The Beacon Newspapers is a family-owned business dedicated to providing well-written, useful information of interest to people 50 and over and their families. The company was founded in 1989 by publisher Stuart Rosenthal and his wife, Judy, the associate publisher and president.
Free monthly print editions of the Beacon cover the Greater Washington (D.C.) area, the Greater Baltimore (Maryland) area and Howard County (Maryland).
The Beacon’s award-winning content covers health, financial, technology, housing, travel and arts topics, as well as local events and feature stories. Readers of our four print editions pick up more than 200,000 copies each month at more than 2,400 distribution sites. We also mail copies to subscribers throughout the United States.
In addition to our monthly newspapers, the Beacon publishes print and online resource guides and presents free 50+Expo events. Information about these can also be found on this site. We also welcome you to contact us for more information.
Silver Pages
As of the launch of this new website in 2018, we are starting a new online directory focusing on Senior Housing, Homecare, Legal & Financial, and Medical fields. This is currently a regional service that will span from Baltimore, MD to Richmond, VA. We hope to expand and grow this section into a larger area and more fields in the near future.
Resource Guide
We publish both print and online resource guides, offering listings of government and nonprofit agencies, medical specialists, and businesses providing information and services for people 50 and over and their families.
Each year, in partnership with Montgomery County, Maryland, we print and distribute free of charge 50,000 copies of a comprehensive directory called the Montgomery County Seniors’ Resource Guide.
This full-color, glossy, digest-size directory contains more than 1,000 listings of county resources as well as advertisements from local businesses and nonprofits.
On this website, we also provide a flip version of the guide that can be viewed.
To advertise in the printed guide, please visit the section For Advertisers.
Community Events
Each fall, the Beacon presents 50+Expo events in Washington’s Maryland and Virginia suburbs.
These free public programs attract thousands of visitors to obtain health screenings, pick up information from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, employers and local businesses, hear experts speak on a variety of subjects, obtain computer education, and enjoy live entertainment.
In addition, the Beacon regularly sponsors, co-sponsors or supports other community programs, often in partnership with local Area Agencies on Aging and non-profit organizations. These include the Path of Achievement Awards, Law Day, the Older Worker Expo, centenarians’ celebrations, candidates’ forums and many other programs and events.
Our Awards
For many years, the Beacon newspapers have swept the top journalism awards of the North American Mature Publishers Association while also earning honors at the national Mature Media Awards and American Free Community Papers competitions.
Our writers and columnists have won multiple awards for writing, and both our Washington and Baltimore editions have been honored for general excellence in these competitions.
Our Advertisers
As a free publication, the Beacon’s extensive print distribution is supported through display advertising. Many readers tell us they find our advertisements to be as helpful as our articles.
Our advertisers include a wide range of retirement communities and other housing options, as well as health providers, medical and legal professionals, financial advisers, retail services, theatres, travel agencies, employers, nonprofits and more.
Classified ads in our print editions serve those who wish to buy or sell products and services through inexpensive ads, or to meet others with similar interests through “personals.”
We also have banner ads and enhanced listings available on our website for organizations and businesses wishing to attract our online visitors to their websites.
Please visit the section for advertisers if you would like information about placing display, classified or banner ads or enhanced listings.
About our Publisher
Stuart Rosenthal has been publisher and editor of the Beacon newspaper since he and his wife founded the company in 1989.
Prior to starting the paper, he worked as a tax attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, a law firm he joined after a stint in the federal government as Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the Commerce Department.
In addition to his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, Rosenthal is a graduate of Yale Law School and Oxford University, which he attended on a Marshall Fellowship.
As part of his commitment to older adults in the Washington area, Rosenthal has been active on numerous boards and committees for many years.
He chaired the Maryland Commission on Aging 2007-2015, is a board member of the Maryland Aging and Disability Resource Center Advisory Board, and has served on other state and county commissions, including Maryland’s Continuing Care Advisory Commission, the Commission on the Future of Montgomery County, and the Age friendly DC.
Rosenthal was president of the North American Mature Publishers Association, the association representing newspapers and magazines for older adults throughout the country.
He is also a regular speaker at national conferences dealing with senior issues, a weekly guest on WMAL’s “Plan for Life” program, and a monthly guest on “Montgomery Week in Review,” on community access television.
