Herald & Review

What Herald & Review does

Herald & Review is a local daily newspaper serving Decatur and Macon County, Illinois, with continuous operation tracing to 1872. It is owned by Lee Enterprises, a publicly traded diversified media company listed on NASDAQ under ticker LEE, and operates as a single-market brand within Lee's portfolio. The publication's core editorial mission is local coverage of news, crime and courts, government and politics, high school and college sports, weather, obituaries, business, and lifestyle content for Central Illinois readers.

The product portfolio spans a multi-platform distribution footprint: the herald-review.com website (built on BLOX Content Management System from bloxdigital.com/TownNews), iOS and Android mobile applications, an e-edition digital replica of the print newspaper, email breaking-news alerts and daily newsletters, and podcasts including 'The Ethical Life' and 'Hot Off the Wire'. Reader engagement features include news tips, share-a-story/photo/video submissions (via Stringr), an event calendar, obituaries, and classifieds.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring digital subscriptions (with e-edition access), recurring print subscriptions (home delivery and mail), and advertising — including display, classified, sponsored content via Brand Ave. Studios, and public notices. Pricing is subscription-based with monthly billing cadence; specific price points are not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is self-serve for individual readers and direct sales for print and advertising accounts, all oriented at the regional Decatur/Macon County geography.

Name

Herald & Review

Legal name

Herald & Review

Website

https://herald-review.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Herald & Review is a local daily newspaper serving Decatur and Macon County, Illinois, owned by Lee Enterprises. It delivers local news, sports, and community coverage via print, website, mobile apps, e-edition, newsletters, and podcasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper
• Community news
• Digital subscription
• News publication
• Print media

Headquarters

HQ city

Decatur

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Digital subscription services providing online access to news content, e-edition, and digital archives
2. Print Subscriptions: Physical newspaper delivery subscription services
3. Advertising: Display advertising, classified ads, and sponsored content across digital and print platforms

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Herald & Review is a local newspaper serving Decatur, IL and Macon County, Illinois, providing breaking local news, sports, weather, obituaries, government/politics coverage, and community information. The publication distributes content through a news website (herald-review.com), a daily print edition, an e-edition digital replica, iOS/Android mobile apps, email newsletters, and podcasts. It is owned by Lee Enterprises.

Product overview

Herald & Review is a local news publication operated by Lee Enterprises, offering a multi-platform news portfolio. The core offering is the herald-review.com news website delivering breaking news, local news, sports, weather, entertainment and lifestyle content for Decatur, IL and Central Illinois. The product suite includes a mobile app for customized reading experiences, an E-edition digital replica of the print newspaper updated daily, email newsletters and Breaking News alerts for real-time notifications, and podcasts including 'The Ethical Life' and 'Hot Off the Wire' for on-demand audio content. The publication also operates branded social media channels and community engagement features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Herald & Review News Website The primary digital news platform providing breaking news, local news, sports, weather, entertainment, and lifestyle coverage for Decatur, IL and Central Illinois.
• Mobile App A mobile application offering a customized news reading experience for iOS and Android devices.
• E-edition A digital replica of the printed newspaper updated daily, allowing readers to view the full print edition online.
• Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts Email notification service delivering breaking news and daily updates directly to subscribers' inboxes.
• Herald & Review Podcasts Podcast offerings including 'The Ethical Life' and 'Hot Off the Wire', covering news commentary, cultural topics, and daily news summaries.
• Digital and Print Subscription Subscription services providing online access to news content, e-edition, digital archives, and physical newspaper delivery on a recurring monthly basis.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The State Journal-Register: Daily newspaper serving Springfield, Illinois, also owned by Lee Enterprises. Direct regional peer with identical BLOX CMS, subscription/e-edition/podcast product stack, and overlapping Illinois geography.
• The Pantagraph: Daily newspaper serving Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, also operated by Lee Enterprises. Closely comparable in scale, product mix, and Midwest local-news focus.
• Rockford Register Star: Daily newspaper in Rockford, IL, owned by Lee Enterprises. Same parent, same platform stack, comparable mid-sized Illinois local-newsroom footprint.
• Peoria Journal Star: Daily newspaper serving Peoria, Illinois, also part of the Lee Enterprises portfolio. Direct comparable for product, audience, and revenue model.
• Belleville News-Democrat: Daily newspaper serving Belleville and the St. Louis metro-east, owned by Lee Enterprises. Same platform, comparable scale and Illinois/Metro-East footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Daily Herald (Chicago suburbs): Large suburban Chicago daily owned by Tribune Publishing/Hearst-affiliated interests. Comparable as a multi-platform Illinois daily, but with materially larger scale and audience reach.
• Gannett local Illinois dailies: Gannett's portfolio of Illinois dailies (e.g., Rockford Register Star historically, though now Lee-owned; nearby Champaign News-Gazette as network properties) competes for the same regional Illinois advertising pool using the same USA TODAY NETWORK digital infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Decatur-area community weeklies and Patch sites: Hyperlocal digital outlets such as Patch and Macon County community weeklies cover similar Decatur geography with free, ad-supported digital content, competing for local ad budgets and reader attention.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/heraldandreview
• Facebookherald-review.com/facebook
• LinkedInherald-review.com/linkedin
• Instagramherald-review.com/instagram

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 Herald & Review