Macon

What Macon does

The Macon Telegraph, now branded as The Telegraph, is a regional newspaper and digital news platform founded in 1826 in Macon, Georgia, and currently operated as a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company following McClatchy's 2006 acquisition of Knight Ridder. The company serves Middle Georgia—including Macon, Bibb County, Houston County, and surrounding communities—providing local news coverage across categories such as crime, education, sports, weather, politics, business, food and dining, and entertainment.

The core product is the Macon.com website (macon.com) paired with iOS and Android mobile applications, an e-edition, daily email newsletters, and supplementary features including interactive games and puzzles and obituary listings via Legacy.com. The technology stack is a shared McClatchy publishing platform with a standard CMS-driven editorial workflow, browser-based games, and push-notification mobile apps. The company does not disclose proprietary technology, APIs, or AI capabilities.

Revenue is generated through two primary streams: digital subscriptions (monthly at $1.99 introductory then $15.99/month, or annual at $159.99) and advertising—both display and classifieds, including job recruitment, legal notices, and political/advocacy advertising managed centrally via McClatchy's advertising sales platform. The company does not publicly disclose revenue, and given its position as a single mid-size market property within a larger conglomerate, it operates with limited standalone transparency.

Name

Macon

Legal name

The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company

Website

https://macon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1826

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Macon Telegraph (The Telegraph) is a McClatchy-owned regional newspaper and digital news platform serving Middle Georgia with local news, sports, weather, and classifieds, monetized through digital subscriptions and advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper / Regional Digital News

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Digital newspaper
• Subscription news
• Regional journalism
• News website

Headquarters

HQ city

Macon

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, Infrastructure

Core offering

The Macon Telegraph, operating as The Telegraph, is a digital local-news platform and daily newspaper serving Middle Georgia. The company produces and distributes original journalism across local news, crime, education, sports, weather, politics, business, food and dining, and entertainment through its website (macon.com), companion iOS and Android mobile apps, email newsletters, and a printed daily edition. Revenue is generated primarily through consumer digital subscriptions and advertising.

Product overview

The Macon Telegraph (now branded as The Telegraph) is a McClatchy-owned digital news platform and newspaper serving Middle Georgia. The company operates a single unified digital product—the Macon Telegraph website and its associated mobile apps—which provides comprehensive local news coverage across multiple categories including local news, crime, education, sports, weather, politics, business, food and dining, and entertainment. The product portfolio includes the core news platform, digital subscription services with monthly and annual tiers, mobile applications for iOS and Android, and supplementary features such as a games and puzzles section, newsletters, and weather news coverage. Revenue is generated primarily through digital subscriptions and advertising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Telegraph (formerly The Macon Telegraph) The core news publication of the company: a digital local-news website (macon.com) and printed newspaper providing local, regional, and state news coverage of Macon, Bibb County, Houston County, and the rest of Middle Georgia across categories such as local news, crime, education, sports, weather, politics, business, food and dining, and entertainment.
• Digital Subscription Service A subscription product that grants unlimited access to The Telegraph's website content, the e-Edition digital replica newspaper, and the mobile applications for paying subscribers, with monthly and annual billing plans.
• The Telegraph Mobile Apps Companion iOS and Android applications providing real-time news updates and access to The Telegraph's reporting and content for mobile-device users, available to subscribers of the Digital Subscription Service.
• Newsletters & Email Alerts Daily emails and breaking-news alert emails delivering the latest news and updates from The Telegraph to subscribers and registered readers.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Fresno Bee: McClatchy-owned regional daily in California's Central Valley. Closely comparable in market size, product mix, and operational model to the Macon Telegraph.
• The (Raleigh) News & Observer: McClatchy-owned regional daily in Raleigh, NC. Operates the same McClatchy digital news platform, subscription model, and e-edition — directly comparable in technology, monetization, and editorial structure.
• The State (Columbia, SC): McClatchy-owned regional daily in Columbia, South Carolina. Operates the same digital subscription product, e-edition, and editorial verticals, making it a tightly comparable peer in scale and operations.
• The Kansas City Star: Another flagship McClatchy regional daily, operating the identical McClatchy digital subscription and e-edition product. Direct corporate peer with the same product, revenue model, and content verticals.
• The Miami Herald: Major McClatchy regional daily serving South Florida. Shares the same platform, subscription tiers, and multi-vertical local news product as the Macon Telegraph; larger scale but operationally identical.
• The Charlotte Observer: McClatchy-owned regional daily serving Charlotte, NC. Operates the same digital subscription platform, mobile app stack, and ad sales infrastructure as the Macon Telegraph, making it a structurally identical peer.
• The Sacramento Bee: Another McClatchy-owned regional daily newspaper (Sacramento, CA) with the same digital subscription, e-edition, and advertising model as the Macon Telegraph. Direct corporate sibling and closest comparable in scale, product mix, and operational structure.

Regional players

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia's largest regional newspaper (Cox-owned) covering the same state as the Macon Telegraph. A larger, Atlanta-focused incumbent that competes for the same Middle Georgia digital audience and advertising budgets from a different ownership structure.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises newspapers: Large U.S. local newspaper group operating regional dailies across the Midwest, South, and East. Operates subscription-and-advertising regional papers at a scale comparable to the Macon Telegraph but serves different geographies.
• USA Today / Gannett Local Network: The largest U.S. local newspaper operator (Gannett) with hundreds of regional titles, including in Georgia. Competes with the Macon Telegraph for digital subscribers, programmatic ad dollars, and national brand advertising at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Telegraph247
• Facebookfacebook.com/telegraphGA
• Instagraminstagram.com/telegraphga
• Xx.com/telegraphGA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-telegraph_2

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

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Macon