The self-destruction of Santa Barbara’s main daily newspaper couldn’t have worked out any better for Jeramy Gordon, formerly of the Palo Alto Daily News. Gordon, 23, moved to Santa Barbara in February and launched his own free daily called “The Santa Barbara Daily Sound.” The paper is gaining momentum, with enough advertising growth to boost it beyond its original eight pages to 12. With $250,000 in seed money that he raised from family and friends, Gordon is operating on a shoe-string budget with just three full-time employees. Since the paper started in March, Sound’s circulation has increased from 3,000 to 5,000. He told E&P he expects to break even in six months. [Previous posts about Gordon: March 27, 2006, Publisher delivers new newspaper; March 23, 2006, Former Palo Alto editor starts new daily]