Meet Kathleen Sterling of Valley News Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Sterling.

Hi Kathleen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers. 
I started my first newspaper – Warner Center News – at the age of 22 while finishing an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. I grew up in Woodland Hills and saw the tremendous changes taking place – from being a small suburban town to an emerging commercial and retail community. I ran the papers for five years on my own and then met my husband, Rodger. He and I started the Calabasas Enterprise and then bought Valley Vantage. We had our daughter Katie, who grew up in the business making her own “newspapers” at a little desk in our office. Rodger passed in 2009. Katie and I started the Encino Enterprise together in 2019. I started the North Valley News in March of 2023. Our five papers now cover almost all of the West Valley, featuring all hyper-local news in each community. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting your own business from scratch is never a smooth road! I learned the newspaper business along the way. I think we’ve developed a formula after 42 years that works – covering all local news that people want to know what’s happening right in their own backyard. Struggles- yes. My husband’s passing unexpectedly in 2009 with a business to run, and a child starting college was the most stressful year of my life. Finding employees, the ’94 earthquake when everything stopped, 2008 financial crisis, COVID when every news delivery outlet closed. But we had transitioned to both paper delivery and email delivery, so we were able to ride out the pandemic and emerge stronger. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Valley News Group publishes five community papers in the San Fernando Valley. I am very proud that we have sustained the newspaper over 42 years in a difficult and changing market for the publication industry. I believe that it is our hyper-local focus and my involvement in the community that has made a difference. 

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was the oldest of four and the most responsible! I was a huge reader and, to this day, read voraciously all types of literature. I grew up in Woodland Hills and went to parochial school and then an all-girls high school, where I received an amazing education and a love for writing and debate. 

Contact Info:

• Website: valleynewsgroup.com
• Facebook: @valleynewsgroupwoodlandhills
• Twitter: @valleynewsgroup