The Gaston Gazette

What The Gaston Gazette does

The Gaston Gazette is a local newspaper founded in 1880 in Gastonia, North Carolina, serving residents of Gaston County and adjacent communities including Belmont, Dallas, Kings Mountain, Cramerton, Bessemer City, and Shelby. Its core product is hyperlocal journalism — breaking news, crime, local government, high school and regional college sports, lifestyle content, opinion columns, real estate listings, obituaries, and public/legal notices — delivered through a website (gastongazette.com), a digital eNewspaper replica, and subscription-gated digital access. The publication is wholly owned by Gannett Company, Inc. and operates as part of the USA Today Network, which provides national/international content syndication, shared advertising infrastructure, subscription billing, and editorial style standards.

The business model is a traditional dual-revenue newspaper structure: consumer subscriptions (print legacy and digital) and advertising (local SMB direct sales, programmatic display, native advertising via Taboola, and statutory public-notice legals). Monetization is augmented through embedded third-party verticals: AddressUSA powers property search and real estate listings, and Tukios powers obituary listings and guestbooks, both generating affiliate/commerce revenue beyond display advertising. Distribution relies on the Gannett/USA Today Network technology stack for CMS, subscription management, and ad serving, while editorial operations are run by an in-house local newsroom of 101–250 employees. Strategic positioning is defensive: incremental digital monetization, network cross-promotion, and standardized commerce integrations rather than product expansion or geographic growth.

Name

The Gaston Gazette

Legal name

Gaston Gazette

Website

https://gastongazette.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1880

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Gaston Gazette is a 145-year-old local newspaper in Gastonia, North Carolina, serving Gaston County residents with hyperlocal news, sports, obituaries, and real estate. It is owned by Gannett and operates within the USA Today Network, monetizing via subscriptions, local advertising, public notices, and partner commerce verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news coverage
• Digital news subscription
• Obituary publishing
• Newspaper advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Gastonia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Gaston Gazette publishes a local daily newspaper and accompanying digital news website covering Gastonia, NC and surrounding Gaston County communities. It sells digital and print subscriptions to consumers for access to local news, sports, lifestyle, opinion, obituaries, real estate, classifieds, and public notices content, while generating advertising revenue from local and national businesses targeting the Gaston County audience through its print edition, website, and shared USA Today Network ad inventory.

Product overview

The Gaston Gazette is a local news website providing comprehensive coverage of Gastonia, NC and Gaston County. The publication operates as part of the Gannett/USA Today Network and offers a unified digital platform delivering local news, sports, lifestyle content, opinion columns, real estate listings, obituaries, and public notices. The site integrates third-party services for real estate (AddressUSA), obituaries (Tukios), and native advertising (Taboola), while also providing access to syndicated national content from the broader USA Today Network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital and Print Newspaper Subscription Subscription-based access to The Gaston Gazette's full local news, sports, lifestyle, opinion, classifieds, and public notice content, available via gastongazette.com and the print edition, targeted at individual residents of Gaston County, NC.
• eNewspaper Digital replica of the printed Gaston Gazette edition delivered online, allowing subscribers to browse the day's paper, archived editions, and special sections from any device.
• Real Estate Listings Online property search and home valuation service delivered through an AddressUSA integration, providing homes for sale, featured properties, and agent listings for consumers and real estate professionals in the Gaston County area.
• Obituaries Obituary and death notice listings for the Gaston County community, including funeral home information and online guestbooks, delivered via a Tukios platform integration.
• Classifieds Online classified listings including a jobs marketplace and general classifieds, allowing individuals and businesses to post and browse listings on the Gaston Gazette website.
• Public Notices and Legals Public notice publication service covering legal announcements, foreclosure sales, estate notices, and government-required public notices for the Gaston County community, with a dedicated submission contact channel.
• Local News and Editorial Content Core editorial coverage of breaking news, local government, crime, community events, and lifestyle stories for Gaston County, NC, distributed via the Gaston Gazette website, print edition, and syndicated through the USA Today Network.
• Local and Regional Sports Coverage Sports journalism covering local high school teams, regional college programs (Duke, UNC), NASCAR, and World Cup soccer with betting odds, distributed to Gaston County sports fans.
• Advertising Services Display, classified, sponsored content (Taboola), and programmatic advertising placements sold to local businesses and advertisers targeting the Gaston County consumer audience across print, digital, and the USA Today Network.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Gannett / USA Today NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gaston Gazette is operated by Gannett, part of the USA Today Network. The publication shares content across the network, uses Gannett's technical infrastructure and platforms, and follows the USA Today Network Style Guide. Gannett provides advertising services through advertising.usatoday.com.
• Gaston County CommunitycoreOthersThe publication covers local news, sports, events, and community matters for Gaston County and surrounding areas including Gastonia, Belmont, Dallas, Kings Mountain, Cramerton, Bessemer City, and Shelby regions.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Charlotte Observer: Another Gannett / USA Today Network local newspaper covering the Charlotte metro area in North Carolina. Directly comparable as a Gannett-owned local/regional daily sharing the same content platform, subscription infrastructure, and ad sales stack.
• Hickory Daily Record: Gannett-owned local daily newspaper serving Hickory and the Catawba County region of North Carolina, immediately adjacent to Gaston County. Closely comparable in market size, scope of coverage, and ownership structure.
• The Shelby Star: Local newspaper covering Cleveland County and Shelby, NC — explicitly referenced in Gaston Gazette's coverage area. Comparable as a community-focused local daily in the same western N.C. media market.
• The Herald-Sun (Durham): Gannett / USA Today Network local daily serving Durham, NC. Comparable as a Gannett-owned community newspaper operating on the same USA Today Network technology and ad platform.
• Asheville Citizen-Times: Gannett / USA Today Network local newspaper serving Asheville and western North Carolina. Comparable as a regional Gannett daily with similar product verticals (news, sports, opinion, real estate, obituaries).
• StarNews (Wilmington): Gannett-owned daily serving Wilmington, NC. Directly comparable as another USA Today Network local title in North Carolina using the same subscriptions, eNewspaper, and ad infrastructure.
• The Tennessean: Gannett / USA Today Network flagship regional daily serving Nashville and Tennessee. Comparable as another mid-market USA Today Network publication operating on Gannett's shared content and ad technology stack.
• IndyStar: Gannett-owned daily serving Indianapolis. Comparable as a USA Today Network local title with the same subscription, eNewspaper, and advertising platform, though in a materially larger market.
• The Des Moines Register: Gannett-owned flagship regional daily serving Iowa. Comparable as a USA Today Network local publication leveraging shared content, subscription, and ad infrastructure across Gannett's portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Greensboro News & Record: Established North Carolina daily newspaper (now part of Lee Enterprises after Gannett divestitures). Comparable as a larger legacy local newspaper competing for North Carolina digital subscribers and regional advertisers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gastongazette
• Facebookfacebook.com/gastongazette

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 The Gaston Gazette