The Mendocino Beacon began publishing in 1877, when William Heeser started what is today the oldest continuously operating newspaper on the Mendocino Coast. In 1889 Heeser started another paper in Fort Bragg, the Advocate, which he kept until 1892. His son, August “Auggie” Heeser, eventually succeeded William as publisher and editor. In 1927, at the age of 29, Auggie purchased the Fort Bragg News
and the Advocate, and combined them to form the Fort Bragg Advocate and News. After Auggie Heeser died in 1966, The Beacon was acquired by his nephew, Francis “Al” Nichols, who sold it to Mendocino Publishing Co. That same year Mendocino Publishing Co. purchased the Advocate-News, which brought it and The Beacon together under a single owner. Ownership changed once more in 1984 when Donrey Media Group purchased the papers. In 1999 the papers’ owner went into partnership with Denver-based MediaNews Group. In 2000, after 123 years, production of The Beacon was moved to the same location as the Fort Bragg Advocate-News. This was no easy decision for Publisher Sharon DiMauro. However, increasing costs made it difficult to justify keeping the Mendocino office open, especially since the majority of work on the paper was done at the Fort Bragg office. Nowadays, the Internet versions of The Mendocino Beacon and the Fort Bragg Advocate-News provide increased exposure for both our local news and community advertising.
