What Rutland Herald does

The Rutland Herald is a community newspaper serving Addison, Bennington, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor counties in Vermont, published under the same masthead in the same city since December 8, 1794 — making it the oldest continuously published local newspaper in the United States under that designation. It operates a five-days-a-week print edition (Tuesday–Saturday), a website at rutlandherald.com, an e-Paper digital replica, and a suite of email newsletters (Breaking News, Games & Contests, Vermont Arts, Sports News, and The Daily), with adjacent niche publications including the Green Mountain Gazette, Weekend Magazine, the Rutland Reader, and feature verticals such as Snapshots and Vermont Arts. The underlying technology is the BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital, a standard newspaper-industry publishing platform; no proprietary technology, no AI/ML capabilities, and no native mobile app are disclosed. Content covers local and state news, business, sports (including high school), opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and public/legal notices.

The business is monetized through two primary streams: (1) recurring print and digital subscriptions sold direct-to-consumer via the website and home delivery, and (2) advertising — both retail/display advertising for local SMBs, non-profits, and events, and classified advertising (jobs, real estate, vehicles, garage sales), plus a designated-publisher role for public and legal notices. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The Herald is privately held and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Brunswick Publishing, LLC, the Sample News Group umbrella led by George "Scoop" Sample III, which also controls the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus, The World, and the Rutland Reader. The Herald transitioned through two ownership changes in the 2010s — from the Mitchell family (owners for ~70 years) to Reade Brower and Charles "Chip" Harris in September 2016, then to Sample News Group in April 2018 — and in early 2024 outsourced physical print production to the Springfield Republican in Massachusetts.

Name

Rutland Herald

Legal name

Brunswick Publishing, LLC

Website

https://rutlandherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1794

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rutland Herald is a Vermont-based community newspaper, continuously published under the same name in Rutland since 1794, serving households and local businesses across five Vermont counties with print, digital, e-paper, newsletters, classifieds, and legal notices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscriptions
• Classified advertising services
• Community journalism coverage
• Print media distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Rutland

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: The newspaper generates revenue through print subscriptions delivered Tuesday through Saturday, as well as digital/e-edition subscriptions for online access to content.
2. Advertising: The Rutland Herald provides print and online marketing and advertising solutions including retail advertising for businesses, non-profits, and events, as well as classified advertising for individuals selling items, job postings, and garage sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Rutland Herald is a community newspaper publishing local and state news, sports, opinion, obituaries, and classified content for Addison, Bennington, Rutland, Windham and Windsor counties in Vermont. It operates across a five-days-a-week print edition (Tuesday through Saturday), an e-edition digital replica, the rutlandherald.com website, and subscription email newsletters. The company also sells display and classified advertising and publishes legal notices.

Product overview

The Rutland Herald operates as a multi-platform news organization offering a single core newspaper product (founded 1794) across print and digital channels. The portfolio includes the main print and web newspaper editions, an e-Paper digital replica, and subscription-based email newsletters. Supporting offerings include classifieds, public notices, and niche publications including the Green Mountain Gazette, Weekend Magazine, Vermont Arts section, and Rutland Reader. All products are distributed through the main rutlandherald.com website, which serves as the primary digital hub for content delivery, subscriptions, and advertising services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Mountain Gazette: A publication under the Rutland Herald umbrella

Products and services

• Rutland Herald Print Edition Five-days-a-week daily newspaper published Tuesday through Saturday, covering local and state news, business, sports, opinion, obituaries, and community content for Addison, Bennington, Rutland, Windham and Windsor counties in Vermont.
• Rutland Herald Online Edition

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Springfield RepublicanminorOthersThe Rutland Herald has been printed at Springfield Republican in Springfield, Massachusetts since early 2024. This is a printing/partnership arrangement for the physical production of the newspaper.
• Rutland Historical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to preserve and store bound volumes of the Rutland Herald newspaper at the Historical Society on Center Street, as well as in space at BROC in downtown Rutland. These bound volumes are available for research by appointment.
• Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region (CEDRR)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCEDRR provides monthly columns to the Rutland Herald, including coverage of events like the Whoopie Pie Festival. Content partnership for community news coverage.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Major U.S. community newspaper group with a portfolio of small-market dailies across the country. Relevant as a comparable multi-paper acquisition/consolidation template and as a competitor for digital ad networks and shared services.
• Gannett (USA TODAY Network): Largest U.S. newspaper chain operating hundreds of community dailies including the Burlington Free Press. Broad incumbent shaping the competitive landscape, ad-tech platforms, and shared services that small independent papers like the Rutland Herald must contend with.

Emerging players

• VTDigger: Vermont-focused nonprofit digital news organization. Not a direct competitor for print, but emerging digital-first local news outlet competing for Vermont readers, donor/subscription dollars, and local digital advertising.
• Vermont Public (VPR): Statewide public radio and digital news organization covering Vermont. Not a direct newspaper competitor, but emerging local news competitor for audience attention, membership dollars, and nonprofit/donor funding in the same Vermont market.

Direct peers

• The Caledonian-Record: Independently owned family daily newspaper serving northern Vermont and northern New Hampshire. Similar small-market community newspaper economics, print + digital subscription model, and local advertising revenue mix.
• Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus: Sister publication under the same Brunswick Publishing / Sample News Group umbrella, serving central Vermont. Most directly comparable business model, product mix, and ownership structure to the Rutland Herald.
• St. Albans Messenger: Northwestern Vermont daily newspaper with print, digital, and classified advertising products. Directly comparable community-daily business model serving a similar-sized Vermont market adjacent to the Herald's reach.
• Burlington Free Press: Vermont's largest daily newspaper covering the Burlington area and broader Vermont. Direct competitor for local news, advertising, and digital subscriptions within the same state market as the Rutland Herald.
• Brattleboro Reformer: Southern Vermont daily newspaper under Digital First/MediaNews Group. Directly comparable small-market daily news operation with print, digital, and classifieds monetization, overlapping Windham County with the Rutland Herald.
• Valley News (NH/VT): Regional daily newspaper serving the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Comparable print + digital subscription model and small-market regional newspaper economics overlapping the Herald's five-county Vermont footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rutlandherald
• Instagraminstagram.com/rutlandherald
• Xx.com/rutlandherald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Rutland Herald