Portland Press Herald

What Portland Press Herald does

Portland Press Herald is a daily newspaper serving Portland, Maine and surrounding communities, founded in 1980 as the successor to the historic Evening Express (with predecessor roots to 1862). It is wholly owned by the Maine Trust for Local News, a nonprofit that also operates Central Maine, Sun Journal, Times Record, and Your Town News, giving the Press Herald access to a multi-outlet statewide digital and editorial infrastructure. Its product surface spans a main news website organized into News, Politics, Business, Opinion, Sports, Life & Culture, Food, Things to Do, Obits, Homes, Jobs, and Public Notices sections, supplemented by an ePaper digital replica, historical newspaper archives, mobile app, and subscription email newsletters (Daily Headlines, Maine Political Report, Varsity Maine, Obituaries). Engagement features include a Viafoura-powered commenting layer with AI-assisted moderation, daily casual games (Sudoku, Crossword, Mini Crossword, Word Search, WordroW, Word Flower, News Quiz), and live events (Maine Voices Live, Open Door).

The business model is a hybrid consumer subscription plus advertising structure. Revenue streams comprise digital subscriptions ($2.50/week), print home-delivery subscriptions, print and digital advertising (display, classified, newsletter), and event sponsorships. The customer base is a horizontal mass-market audience of individual Maine news readers; no enterprise or B2B customer concentration is disclosed. Distribution runs through self-serve digital (website, ePaper, mobile app), print home delivery, and cross-promotion across the Maine Trust for Local News network of regional outlets. Strategic positioning emphasizes local investigative and community journalism, statewide political coverage, and a recurring co-branded polling partnership with the New York Times and Siena College Research Institute. The company is led by CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto, with leadership including Food Editor Peggy Grodinsky, and operates from its Portland, Maine headquarters at 295 Marginal Way.

Name

Portland Press Herald

Legal name

The Portland Press Herald

Website

https://pressherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Portland Press Herald is a Maine daily newspaper and digital news platform serving Portland and statewide readers, owned by the nonprofit Maine Trust for Local News, monetized through digital/print subscriptions, advertising, and live-event sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), 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)

akta.pro secondary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscriptions
• Print journalism
• Regional news coverage
• Investigative journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Digital-only subscriptions providing access to online content, newsletters, and ePaper
2. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery of print newspaper with digital access included
3. Print and Digital Advertising: Display advertising, classified ads, and digital advertising across website and newsletters
4. Events and Sponsorships: Signature events including Maine Voices Live and Open Door business events

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Portland Press Herald publishes a daily local newspaper serving Portland, Maine and surrounding communities, with comprehensive coverage across News, Politics, Business, Opinion, Sports, Life & Culture, Food, Things to Do, Obits, Homes, Jobs, and Public Notices. The publication is delivered via a print edition, the pressherald.com website, an ePaper digital replica, mobile apps, email newsletters, and supporting engagement products such as daily puzzles and a weekly News Quiz, with access gated by digital or print + digital subscriptions.

Product overview

Portland Press Herald operates as a local Maine newspaper offering a unified digital platform for news delivery. The core offering is the Press Herald Website providing comprehensive local coverage across multiple sections including News, Politics, Business, Opinion, Sports, Life & Culture, Food, Things to Do, Obits, Homes, Jobs, and Public Notices. The publication supplements its core news product with subscription-based services including ePaper (digital replica of the printed edition), Newspaper Archives, and Email Newsletters such as Daily Headlines and Maine Political Report. Interactive engagement features include commenting via Viafoura, puzzles and games (Word Flower, Mini Crossword, Sudoku, Crossword, Word Search, WordroW, News Quiz), and Mobile App access. The company is part of the Maine Trust for Local News network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Press Herald Website The main digital news website (pressherald.com) providing comprehensive local Maine news coverage with sections for News, Politics, Business, Opinion, Sports, Life & Culture, Food, Things to Do, Obits, Homes, Jobs, and Public Notices. Targeted at general Maine readers and subscribers.
• ePaper Digital replica of the printed Portland Press Herald newspaper available for online reading via subscription. Targeted at print subscribers and digital readers who want the full newspaper layout online.
• Newspaper Archives Access to historical Portland Press Herald newspaper content for research and reference purposes. Targeted at researchers, journalists, and readers interested in historical Maine news.
• Email Newsletters Subscription-based email news alerts including the Daily Headlines newsletter and Maine Political Report newsletter, with additional offerings for Varsity Maine and Obituaries. Targeted at Maine readers wanting curated, topic-specific news delivered by email.
• Mobile App Mobile application for accessing Portland Press Herald news content on smartphones and tablets. Targeted at mobile-first Maine readers and digital subscribers.
• Digital Subscription Recurring digital-only subscription providing access to online content, newsletters, and ePaper at $2.50 per week, with a promotional $1 first-month trial. Targeted at Maine readers seeking online access without print delivery.
• Print Subscription Home delivery of the print Portland Press Herald newspaper, bundled with digital access. Targeted at Maine households and individual readers preferring physical newspaper delivery.
• Print and Digital Advertising Display, classified, and digital advertising placements across the pressherald.com website, email newsletters, and the print newspaper. Targeted at Maine-based businesses and agencies seeking local audience reach.
• Signature Events and Sponsorships Signature live events including Maine Voices Live and Open Door business events, available with sponsorship packages for local businesses. Targeted at Maine community members attending live journalism and business events and at local businesses underwriting them.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• New York TimescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on polling in key Maine elections, including Senate race polling between Graham Platner and Susan Collins. The Times/Press Herald/Siena poll provides in-depth electoral coverage for Maine.
• Maine Trust for Local NewscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization that owns and operates the Portland Press Herald along with multiple other Maine news outlets including Central Maine, Sun Journal, Times Record, and Your Town News.
• Siena College Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for polling operations, providing statistical research and polling methodology for Times/Press Herald/Siena polls on Maine elections.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Boston Globe: The dominant New England regional newspaper, based in Boston with statewide and national reach. Comparable as a fellow New England regional daily with paid digital subscriptions and a similar diversified revenue model (sub, ads, events), though at materially larger scale.
• Gannett Co. Largest U.S. newspaper chain operating hundreds of regional dailies including the Burlington Free Press and Seacoast Online. Comparable as the dominant commercial consolidator of regional papers — the competitive counterweight to the Press Herald's nonprofit consolidation strategy.
• The New York Times Company: National newspaper and digital subscription leader that is also a strategic polling partner with the Press Herald (Times/Press Herald/Siena polls). Relevant as both a content/distribution peer and an explicit partnership counterparty.

Direct peers

• The Concord Monitor: New Hampshire-based regional daily owned by a nonprofit (New Hampshire Trust for News). Highly comparable ownership structure (nonprofit parent), subscriber-funded model, and regional coverage focus.
• New Hampshire Union Leader: Major regional daily serving New Hampshire with similar coverage verticals (news, politics, sports, opinion) and subscription/print advertising mix. Comparable as a smaller New England regional navigating the same digital transition and local advertising pressures.
• Bangor Daily News: Maine's other major regional daily, also serving a Maine audience with a strong digital subscription model and local news focus. The most direct comparable given shared geography, audience demographics, and digital-first strategy.
• The Connecticut Mirror: Nonprofit statewide digital news outlet covering Connecticut politics and policy. Comparable as a nonprofit regional news organization focused on state-level accountability journalism, though digital-only.

Regional players

• Burlington Free Press: Vermont's regional daily, also covering a small New England state. Comparable as a regional daily in a similarly sized, geographically isolated market, though it operates within Gannett/USA TODAY network rather than independently.
• Vermont Public: Public-media nonprofit providing statewide news and journalism in Vermont. Comparable as a nonprofit-funded regional news organization in a similarly small New England state, though primarily public-radio/TV heritage rather than newspaper.
• Daily Hampshire Gazette: Family-owned regional daily serving western Massachusetts. Comparable as a smaller New England daily pursuing digital subscription growth, though at smaller scale and narrower geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Pressherald
• Facebookfacebook.com/pressherald
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-portland-press-herald
• Instagraminstagram.com/pressherald
• Xx.com/PressHerald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Portland Press Herald