South Whidbey Record

What South Whidbey Record does

South Whidbey Record is a community newspaper serving South Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, operating as part of the Carpenter Media Group network of community publications. The publication covers local news, government, schools, sports, and community events for residents and visitors of the South Whidbey area, with active publishing maintained as of mid-2026. Its underlying technology is a WordPress-based content management system powering the website, supplemented by a digital eEdition replica, paid email newsletter subscriptions, and an online classifieds marketplace — all standard small-publisher web tooling rather than proprietary platform infrastructure.

The business model combines four revenue streams: print and digital subscription fees, display and classified advertising from local businesses, sponsored content placements (with named regional advertisers such as Providence and YMCA Camp Casey), and recurring legal and public notice publication tied to its role as a newspaper of record for Island County. Distribution is hybrid, with physical newspaper delivery across South Whidbey plus digital access via the website and eEdition. The company is privately held under the Carpenter Media Group umbrella, operates with a small staff in the 11-50 employee range, and has no disclosed funding, M&A, or expansion activity in the input data.

Name

South Whidbey Record

Legal name

South Whidbey Record

Website

https://southwhidbeyrecord.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

South Whidbey Record is a community newspaper serving South Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, operated as part of the Carpenter Media Group network. It delivers local news, legal notices, classifieds, newsletters, and sponsored content to island residents and advertisers via print, eEdition, and a WordPress-based website.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community journalism
• News subscription services
• Classified advertising
• Digital news content

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Harbor

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

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: The newspaper offers subscription services for access to content through the website and eEditions digital editions.
2. Advertising: The publication generates revenue through display advertising, sponsored content sections, and classified advertising including employment, real estate, transportation, and legal notices.
3. Classifieds: Revenue from classified advertisements including employment listings, real estate rentals, vehicle sales, and legal notices.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

South Whidbey Record is a community newspaper publishing company serving South Whidbey Island, Washington. It delivers local news, sports, opinion columns, obituaries, business coverage, and community announcements through a digital website, eEditions digital replicas, email newsletters, and print newspaper subscriptions. The publication also operates a classifieds marketplace for employment, real estate, transportation, and legal notices, and runs sponsored content partnerships with local businesses and organizations.

Product overview

South Whidbey Record is a local community newspaper serving South Whidbey Island, Washington. The publication operates as a digital-first platform offering online news content complemented by eEditions (digital replicas of the print edition), print subscriptions, and email newsletters. The product portfolio includes a classifieds marketplace integrated with third-party platforms, sponsored content partnerships with local businesses, and various community engagement features including contests and opinion columns. The newspaper is part of Carpenter Media Group's network of community publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• South Whidbey Record Online News Primary online news platform for South Whidbey Island providing local news, sports, opinion, business coverage, obituaries, and community stories through a digital publication.
• eEditions Digital Edition Digital replica editions of the print newspaper accessible online, providing the print reading experience in digital form.
• Classifieds Marketplace Online classifieds platform featuring employment, real estate rentals, vehicle/transportation listings, and legal notices, integrated with the iPublish Marketplace.
• Email Newsletter Subscriptions Email newsletter service delivering news updates and curated content directly to subscribers' inboxes.
• Print Subscription Physical newspaper delivery subscription service with subscriber center support, providing print editions via mail delivery and newsstands.
• Sponsored Content Native advertising content produced in partnership with local businesses and organizations, including healthcare providers, community organizations, and local businesses.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carpenter Media GroupcoreOthersSouth Whidbey Record is operated under Carpenter Media Group, a network of community newspapers serving Washington state. The parent company provides operational infrastructure including website hosting, privacy policies, and terms of service.
• Oak Harbor Main StreetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOak Harbor Main Street partners with the publication for event coverage and promotional content for downtown business initiatives including the Wine, Bites and Brews event fundraiser supporting downtown economic development initiatives such as public Wi-Fi, signage, and marketing campaigns.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Everett Herald: Established regional daily serving Snohomish County and the broader Puget Sound region. Larger scale but overlapping coverage of Island County-adjacent communities and competing for regional advertisers.
• Yahoo Local / AOL Local: Large-portal aggregators of local news, weather, and classifieds. Threat vector rather than direct competitor — they capture classifieds and ad dollars without producing community journalism.
• Gannett / USA TODAY Network: Largest US newspaper chain operating hundreds of local titles with digital subscriptions. Indirect competitor via national/local digital advertising spend and aggregator relationships; structurally relevant to the roll-up thesis.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: National hyperlocal digital news network operating neighborhood-level pages. Competes for audience attention and local advertiser dollars in the same content verticals, though lacks the print and legal-notice streams.
• Nextdoor: Neighborhood-focused social platform with a localized news feed and local business advertising. Increasingly substitutes for hyper-local news consumption, especially among younger demographics.

Direct peers

• Anacortes American: Small-town Skagit Valley community newspaper also part of the Sound Publishing/Carpenter family of papers. Same operational stack, same revenue mix, same local-coverage mission.
• Whidbey News-Times: Another community newspaper covering Whidbey Island, Washington. Direct head-to-head competitor for the same subscribers, local advertisers, and legal notice placement on South Whidbey Island.
• Islands Weekly: Community newspaper serving San Juan County, Washington. Hyper-local Pacific Northwest weekly with the same digital-plus-print community-journalism model.
• Peninsula Daily News: Pacific Northwest community/regional newspaper operating a similar subscription + advertising + legal-notice model with both print and digital editions. Closest scale and business-model analog outside of Whidbey Island itself.
• Skagit Valley Herald: Local Washington-state newspaper owned by a regional media group, covering Skagit County adjacent to Island County. Same content verticals (local news, sports, opinion, classifieds) and multi-channel distribution model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/whidbeyrecord
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthWhidbeyRecord
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-whidbey-record

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 South Whidbey Record