Publisher-Strategist Hybrid Shane Harris Earns SD500 Nod

Shane Harris Publisher of San Diego Monitor News

By San Diego Monitor News Staff

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ) has named Shane Harris to its 2025 SD500 list of the region’s most influential leaders — recognizing not only his contributions in community journalism, but also his business acumen as a strategic communications entrepreneur.

Harris is the Owner and Publisher of San Diego Monitor News & Business Journal — a venerable community newspaper — but he is also the Founder and CEO of S Harris Communications, a full-service public affairs and strategic communications firm serving small businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and public figures across the region and beyond.

According to SDBJ’s selection criteria for SD500, inclusion is based on “merit, business savvy and civic engagement.” In recognizing Harris, the Journal acknowledged how his entrepreneurial leadership — blending strategic communications, media-relations, and advocacy — amplifies his influence across business, media, and civic spheres.

Harris’s acquisition of the Monitor marked a major milestone: through S Harris Communications he negotiated the purchase and is leading a “strategic transformation” of the paper — expanding its digital reach, broadening its news coverage beyond traditional community reporting, and positioning it as a city-wide media platform for business, civic affairs, education, and social impact.

This dual role — as both a hands-on media publisher and a business strategist working to shape public discourse — illustrates the kind of multidimensional leadership the SD500 honors: individuals who combine entrepreneurial vision with civic purpose.

Harris’s inclusion sends a strong signal about how communications, media ownership, and business strategy are increasingly intertwined in shaping San Diego’s future.

As San Diego continues to evolve, the San Diego Monitor News & Business Journal — under Harris’s leadership — stands as a powerful example of how business leadership, media, and community advocacy can converge to uplift voices, influence public dialogue, and drive lasting impact in local communities.