In Re Establishment of Eureka Reporter

To qualify as a “newspaper of general circulation” pursuant to Government Code section 6000, a newspaper must, among other things, have “a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers.” The Eureka Reporter (the Reporter) is a free newspaper, but a small percentage of its recipients contribute money to the Reporter to offset the cost of delivering it. The question before us is whether these recipients constitute a “bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers” within the meaning of section 6000. The answer is no. Our holding is consistent with the plain language of section 6000. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order adjudicating the Reporter a newspaper of general circulation pursuant to section 6000.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Judi Pollace is the publisher of the Reporter, a locally owned newspaper established in 2004 and published in Humboldt County. In early 2007, she petitioned the trial court to declare the Reporter a newspaper of general circulation. (§ 6020.) Her verified petition alleged, among other things, that the Reporter “has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers in Humboldt County and has an average daily circulation…