businesses, lifestyle articles and a range of upcoming events. J&J
