# Santa Monica Daily Press

The Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP) is a free daily newspaper, website, newsletter and podcast in Santa Monica, California. Established in 2001 by Dave Danforth, Carolyn Sackariason, and Ross Furukawa, today it is published by Furukawa and Todd James. SMDP is the only local daily newspaper in the city, with a print circulation of 8,500 (Monday–Friday), an email newsletter reaching over https://smdp.com/newsletter/ subscribers (Monday–Saturday) with a 74% open rate, and a news website consisting of over 40k pages of local news that generates 600,000 to 1.2 million page views per month. Operating on an advertising-supported model, 89% of its readership is located within an eight-mile radius of downtown Santa Monica, with a demographic profile skewing toward high-income, highly educated individuals with above-average disposable income.

## News Products

The Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP) print edition is the newspaper of record for the city of Santa Monica. Founded in 2001, it publishes a print edition five days a week (Monday–Friday) and was legally adjudicated as a newspaper of general circulation for Los Angeles County in 2004, allowing it to accept legal notices such as DBAs, name changes, liens, summons, and probate sales.
SMDP’s website has the highest domain authority of any local site in Santa Monica, hosting over 40,000 pages of locally generated news content. Its current version was developed in partnership with the Google News Initiative after graduating from multiple Google News Accelerator programs. The newspaper also publishes The Current, a daily digital newsletter with over 30,000 double-opted-in subscribers and a 74% open rate.
The SMDP Events Calendar serves as a central hub for events in Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood, and West Los Angeles, aggregating listings from hundreds of civic, entertainment, and specialty calendars across Los Angeles. It is the most comprehensive events resource for the region, covering classes, music, and entertainment.
The newspaper produces the Inside the Daily Press podcast, releasing one to three new episodes weekly. In-house series The Dive and Reporter’s Notebook are recorded in its office/studio, located in the historic former Rundown Studios, where Bob Dylan and other musicians recorded in the 1970s and ’80s.
SMDP partners annually with the City of Santa Monica and local business organizations for the Santa Monica Most Loved contest, the city's official "Best of" competition. Other annual publications include Tis the Season, the LA Marathon Official Race Guide, and a Breast Cancer Awareness special, along with various custom publishing projects.
In 2023, SMDP launched the Local News Heroes membership program, inviting readers to support investigative and in-depth local reporting. Members receive benefits such as fewer ads, exclusive in-person events, and special newsroom access for story and investigation collaboration.

## Staff

As of January 2025, the official website editor-in-chief is Matthew Hall, and the staff writers are Thomas Leffler and Scott Snowden.
Daniel Archuleta was the managing editor for seven years before his death in 2014.

## History

The three founding partners—Carolyn Sackariason, Ross Furukawa, and Dave Danforth—had worked with free daily newspapers in Colorado. They were attracted to Santa Monica's similarities to Aspen and saw an opening in the market when the city's only daily, The Evening Outlook, folded. In February 2018, Todd James joined this new venture as a partner.
Carolyn Sackariason was the first person to hold the title of editor in chief at the Daily Press, but behind the scenes she was performing many other roles: reporter, researcher, scheduler, community outreach leader, copy editor, and even delivery person. Sackariason was the first reporter on scene after the 2003 Farmers Market massacre, when 86-year-old George Russell Weller plowed his car through the market, slaying 10 people, including a three-year-old girl and seven-month-old boy. When Sackariason moved back to Colorado, Michael Tittinger took over as editor in chief.
Tittinger converted the Saturday edition into a magazine-like format, centered on a deep-dive article, unconstrained by the quick, turn-and-burn nature of weekday stories. Current editor Matt Hall revived this tradition in the summer of 2021, and the issue continues as an important outlet for investigative and feature reporting. Tittinger also launched a quotes-of-the-week section, gathering witty or salient remarks from locals and local figures. It predated the now-viral “overheard at” pages on social media and made the community feel more involved with the paper.

## Editors

* Carolyn Sackariason, 2001–2006
* Michael Tittinger, 2006–2007
* Kevin Herrera, 2008–2014
* Matt Hall, 2014–present