Bill Johnson

Notable work and positions

Embarcadero Media Foundation - Founder; Executive Chairman
Palo Alto Weekly - Founder and Publisher (1979)
Embarcadero Media - President, Publisher and CEO (1979-2022)

Biography

Bill Johnson is the founder of Embarcadero Media Foundation, the Palo Alto, California-based nonprofit publishing company behind the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, the Mountain View Voice, the Pleasanton Weekly, DanvilleSanRamon.com and Palo Alto Online. Born and raised in the Palo Alto area, he earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Stanford University and worked as press secretary to then-U.S. Representative Pete McCloskey and as a consultant to the California Coastal Commission before founding the Palo Alto Weekly in 1979 at age 26 with a group of 15 local shareholder families. Over more than four decades as president, publisher and CEO, he expanded the company into a network of publications across the Midpeninsula, acquiring The Almanac in 1993 and launching the Pleasanton Weekly in 2000 to serve the East Bay's Tri-Valley region, later adding DanvilleSanRamon.com, the Redwood City Pulse, the Livermore Vine and The Six Fifty. Johnson served as president of the California News Publishers Association in 2017-18 and was honored by the organization for three decades of board service. He announced his retirement as CEO in June 2022 and was succeeded that September by Adam Dawes, remaining executive chairman of the board and president of the Embarcadero Media Foundation, which the company became in November 2023.

Career highlights

• Founding of the Palo Alto Weekly 1979 · Started the newspaper at age 26, the foundation of what became Embarcadero Media.
• Company expansion 1993-2019 · Grew the company from a single weekly into a network of seven or more news outlets across two Bay Area regions.
• California News Publishers Association President 2017-18 · Recognized for three decades of service to the association's board.