FAIRFIELD — The Daily Republic continues to be the best source of central Solano County news and events for residents who want to know what is happening in their community.
One of Solano County’s oldest newspapers continues to be one of the best windows on Fairfield, Suisun City and its surrounding communities whether in print or online.
One of the greatest challenges the newspaper industry faces in California is the fallout of Assembly Bill 5, the so-called gig economy law. It forces newspaper companies large and small across the state to reclassify those who deliver newspapers as employees rather than as independent contractors.
That aspect of the law is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
The added expense that comes with reclassifying independent contractors to employees will be too great for most small community newspapers to absorb. Many of California’s small communities only have a single outlet focused on local journalism and without these community newspapers, local news gathering and reporting on crime, government, schools and the community will be greatly reduced or disappear.
The hope is that lawmakers in Sacramento understand the consequences of this bill and that readers will voice their opinions to their elected officials and support legislation to delay implementation until Jan. 1, 2023.
“The only way we’ll be able to change this law and help community newspapers survive is with the support of our readers who understand the importance of local journalism,” Daily Republic Co-publisher T. Burt McNaughton said. “With the tremendous growth in apps, social media and other ways to find and consume news, it’s crucial that community newspapers evolve with these platforms and offer local news to whichever platform the user chooses to consume it. Our growth in providing digital advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses has been a bright spot for our business.”
McNaughton notes that no longer is the newspaper restricted to the coverage area of the printed products when helping clients grow their business. The Daily Republic can now help its clients target their consumers anywhere they are in the United States, utilizing a variety of digital solutions that include website design, programmatic display, native, geo-fencing, social media, Connected TV, streaming radio, email, paid search and organic search.
“Another differentiator that has set us apart is the fact that we provide our clients access to one of the most comprehensive and transparent reporting tools available for multiplatform advertising, which our clients can access 24/7. It has been very exciting being on the forefront of digital technology and having the ability to add quality targeted digital solutions to our media mix to help our clients reach their target consumers,” McNaughton said.
Under one name or another, the Daily Republic has covered central Solano County’s news since before the Civil War – from the area’s rural roots as a jumping-off spot for the gold rush to today’s much more urban, high-tech society.
The Daily Republic got its start as two newspapers – the Solano County Herald and the Solano Press. The Herald was first issued in Benicia in November 1855. It moved to Suisun City with its first publication there on Oct. 2, 1858, with offices in a building on the south side of the city plaza. It was the first newspaper in the nation to editorially support Abraham Lincoln for president.
The Solano Press was created in 1862 in Suisun City. Seven years later, the Herald and the Press were consolidated and renamed the Solano Republican.
The Solano County Herald moved from Benicia to Suisun City in 1858 and started printing in Suisun City in 1862. These newspapers consolidated into the Solano Republican not long after.
The Solano Republican was bought in 1919 by David Weir, who was not only a journalist, but a historian who published travel books and the biography of clipper ship captain and Fairfield founder Robert Waterman.
J. Clifton Toney bought the newspaper in 1949 and sold it to Dean McNaughton in 1960. The McNaughton family has been involved in the newspaper business since the 1920s.
Under Dean McNaughton’s guidance, the Solano Republican’s readership grew and changed from a weekly to a five-day paper and then to a daily publication. When it changed to a daily, its name changed to the Daily Republic.
It has since served as the window to the community and the world for its readers, as well as receiving accolades year after year from the California News Publishers Association.
Whether it is in print or online, the Daily Republic has consistently brought its readers all the news that affects its distribution area, from Fairfield, Suisun City and Travis Air Force Base; to Vacaville, Dixon and Winters; to Rio Vista and back to Suisun Valley and Green Valley.
The paper hits about 10,500 doorsteps in Fairfield and Suisun City, as well as Vacaville, Rio Vista and Winters.
The Daily Republic went to publishing its print edition six days a week (it doesn’t publish on Tuesdays) in 2013, but keeps its website edition fresh seven days a week.
More and more people are turning to the newspaper’s website as well to find out what’s going on.
The Daily Republic prides itself on giving its readers a wide offering of local, state, national and international news along with sports, entertainment, commentary and business.
Daily Republic at a Glance
- President/CEO/Publisher: Foy McNaughton, 427-6962, [email protected]
- Co-publisher: T. Burt McNaughton, 427-6943, [email protected]
- Chief Operations Officer: Richard Esposito, 427-6937, [email protected]
- Advertising Director: Bill Barno, 427-6937, [email protected]
- Managing Editor: Glen Faison, 427-6925, [email protected].
- Address: 1250 Texas St., Fairfield, P.O. Box 47, Fairfield, CA 94533
- Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (hours currently reduced to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. due to the novel coronavirus pandemic)
- Phone numbers: Circulation: 427-6989 ([email protected]); Classifieds/Front Office: 427-6936 ([email protected]); Display Ads: 425-4646; Subscriber services and delivery concerns: 427-6989; Sports Department: 425-4646, ext. 264; Newsroom: 425-4646.
- Website: www.dailyrepublic.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/DailyRepublic
