Bay Area News Group (BANG) is the largest publisher of daily and weekly
newspapers in the
San Francisco Bay Area, including its flagship The Mercury News. A subsidiary of the
Denver-based
MediaNews Group,[2] its corporate headquarters is in
San Jose, California, and publication offices in
San Jose.[3] Since 2010, MediaNews Group has been controlled by Alden Capital.[4] Previously known as ANG (Alameda News Group), the name changed to Bay Area News Group in 2006 after the
MediaNews Group bought The Mercury News and Contra Costa Times from
McClatchy Co.[5] Most production aspects have now moved to The Mercury News facilities in
San Jose, California.
Print
The company structure allows for the ability to share stories between its various newspapers, meaning one
reporter can get the story for all the publications. Newspapers BANG publishes include:[6]
On August 23, 2011, the company announced the reorganization of 11 of its newspapers, with shuttering of all of its East Bay
nameplates under two new publications as of November 2, 2011.[7] The planned merger and publication reorganization was modified in October 2011, when BANG decided to scrap plans to launch the East Bay Tribune and instead consolidate its
East Bay newspapers under the Oakland Tribune name.[8]
The Oakland Tribune, Alameda Times-Star, Hayward Daily Review, Fremont Argus and West County Times were scheduled to publish their last editions on November 1, 2011.[7] The following day, subscribers were to get copies of the new East Bay Tribune; instead the mastheads were made local editions of the Oakland Tribune.
The Contra Costa Times, San Ramon Valley Times, East County Times, Tri-Valley Herald and San Joaquin Herald were scheduled to become the new The Times.[9]
The San Mateo Times was scheduled to publish its last issue on November 1, 2011. As of November 2, 2011, subscribers were to get localized versions of the San Jose Mercury News.[7]
2016 restructuring
In March 2016, BANG announced it would further consolidate its newspapers (other than the Marin Independent Journal) down to two: The East Bay Times and The Mercury News, eliminating the Oakland Tribune and the other papers.[10]