What Telegraph Herald does

Telegraph Herald is a privately held daily newspaper headquartered at 801 Bluff Street, Dubuque, Iowa, serving the tri-state area of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It operates as a product of TH Media, a subsidiary of the diversified media conglomerate Woodward Communications, Inc., and was founded in 1836. The publication provides comprehensive hyperlocal coverage of local government, schools, crime, sports, business, community events, obituaries, and public notices, distributed through print home delivery, the telegraphherald.com website and e-edition, mobile applications, email newsletters, and social media channels. The 251-500 employee operation also publishes sub-brand content including HER Magazine, BizTimes.biz, and the TH Talks Podcast, and operates an events platform and the TH Store retail/merchandise business.

The company's technology stack is built on the BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital (TownNews), with Newzware powering subscriber and member authentication and Newsmemory delivering the digital e-edition, representing a conventional newspaper industry platform rather than proprietary infrastructure. Monetization is multi-stream: recurring print and digital subscriptions, local and classified advertising (including specialized verticals such as AccessDubuqueJobs.com for employment and GoFindMyHome.com for real estate), one-time merchandise sales through the TH Store, and ticket/event revenue from sponsored community events such as Savvy Over 60 and the Tri-State Drone Extravaganza. A TH Perks loyalty program is layered on top of membership.

Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, targeting local residents of the Dubuque tri-state area on the subscriber side and local/regional businesses on the advertising side, supported by an in-house multimedia marketing and account executive team and an editorial team led by Executive Editor Amy Gilligan. Publisher roles are held by Bob Woodward and Mike Fortman, with Matt Connolly as Director of Digital Operations. Distribution is intentionally diversified across owned-and-operated digital properties, email, social, apps, events, and a physical retail storefront, designed to insulate the business from continued secular pressure on print advertising and circulation.

Name

Telegraph Herald

Legal name

Telegraph Herald

Website

https://telegraphherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1836

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Telegraph Herald is a privately held daily newspaper based in Dubuque, Iowa, serving residents and businesses across the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-state area with local news, sports, advertising, and community events through print, digital, and mobile channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

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
• News subscription services
• Print and digital media
• Community journalism
• Classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubuque

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. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from print home delivery, website subscriptions, and e-edition access. Memberships and subscriber accounts provide tiered access to content.
2. Advertising Revenue: Local display advertising, classified ads, national advertising, legal notices, and digital advertising across telegraphherald.com. Includes classifieds for jobs (AccessDubuqueJobs.com), real estate (GoFindMyHome.com), and marketplace.
3. Retail and Merchandise: Sale of books, special edition magazines, calendars, photos, reprints, and branded merchandise through the TH Store (store.telegraphherald.com). Products include historical photo books, sports memorabilia reprints, and special sections.
4. Events and Ticket Sales: Sponsors and sells tickets to events including Savvy Over 60, Tri-State Drone Extravaganza, Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, and other community events through the TH Events platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Telegraph Herald is a daily newspaper and digital media company that publishes local news, sports, business, opinion, obituaries, and lifestyle content for the Dubuque tri-state area (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin). It distributes content through a daily print edition, telegraphherald.com website, e-edition digital replica, email newsletters, mobile apps, and a podcast. It also sells classified and display advertising, operates an e-commerce store for branded merchandise and historical publications, and runs local events.

Product overview

Telegraph Herald is a daily newspaper and digital media company serving the tri-state area (Dubuque, Iowa; Illinois; Wisconsin). The company operates a main news website (telegraphherald.com) providing comprehensive local coverage across news, sports, business, politics, crime, and lifestyle categories. The core digital offerings include the main website, Today's eEdition (digital replica of the print edition), and email newsletters. The company also maintains the Telegraph Herald Store selling premium publications including special sections (Tri-State Bucket List, Tri-States Ballrooms and Bands), historical books (The '70s series, The '50s series), and regional interest titles. Additional products include HER Magazine, BizTimes.biz, TH Talks Podcast, Events Platform, Classifieds & Marketplace, Puzzles & Games, Weather Service, Photo/Video Gallery, and loyalty program TH Perks. The company also operates Savvy Over 60 recognition program and AccessDubuqueJobs.com employment marketplace. The platform is powered by BLOX Content Management System and uses Newzware for user authentication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Telegraph Herald Daily Newspaper The flagship daily print and digital newspaper providing local news, sports, business, opinion, obituaries, and lifestyle content for the Dubuque tri-state area (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin), available via print home delivery and online at telegraphherald.com.
• Today's eEdition Digital replica of the daily Telegraph Herald print edition, accessible online for subscribers to read the complete print newspaper in digital format.
• Telegraph Herald Store E-commerce store (store.telegraphherald.com) selling books, special edition magazines, calendars, photos, article reprints, and branded merchandise featuring local historical and editorial content from the Telegraph Herald.
• HER Magazine Lifestyle magazine publication featured on the Telegraph Herald website, covering local features and lifestyle content for readers in the Dubuque tri-state area.
• BizTimes.biz Business-focused magazine and content section covering local and regional business news for the Dubuque tri-state market.
• Special Sections & Historical Books Premium publication series including Tri-State Bucket List, Tri-States Ballrooms and Bands, A Perfect Game: Baseball in Dubuque County, historical decade books (The '70s, The '50s), and various local interest books sold through the TH Store.
• Community Events & Ticketing Events Platform and ticket sales for Telegraph Herald-sponsored community events including Savvy Over 60, Tri-State Drone Extravaganza, Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, and other local events.
• AccessDubuqueJobs.com Job Board Regional job board and employment marketplace integrated with the Telegraph Herald platform, allowing local employers to post jobs and job seekers to find tri-state area opportunities.
• Classifieds & Marketplace Online classified advertising platform featuring real estate, vehicles, items for sale, jobs, legal/public notices, auctions, and services for the Dubuque tri-state area.
• TH Talks Podcast Audio podcast series featuring local news discussions and interviews for the Dubuque tri-state area audience.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Quad-City Times: Daily newspaper serving the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois, directly comparable to Telegraph Herald as a legacy regional daily newspaper operating in a similar mid-size Midwest market with print and digital subscriptions plus local advertising.
• Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: Daily newspaper serving the Cedar Valley region of northeast Iowa, comparable in scale and function to Telegraph Herald as a local Iowa daily covering community news, sports, and classifieds with a print-and-digital model.
• La Crosse Tribune: Daily newspaper serving La Crosse and western Wisconsin, directly comparable as a legacy regional daily serving a tri-state-adjacent upper Midwest market with similar print, digital subscription, and local advertising revenue mix.
• The Gazette (Cedar Rapids): Daily newspaper serving Cedar Rapids and eastern Iowa, comparable as a Gannett-owned Iowa daily with the same hybrid print/digital subscription and advertising model serving a regional Iowa audience.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded local-news publisher operating a large portfolio of daily and weekly community newspapers across the U.S., broadly comparable to a TH Media-owned Telegraph Herald as a multi-title local newspaper group with shared back-office and digital infrastructure.
• Gannett Co. Large publicly traded newspaper publisher operating USA TODAY and hundreds of community dailies, broadly comparable to Telegraph Herald as a dominant owner of local U.S. newspapers with shared subscription, advertising, and digital publishing infrastructure.
• Tribune Publishing: Mid-large U.S. newspaper publisher (Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, etc.), broadly comparable as a portfolio operator of metropolitan and regional dailies running subscription plus advertising revenue models similar to Telegraph Herald.
• Des Moines Register: Iowa's largest daily newspaper and a Gannett property, comparable as a higher-tier Iowa daily serving a state-level audience with the same print-and-digital subscription, classifieds, and local advertising mix.

Regional players

• WQAD-TV (News 8): ABC-affiliated television station covering the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, comparable as a regional broadcast and digital news competitor chasing local advertisers and audience in overlapping Midwest markets near Dubuque.
• WISN-TV / Sinclair local news: Local TV news operations serving nearby Wisconsin and tri-state-adjacent markets, comparable as broadcast-and-digital regional news competitors pursuing the same local advertising budgets and audience in geographies adjacent to Telegraph Herald's footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/telegraphherald
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/TelegraphHeraldDBQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/telegraphherald
• Instagraminstagram.com/telegraphheralddbq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Telegraph Herald