The Novato Advance is the oldest of six community newspapers produced by Marinscope Community Newspapers. It has been printed for the Novato community without interruption as a weekly newspaper since 1922 -- although it cheated death several years ago.
Early in September 2008, publisher Paul Hutcheson cited increasing expenses and sagging advertising revenues as he announced that the paper's owner, Scripps Enterprises, decided the paper would shut down for good. The paper had not been profitable since 1999.
Marinscope, owned by Indian businessman and part-time Marin resident Dr. Vijay Mallya, stepped in and saved the Advance later that month along with 17 jobs. Mallya, chairman of the board of Marinscope, is a billionaire, a member of the Indian parliament and the owner of a brewery, an airline, several soccer teams and a Formula One motorsports team.
With editor Tim Omarzu at the helm, the Advance provides local news coverage, editorials, sports, features and columns of interest to the Novato community. It posts stories on its website weekly with occasional posts on breaking news.