Malibu Surfside News suspends publication after 37 years

Anne Soble, the owner, publisher and editor of the weekly Malibu Surfside News, went to a hospital emergency room on June 7 for kidney failure, an infected wound and a possible heart attack. Her son, Mark Soble, put an editorial in the June 13 issue saying that she will not be able to continue putting out the paper. This week's issue did not come out. He's looking for someone to take over.

Not everyone knows that my Mom is now seventy-three years old. Most people also don’t know that over the past dozen years or so, my Mother has had two hip replacement surgeries, a stroke, a heart attack, and a host of other health issues. My Mother is very independent, and she doesn’t like to share her health issues with others, even those with whom she is very close....

My Mother’s physical health will not allow her to contin ue to put in even a small fraction of the long hours that she has consistently devoted during the past thirty-seven years to putting out the best possible newspaper that she could. It’s simply a physical impossibility. It is time for her to focus on regaining her physical health and to spend more time with her family. For this reason, this will be the last issue of the Malibu Surfside News with my Mother serving as the editor and publisher. This is a difficult decision for my Mother because she is so devoted to her staff, to the com munity and to its future.

Publishing a newspaper in the present economic environment is a challenging endeavor. But if it is a challenge that interests you, please consider contacting me during the next few days. My personal email address is Mark@Soble.org. You can also use this email address if you’d like me to pass along your well-wishes to my Mom.

It would be wonderful to see someone with a passion for the Malibu community take over publishing the paper, reporting on the community’s news and advocating for
Malibu’s future. Think about it, and, more importantly, think good thoughts about my Mom’s health. Thank you.

Malibu beach photo by Veronique de Turenne