Shaw Local News Network

What Shaw Local News Network does

Shaw Local News Network is a privately held regional media company operating a portfolio of local newspaper brands and digital news platforms across northern Illinois and parts of Iowa. Operated under the Shaw Media corporate umbrella and tracing its origins to 1851, the network encompasses approximately 14 wholly owned subsidiary titles — including the Northwest Herald (McHenry County), Daily Chronicle (DeKalb County), The Herald-News (Will County), Daily Journal (Kankakee County), Kane County Chronicle, Sauk Valley Newspapers, The Times, News Tribune, Suburban Life Newspapers, Morris Herald-News, Bureau County Republican, Ogle County Life, Illinois Valley, Rochelle News-Leader, and the Iowa-based Osceola Sentinel-Tribune. Coverage spans 12+ counties including DeKalb, DuPage/Cook, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Sauk Valley, Will, Bureau counties in Illinois and Clarke County in Iowa.

The company's technical platform is a web-based content management system delivering content across multiple surfaces: the shawlocal.com web property and county-specific subdomains, native iOS and Android mobile applications, an eNewspaper digital replica platform, RSS feed syndication, email newsletters, podcasts, and the Shaw Local Radio audio platform. Content verticals are organized through sub-brands addressing local news, high school sports (Friday Night Drive, High School Sports), NFL/Bears coverage (Pro Football Weekly), lifestyle (The Scene), community recognition (Everyday Heroes), and regional tourism (Starved Rock Country). The 175th Anniversary Collection curates historical front pages for monetization through the newspapers.com (Ancestry) archive partnership.

Revenue is generated through four streams: digital-only and combined print/digital subscription packages (tiered by geographic coverage area and billed monthly or annually), traditional print newspaper subscriptions, display and classified advertising, and statutorily required public notice placements. Distribution combines direct-to-consumer digital and print access with third-party channels including Legacy.com for obituary distribution and publicnoticeillinois.com for legal notices. The firmographic headcount is reported as 11-50, which appears to capture corporate and digital staff rather than full editorial headcount across the multi-title network. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds, institutional investors, or recent acquisitions.

Name

Shaw Local News Network

Legal name

Shaw Media

Website

https://shawlocal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1851

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shaw Local News Network is a privately held regional media company operating approximately 14 local newspaper brands and digital platforms across 12+ northern Illinois counties plus Clarke County, Iowa, serving readers, advertisers, and public notice clients since 1851.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Regional newspapers
• Digital news subscriptions
• Community journalism
• Public notice advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Crystal Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Digital-only and combined print/digital subscription packages with tiered access levels based on geographic coverage area
2. Print Subscriptions: Traditional newspaper subscription service for physical delivery
3. Advertising: Display advertising, classifieds, and public notice advertising across all platforms
4. Public Notices: Legal public notice publications required by law

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shaw Local News Network operates a portfolio of 30+ regional newspaper publications serving 12+ counties in northern Illinois, delivering local news, sports, obituaries, public notices, and community content via print editions, the shawlocal.com web platform, eNewspaper digital replicas, native iOS/Android mobile apps, and email newsletters. Revenue is generated through paid subscriptions (digital and combined print/digital) and advertising, including display, classified, and legally required public notice placements.

Product overview

Shaw Local News Network is a comprehensive local news platform operating as a network of regional publications serving northern Illinois since 1851. The core offering is the Shaw Local News Network digital platform, supplemented by eNewspaper access, email newsletters, and mobile applications for iOS and Android. The network encompasses multiple content verticals including high school sports (Friday Night Drive, High School Sports), lifestyle content (The Scene), community recognition programs (Everyday Heroes), and historical content (175th Anniversary Collection). Subscription-based digital access provides exclusive content, ad-free experience, and subscriber perks. The platform also supports public notices and maintains mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 175th Anniversary: Commemorative branding for Shaw Media's 175-year anniversary celebration in 2026
• Friday Night Drive
• Pro Football Weekly
• The Scene
• Shaw Local Radio
• Starved Rock Country

Products and services

• Digital Subscription Paid subscription providing exclusive local news content, ad-free experience, subscriber-only contests, and subscriber perks for residents of northern Illinois.
• Print + Digital Subscription Traditional newspaper subscription bundled with full digital access for northern Illinois households seeking both physical and online local news delivery.
• eNewspaper Digital replica edition of Shaw Local's print newspapers available online for subscribers, providing page-by-page viewing of current and recent editions.
• Shaw Local Mobile App Native iOS and Android applications providing Shaw Local readers with mobile access to local news, sports, and community content across northern Illinois.
• Email Newsletters Subscription-based email newsletters delivering curated local news, sports, and community updates from Shaw Local directly to subscribers' inboxes.
• Display and Classified Advertising Display, classified, and digital advertising placements sold across Shaw Local's web, mobile, eNewspaper, and print publications to local businesses seeking to reach northern Illinois audiences.
• Public Notice Publications Publication of legally required public notices for government entities, legal counsel, and other filers across Shaw Local's Illinois publications and the publicnoticeillinois.com platform.
• Shaw Local Historical Archive Historical archive of Shaw Local newspaper content spanning nearly 175 years, made accessible to researchers, genealogists, and the public through newspapers.com.
• Shaw Local Radio Audio content and podcast programming distributed through the Shaw Local Radio platform, extending Shaw Local's local journalism and sports coverage into audio formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• 175 years of continuous local journalism coverage

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Legacy.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorObituary distribution partnership allowing Shaw Local readers to browse local obituaries through Legacy.com platform integrated into shawlocal.com
• publicnoticeillinois.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic notice distribution partnership for Illinois legal public notices, redirecting to publicnoticeillinois.com for full public notice access
• newspapers.com (Ancestry)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHistorical newspaper archive partnership providing access to historical Shaw Local newspaper content through newspapers.com platform

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gannett: Gannett is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, operating USA TODAY and hundreds of local titles nationwide. While vastly larger and national in scope, Gannett competes directly with Shaw Local for digital subscription and local advertising dollars in adjacent markets and shares the same small-market economics.
• Hearst Newspapers: Hearst Newspapers operates major regional dailies and a network of community papers across the U.S. As a much larger diversified media company, it competes with Shaw Local in adjacent Midwest markets and shares similar digital subscription and local advertising dynamics.
• MediaNews Group: MediaNews Group, affiliated with Alden Global Capital, operates hundreds of local newspapers across the U.S. It is a broader incumbent in the same local newspaper category, competing for digital subscriptions and advertising against Shaw Local in overlapping Midwest markets.
• Tribune Publishing: Tribune Publishing operates major metropolitan dailies including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News. Its Chicago-area presence makes it a direct competitor for Illinois local news audiences and advertisers, though it is far larger and metropolitan-focused versus Shaw Local's community orientation.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: Patch is a digital-native hyperlocal news network covering thousands of U.S. communities including many in northern Illinois. It competes with Shaw Local for the same local audience and SMB advertising dollars via a different cost structure and digital-only delivery model.

Direct peers

• Lee Enterprises: Lee Enterprises is one of the largest U.S. local newspaper groups, operating daily and weekly publications across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. Its Midwest footprint, multi-title portfolio, and mix of print, digital subscription, and advertising revenue make it the closest direct comparable to Shaw Local's regional network model.
• CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.): CNHI is a privately held publisher of local newspapers and websites serving small and mid-sized U.S. communities. Its focus on community-level journalism across a portfolio of titles makes it a direct operational comparable to Shaw Local's northern Illinois network.
• Ogden Newspapers: Ogden Newspapers is a family-owned regional newspaper chain operating community publications across multiple Midwestern and Eastern states. Its multi-title, multi-county community publishing model and private ownership structure closely parallel Shaw Local's operating approach.
• Adams Publishing Group: Adams Publishing Group operates a portfolio of community newspapers, digital sites, and shoppers across the Upper Midwest, including parts of Illinois and Iowa. Its geographic proximity and similar multi-county community publishing model make it a strong direct comparable.
• Paxton Media Group: Paxton Media Group is a family-owned media company operating daily and weekly newspapers across the Midwest and South. Like Shaw Local, it emphasizes local journalism, multi-county coverage, and integrated print/digital subscription products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/shawlocal
• Facebookfacebook.com/shawlocal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries15 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 Shaw Local News Network