Press Publications

What Press Publications does

Press Publications is a family-owned media company that publishes a portfolio of ten weekly and bi-weekly community newspapers — including the White Bear Press, Quad Community Press, Shoreview Press, The Citizen, Forest Lake Lowdown, St. Croix Valley Lowdown, Vadnais Heights Press, North Oaks News, The Laker, and Savour Magazine — serving the northeast suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The Johnson family has operated the business since 1970; current leadership includes Publisher Carter C. Johnson, CEO Matt McMillan, Managing Editor Shannon Granholm, and General Manager Patty Steele. Content is produced by a small in-house newsroom and delivered both in print via junior carriers, motor routes, and USPS, and digitally via the BLOX Content Management System (BLOX Digital) at presspubs.com with daily online updates.

The company monetizes through three primary revenue streams: recurring print and online subscriptions (print+online bundles starting at $25 for six months and $49 for one year; online-only at $37.95/year), display and classified advertising (employment, service directory, obituaries, celebrations), and legally mandated public notice publication for municipalities, school districts, and public agencies. Distribution reach is audited semi-annually by the Circulation Verification Council, and the company operates complementary digital services including a community calendar, classifieds job board, coupons, multimedia galleries, and an annual Best of Readers' Choice contest.

Press Publications sells advertising and legal notice placement to local SMBs and government entities, and subscriptions to local residents across the Twin Cities northeast suburbs and surrounding communities. The company also owns a web printing facility and distribution system and, through the broader Johnson family, additional newspapers and shoppers in east-central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. No external investors, M&A activity, or AI/technology capabilities are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Press Publications

Legal name

Press Publications

Website

https://presspubs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Press Publications is a family-owned group of ten weekly and bi-weekly community newspapers serving the northeast suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, monetizing through print and online subscriptions, local SMB advertising, and government legal notice publication.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311), Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Community newspapers
• Local news publishing
• Print subscriptions
• Digital news
• Classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

White Bear Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print Subscriptions: Weekly print newspaper subscriptions with online access included, distributed to homes across northeast metro suburbs via junior carriers, motor routes, and USPS.
2. Online-Only Subscriptions: Digital-only subscription providing access to all news sections online without print delivery.
3. Classified Advertising: Classified ads including employment, service directory, celebrations (weddings, anniversaries, birthdays), obituaries, and place-an-ad services.
4. Display Advertising: On-line display advertising, print display ads, multimedia advertising across all publications and website.
5. Public Notice/Legal Notices: Legal notice publication services for government entities and public notices including public notices, legals, and legal advertising.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Press Publications is a family-owned group of weekly community newspapers serving the northeast suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The company publishes multiple distinct community editions plus a lifestyle magazine (Savour), delivers original local journalism, and sells print subscriptions, digital/e-edition subscriptions, classified advertising, display advertising, and public notice placements.

Product overview

Press Publications is a family-owned group of weekly and bi-weekly community newspapers serving the northeast suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The portfolio consists of ten distinct local newspaper products (White Bear Press, Quad Community Press, Shoreview Press, The Citizen, Forest Lake Lowdown, St. Croix Valley Lowdown, Vadnais Heights Press, North Oaks News, The Laker, and Savour Magazine) supported by a suite of digital services including online subscriptions, classifieds, community calendar, multimedia galleries, weather information, coupons, public notices, and an annual Best of Contest reader's choice awards program. The company operates primarily through the BLOX Content Management System, delivering news with emphasis on schools, government, sports and community events with daily online updates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• White Bear Press
• Quad Community Press

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Circulation Verification CouncilcoreOthersThird-party circulation audit organization that conducts semi-annual audits of Press Publications' newspaper circulation, providing independent verification of distribution reach and readership metrics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned publisher of daily and weekly community newspapers across multiple states. Comparable to Press Publications as a privately held, family-controlled multi-title community newspaper group with similar subscription, display advertising, and legal notice business lines.
• Adams Publishing Group: Privately held family/community-owned publisher of local newspapers and shoppers across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Closely comparable to Press Publications as a multi-title community newspaper group operating in similar suburban/rural markets with print + digital + legal notice revenue mix.
• Cherry Road Media: Acquisitive operator of small-town and community newspapers across the Midwest. Directly comparable to Press Publications as a roll-up of community weekly newspapers with shared revenue streams in subscriptions, display ads, classifieds, and legal notices.
• Boone Newspapers: Family-owned group publishing daily and weekly community newspapers throughout the Southeast and Midwest. Directly comparable to Press Publications in scale, family-owned governance, and community newspaper focus.
• Forum Communications Company: Family-owned media company headquartered in Fargo, ND operating newspapers, television, and digital media in the Upper Midwest. Comparable as a multi-generational family-controlled regional/local news operator with overlapping geography (east-central Minnesota, western Wisconsin) and similar print + legal notice business mix.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded operator of daily and weekly newspapers across the U.S., including suburban and community titles. Comparable as a portfolio operator of community/local newspapers with subscription, advertising, and legal notice revenue, but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Gannett Co. Largest U.S. newspaper publisher operating USA TODAY and hundreds of local dailies and weeklies. Adjacent comparable as a local newspaper + digital subscription operator with the same subscription/advertising/legal notice revenue mix, but at vastly larger scale.
• CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.): Large-scale operator of community newspapers, websites, and niche publications across the U.S. Comparable to Press Publications as a community newspaper portfolio operator, though at substantially larger scale and with private equity backing.
• Schurz Communications: Private, family-owned media company with broadcast, newspaper, and digital operations across multiple U.S. markets. Comparable to Press Publications as a multi-generational family-controlled local media operator with overlapping community newspaper focus.

Regional players

• Pioneer Press / MediaNews Group: Twin Cities metro daily newspaper serving the same Minneapolis/St. Paul market as Press Publications. Comparable as a local newspaper operator in the same geographic market, though focused on metro daily rather than suburban weeklies — representing direct competitive overlap in the same advertising and reader pool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WhiteBearPress
• Xx.com/whitebearpress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Press Publications