More than 20 years after opening, the Malibu Newsstand is reaching out to the community it serves in hopes of raising enough funds to keep its doors open — and keep print distribution alive in Malibu.
Citing the steady decline of print media, owner Nathan Schields said he is hoping the community can step up to the plate and contribute to keeping the newsstand open for at least another year.
“We started the GoFundMe account to see if there’s enough community support to keep the stand going for another year or more,” Schields said. “We had asked for $25 to $30,000 to offset the costs of running it at this point. It’s not a real profitable enterprise dealing in the print media these days.”
Nestled into the Malibu Colony Plaza on Malibu Road, the newsstand has been a fixture of the community since opening in 1993.
“We have a decent core of customers who certainly want to keep us here — who come in and patronize us to help print out,” Schields said. “We definitely don’t have enough of those customers anymore. It’s not an industry that brings in very many new people at all; if anything, we lose people all the time.”
As print media evolves, so do the methods of media consumption. Statistics from the Pew Research Center show that while “print-only is still the most common way of reading newspapers,” newspaper circulation was in its second consecutive year of decline in 2015.
“We’re kind of limited in what we can carry per our lease,” Schields said. “Customers have been trying to find us different things we can carry, but … it’s a fairly limited market. We’re certainly not alone as far as retail in Malibu goes.”
The newsstand’s struggles mirror those of other local retailers specializing in print publications. Since 2014, both of Malibu’s independent bookstores — Diesel: A Bookstore and Bank of Books — have been forced to close, citing factors including decreased demand and ever-increasing rent.
Customers have suggested possibly looking into a new location for the Malibu Newsstand, but rental rates around town don’t exactly benefit the newsstand.
“We have looked before about possibly changing locations, but the economics of all of that didn’t really hold up,” Schields said. “Moving our location would help, but again, eight months out of the year, our customer base is going to be what it is.”
On GoFundMe, Schields is reaching out to those in the community who find use for the decades-old business.
“We have been a fixture in the community for over 23 years, almost as long as it takes to get approved by the Coastal Commission. With the downturn in print media, we cannot continue without financial support. If you feel the newsstand is still needed, please contribute,” the page reads.
If the funds aren’t raised to keep the newsstand alive, Schields said the doors to the Malibu Newsstand “will most likely close by November 1.”
“We’re really appreciative of all the support we get from the community — it’s just at the point now that if the community would like to see it continue, we’ll need some assistance,” Schields said.
For more information and to donate to the Malibu Newsstand, visit gofundme.com/2gm9epg.