What Lincoln News does

Lincoln News is an independently owned and operated weekly newspaper founded in 1959 and headquartered in Lincoln, Maine. The company publishes a weekly print newspaper every Thursday serving nearly 4,100 households in the Lincoln, Maine area and the surrounding Katahdin Region, with content covering local news, community events, school sports, classifieds, public notices, and obituaries. Approximately 1,000 copies are mailed weekly across the United States and internationally, extending the publication's reach beyond its immediate New England community. The newspaper operates as one of the very few independently owned weekly papers remaining in the United States.

The company runs a second, integrated business line called Lincoln News Print Services, a full-service commercial printing and design facility offering graphic design, typesetting, single and multi-color printing, bindery, high-speed photocopying, large format printing, and direct mail services to businesses throughout northern and central Maine. Production technology is described as traditional newspaper printing augmented with modern digital production tools, but no proprietary technology, AI capabilities, or digital products are disclosed. Underlying technology consists of standard pre-press, press, and post-press print workflows.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring newspaper subscriptions and retail sales, display and classified advertising from local businesses (with payment required before deadline), and commercial printing services priced per job. The newspaper also publishes paid legal public notices on behalf of municipal clients. The company is privately held and family-owned, currently operated by Roberta Whalen, who assumed the Owner/Publisher/General Manager role from her late husband David Whalen. The organization is small, with a named staff of nine covering editorial, production, advertising sales, print shop management, and customer service.

Name

Lincoln News

Legal name

Lincoln News

Website

https://lincnews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lincoln News is an independently owned weekly newspaper founded in 1959 serving ~4,100 households in Lincoln, Maine and the Katahdin Region with local news, sports, and public notices. It also operates Lincoln News Print Services, a commercial printing division serving businesses across northern and central Maine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Commercial Printing (2750), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Weekly newspaper publishing
• Local community news
• Commercial printing services
• Classified advertising
• Public notices publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lincoln

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Newspaper Sales and Subscriptions: Weekly newspaper publication sold through subscriptions and retail distribution to households in the Lincoln, Maine area. Distribution includes 4,100 copies weekly with 1,000 mailed across the US and worldwide.
2. Display and Classified Advertising: Local businesses advertise through display ads, classifieds, public notices, obituaries, and cards of thanks published in the weekly newspaper.
3. Commercial Printing Services: Lincoln News Print Services provides full-service commercial printing including graphic design, typesetting, single and multi-color printing, bindery services, high-speed photocopying, direct mail services, and large format printing to businesses in northern and central Maine.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Lincoln News publishes a weekly newspaper every Thursday serving approximately 4,100 households in the Lincoln, Maine area, delivering local news, sports, community events, classified advertising, obituaries, and public notices. The company also operates Lincoln News Print Services, a full-service commercial printing and design facility offering graphic design, typesetting, single and multi-color printing, bindery services, high-speed photocopying, large format printing, and direct mail services to businesses in northern and central Maine.

Product overview

Lincoln News is an independently owned and operated weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Lincoln, Maine. The company operates as two integrated offerings: the core Lincoln News newspaper providing weekly local news coverage to nearly 4,100 households (with 1,000 mailed nationally and internationally), and Lincoln News Print Services—a separate full-service commercial printing division that provides design, typesetting, multi-color printing, bindery, and direct mail services to businesses throughout northern and central Maine. The company also publishes public notices on behalf of local municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lincoln News (Weekly Newspaper) A weekly newspaper published every Thursday serving nearly 4,100 households in Lincoln, Maine and surrounding New England communities, providing local news, sports, community events, classified advertising, obituaries, public notices, and community information.
• Lincoln News Print Services A full-service commercial printing and design facility offering graphic design, typesetting, single and multi-color printing, complete bindery services, high-speed photocopying, large format printing, and direct mail services for businesses throughout northern and central Maine.
• Public Notices Publication and distribution of legal public notices including town council announcements, municipal election notices, budget hearings, and community announcements for municipalities and public agencies in the Lincoln, Maine area.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bangor Daily News: Daily newspaper serving Bangor and central Maine. While larger and daily rather than weekly, it directly competes for regional Maine advertising dollars and reader attention with Lincoln News, and operates a strong digital subscription business that contrasts with Lincoln's print-only model.
• Mount Desert Islander: Weekly newspaper serving Mount Desert Island and surrounding coastal Maine communities. Comparable to Lincoln News as a local weekly newspaper with similar distribution model, advertising base, and community-coverage focus.
• Penobscot Bay Press: Community newspaper group publishing weekly papers across the Midcoast Maine region. Comparable to Lincoln News in operating multiple small-town weekly titles with shared production and advertising infrastructure.
• Bar Harbor Times: Weekly newspaper covering Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island region. Directly comparable weekly newspaper serving a defined small Maine community with similar revenue mix of subscriptions, display ads, and public notices.
• The Ellsworth American: A community weekly newspaper serving Ellsworth and surrounding Hancock County, Maine. Directly comparable to Lincoln News as an independently operated weekly covering a small New England community with local news, advertising, and public notices.
• The Weekly Packet: Community weekly newspaper serving Blue Hill and Deer Isle, Maine. Directly comparable as a hyperlocal Maine weekly covering town meetings, schools, and community events for a small rural readership.
• Island Ad-Vantages: Weekly newspaper serving Deer Isle, Stonington, and Isle au Haut in Maine. Closely comparable community weekly model serving small Maine island and coastal communities with local news and advertising.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded newspaper publisher operating local daily and weekly papers across the US. Comparable as a multi-title local newspaper operator with similar ad- and subscription-revenue mechanics, though significantly larger and focused on dailies.
• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned newspaper group operating community dailies and weeklies across multiple states. Comparable as a family-owned multi-title community publisher, offering a reference point for how an independent weekly operator could scale through acquisitions while preserving local editorial.
• Gannett Co. Largest US newspaper publisher (USA TODAY network) operating hundreds of local daily and weekly titles. Comparable in producing community news and print advertising, but operates at vastly greater scale and has a meaningful digital subscription business absent from Lincoln News.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lincoln-news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Lincoln News