About Us: The Story Behind the Headlines

In just under five years’ time, Pasadena Now.com founders James Macpherson and Candice Merrill have managed to build an online community newspaper the “old fashioned way” – daily deadlines, plenty of shoe leather, and a grueling schedule of personally attending dozens of community events every month.

Pasadena Now.com has come to fill a communication vacuum for many local public service entities, merchants, residents, non-profits and community organizations, a vacuum created as Pasadena-area media adjusted to the economic realities of print and began to cover greater geographic areas in less detail, Macpherson says.

Since 2005, Pasadena Now.com has published literally thousands of local news stories for this community of about 150,000 people.

The growth of digital media in the United States has been remarkable and seems to have been at the expense of printed publications.  The audience for American newspaper websites is up almost a third over last year, whereas recent circulation figures for printed newspapers show their steepest six-month decline in at least 15 years.

In an ironic twist, statistics show that newspapers now are read primarily on the internet not on paper (in a recent quarter, readers viewed 2.7 billion pages online vs. 1.9 billion pages in print).

While print circulations stagnate, the number of U.S. households with Internet access rove 31% over the past three years, and the number with broadband access increased more than sevenfold.  Internet advertising revenues jumped 55% during the same period, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.  From 2001 to2005, spending on the internet content nearly tripled, according to Online Publishers Associations.

“I believe that every newspaper has a great future online, and that within five years every newspaper will be available online, free of charge,”  says Macpherson.  “At Pasadena Now.com, we’re bringing that future today.  Our goal is continued growth as a unique digital media company and internet resource focused squarely on Pasadena.”

“We are dedicated to serving the citizens, businesses and stakeholders in the Pasadena community by connecting residents and visitors to relevant and in many cases vital information.  Pasadena Now. com resonates with readers because it offers what they need plain and simple”, Macpherson says.  “Our meaningful community outreach initiatives give residents tools for finding their own relevant local resources, and our real-time ‘mojo’s’ (mobile journalists) create timely and accurate news and deliver valuable public relations services.  Our ability to connect all local neighborhoods and focus only on Pasadena has proven to be a winning proposition for us.”

“Pasadena residents no longer have to use several sources (un-green “yellow pages, weekly newspaper, daily newspaper) to find out what’s going on in Pasadena, right now,” says Macpherson.  “Pasadena Now.com is your reliable internet source for everything Pasadena: news, emergency numbers, access, information, neighborhood council updates, public service connections, issue debates/discussions and fresh lifestyle ideas and trends.  “Today’s consumers want their information fast and now.  That’s why we created Pasadena Now.com.”
Pasadena Now was established by James Macpherson and Candice Merrill in 2004 to serve the Pasadena, California-area community as a reliable online source of news, information, and entertainment. Macpherson was born and raised in Pasadena, is a recipient of the Pasadena Jaycess “Outstanding Youg Man of the Year” Award, and serves on the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Merrill moved to Pasadena in 1987 and is PasadenaNow.com’s Events Editor and Chief Photographer. Together, Macpherson and Merrill received the City of Pasadena’s Harry Sheldon Humanitarian award in 2007. Macpherson won also was awarded an “Excellence in Journalism” award by the Visual Artists Guild in 2008.

Pasadena Now is a 100% green, online “newspaperless.”

Our goal is to be of service to the entire community. We do not stake out editorial positions, advance agendas, or endorse causes or candidates. Instead, we aim to serve the communty by attempting to remain an impartial observer and transparent deliverer of accurate news and information.

In public service, we offer our Op/Ed section to local residents and businesspeople to express their thoughts and opinions. All those who wish to submit editorials are encouraged to do so (email them to editor@pasadena.buzz).