This year marks a major milestone for NorthBay biz magazine—45 years in the business, conducting thousands of interviews with top industry leaders in agriculture, wine, tourism, construction, real estate, engineering, technology, health care, law, finance, insurance and more to bring readers the stories behind the news. In celebration of the magazine’s anniversary, here’s a look back at how it has evolved over the years from Sonoma Business to NorthBay biz.
Early beginnings
The first edition of Sonoma Business launched in January 1976 by three young men—William Byron, David Bolling and John Brill—who had graduated from college two years earlier. They wanted to produce a new magazine aimed at business people in Sonoma County. Their mission was to take a features-oriented look at the business environment in the North Bay. As written in their debut issue, “Sonoma Business is conceived as a practical tool for the local businessperson or for the person looking to get into a local business. It is no-nonsense, dollars and facts-oriented, and at the same time, highly readable.”
The first issue featured an interview with David Packard of the new Hewlett-Packard plant in Santa Rosa, and an essay on the current downtown titled, “Is There Recession Here?” It also included profiles of local business people.
Like many new publications, the magazine had a rocky start going through two editors in the first year before recruiting Guion Kovner, who stepped into the position and stayed there for eight years.
The ’80s and ’90s
In 1984, the founders sold the magazine to Lesher Communications (LCI), which bought up a dozen North Bay newspapers. Sonoma Business, however, was the only glossy magazine it owned. In a feature in the magazine in 2015, Bolling noted that “…the company never understood that the economics of monthly magazines were different from those of daily newspapers.” Profitability suffered under LCI’s corporate leadership. Bolling stayed on for three years after the purchase, but departed in 1986.
Joan Voight became the magazine’s senior editor and made it her mission to professionalize the magazine. During her time there, she was particularly proud of the stories the magazine featured on the decline of unions and the efforts of women to break into the social world of Sonoma County business. When Voight moved on, managing editor Carol Caldwell-Ewart led editorial. Her vision of the magazine was personal, as she kept her father (a small-business owner and entrepreneur who didn’t have the time to take a lot of business management classes) top of mind, as she set the tone and direction of the magazine. Caldwell-Ewart left the magazine in the late 1980s, about the same time the syndicate began taking capital from its newspapers to pay its bills and its future was looking uncertain.
The magazine’s newest editor, Jim Dunn, made the decision to take on the magazine. Though LCI felt the business was unprofitable, Dunn believed it was a matter of poor leadership. “I took a significant risk buying the magazine, but I thought I could run it better than they had, and it turned out I was right,” he said in an article in the March 2015 issue of NorthBay biz. For the next 10 years, Dunn was owner, publisher and senior editor of the magazine.
The 2000s
In 2000, Sonoma Business was up for sale again and three business partners from Chicago—Norm and Joni Rosinski and her brother, John Dennis—were looking to invest in a new publishing venture. They purchased the magazine with the intention of continuing the magazine’s well-established history in the business community.
During the next two years, they made significant changes. They recruited a stronger team of writers and recruited expert columnists to cover topics of specific interest in the North Bay. They also reformatted the magazine, adding new information and original content that offered an in-depth look at issues impacting the business community. But the most dramatic change was to expand the magazine to include Marin and Napa counties. While the partners knew from the many meetings they had with business leaders that the magazine would be warmly received in Napa and Marin, they were concerned that the long-established readership in Sonoma County might resent the magazine’s broader focus to include the North Bay.
In November 2002, the debut issue of NorthBay biz launched and publisher Norm Rosinski addressed the change in his column, titled “Welcoming the Challenge.” He wrote, “It’s generally recognized that the county geographic borders and cultural differences are wonderfully diverse. However, they’re almost non-existent when it comes time to conduct business—then the three counties become one North Bay market, one vibrant trading area.” In the months ahead, the owners found that their initial concerns about expanding were unfounded, found the magazine was well-received, as readers wanted to learn more about what was happening in the business communities of Napa and Marin counties.
By 2003, the publication’s new name—NorthBay biz—was established. For the next 15 years, new editors came and went. There was a school teacher-turned-editor Cathy Fisher, who took the helm. Laura Hagar succeeded her until the end of 2005, when Julie Fadda took over the position as editor, followed by Alexandra Russell, who worked at the magazine until 2016. In 2017, Karen Hart, a long-time freelance writer for the magazine, joined the team as editor, just a year before the magazine would once again go through transformative change.
A new era
Nov. 9, 2017, marked another momentous event in the magazine’s notable history. That autumn it was purchased by Amaturo Sonoma Media Group. ASMG owns a number of stations, including News/Talk KSRO, Froggy 92.9 FM, KHits 104.9 FM, Hot 101.7 FM and 97.7 FM The River, reaching more than 200,000 adults each week. The new publisher, Lawrence Amaturo, took the helm and former partner, John Dennis, remained in his role as president.
“This acquisition presented a new opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Lawrence Amaturo in a special feature in NorthBay biz magazine in his first issue, as the new publisher. “The magazine’s writers and editors will complement our News/Talk stations’ reporters and anchors. And we’ve always known that our reach must go beyond Sonoma County’s borders.”
2020 and beyond
Today, NorthBay biz continues to serve as a local source for news, latest trends, hot topics and information in the business community. Stories from the magazine are featured twice a month on the KSRO Morning News/Talk program with host Pat Kerrigan, broadening the magazine’s presence in the North Bay.
Amaturo continues at the helm as publisher, along with Dennis, president of operations, and Michael O’Shea, president of ASMG. Karen Hart leads the editorial team, with Luke Straub, associate editor, and Frank Sumrall, digital media associate, on staff. The magazine’s creative team includes David Brawley, design director, and Anne Schenk, graphic artist. Leading the sales staff is sales manager Blake Bascherini and longtime marketing professional, Lori Rooney, who’s been with the magazine for 10 years.
NorthBay biz produces 12 monthly issues each year, along with three bonus issues, which include the Top 500, GameChangers, and a special wine issue for the harvest season.
As the magazine continues to evolve and grow, it continues to serve as a vital, features-oriented resource of the North Bay’s business community. And just as the magazine’s tagline promises “Helping grow your business isn’t just something we do…it’s all we do!”
