About Petaluma360.com

About the Petaluma Argus-Courier and Petaluma 360.com

The Petaluma Argus-Courier is an award-winning weekly newspaper committed to excellence in community journalism. The roots of the Argus-Courier go back to 1855 -- three years before Petaluma was incorporated as a city. Thomas L. Thompson published the first local paper on Aug. 18, 1855 -- the Petaluma Weekly Journal.

The Petaluma Argus made its first appearance in the fall of 1859 under the proprietorship of J.J. Pennypacker. In 1864, the Argus merged with the Journal, becoming the Petaluma Journal and Argus. In 1873, the name Journal was dropped from the masthead and the paper became the Petaluma Weekly Argus. By the late 1890s, it had evolved into the Daily Argus.

The paper was owned by the Olmsted family from 1900 to 1965. The Olmsteds bought the Petaluma Courier in 1928 and merged the two papers into the Petaluma Argus-Courier that year. They continued to publish both a morning and an evening edition until 1953, when the morning edition was discontinued. In 1965, the Argus-Courier was sold to Scripps League Newspapers.

In May of 1993, the newspaper was redesigned and its frequency changed to twice a week. In 1996, Scripps sold its newspaper holdings to Pulitzer Inc. In February of 1999, the paper underwent another transformation to a weekly tabloid configuration. On Sept. 1, 2001, the New York Times Company bought the Argus-Courier and the paper was redesigned to its current broadsheet style. With each change, the paper placed more emphasis on local news.

Petaluma Magazine, a quarterly full color glossy publication, launched in 2004 and has been enthusiastically embraced by both readers and advertisers throughout Petaluma who appreciate the in-depth community feature coverage offered in its pages.

The Argus-Courier's award-winning Web site, Petaluma360.com, was launched in 2007 and includes breaking news updates, photo galleries, local videos, a lively forums section, bloggers, news archives, local search capability, a comprehensive community calendar and much more.

The Argus-Courier news staff has won numerous awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for writing, photography, reporting, design, public service and editorial commentary. In 2008, the Argus-Courier took home first place awards for General Excellence and Best Web Site among all mid-sized weekly newspapers in California.

The Argus-Courier's office is located at 719C Southpoint Blvd., just past the Redwood Club and before the Department of Motor Vehicles office.