The McClatchy Company

What The McClatchy Company does

The McClatchy Company is a privately held local news and media company that operates 30 daily newspapers across 14+ U.S. states — anchored by flagship titles such as the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star, and Charlotte Observer — and publishes a portfolio of consumer magazines (US Magazine, Woman's World, Life & Style, Soap Opera Digest) following its 2024 acquisition of Accelerate360 and planned merger with a360media. The company was founded in 1857 in Sacramento, California and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2020 under private ownership of Chatham Asset Management, a special situations hedge fund. Today, McClatchy reaches 65M+ monthly readers across all platforms and generates 330mm monthly page views and 78mm monthly unique visitors, with 67% of digital traffic coming from mobile devices.

The company's business model rests on three revenue streams: digital and print advertising (sold directly to local/regional advertisers and through a Gannett/USA TODAY partnership for national brands), digital and print subscriptions across its news brands, and content licensing. McClatchy Advertising offers a unified platform across 29-30 markets with ad-tech integrations into Atex, Google Ad Manager, and Salesforce, augmented by Mediaferry's AI-powered creative operations workflow for print, digital, and video ad production. Distribution combines owned-and-operated local newspaper websites and apps, print editions reaching 4-6M daily/Sunday readers, digital replicas, and ecosystem partnerships including an iHeartMedia co-produced podcast (Longshot) and Google ad-platform integrations.

Technology and product differentiation centers on the Content Scaling Agent (CSA), a Claude-based generative AI tool rolled out across McClatchy newsrooms in Q1 2026 to summarize and re-version reporter content for different audience segments — notable as an early production deployment of generative AI in local newsroom workflows. The company has additionally built a strategic investments portfolio in media-tech adjacencies (Plex, Stringr, RadioPublic, Engage3, Offline, Pie) and has joined peers in antitrust litigation against Google seeking damages from alleged ad-tech monopolization.

Name

The McClatchy Company

Legal name

McClatchy Media Company, LLC

Website

https://mcclatchy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1857

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The McClatchy Company is a privately held local media company operating 30 daily newspapers across the U.S. plus a portfolio of consumer magazines, monetizing through digital and print advertising, subscriptions, and content licensing under Chatham Asset Management ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Subscription & Fulfillment Services (Print & Digital) (MPAJAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entertainment & Celebrity Magazines (MPAJAEAK), Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital advertising solutions
• News subscription services
• Print media publishing
• Investigative journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: Digital advertising revenue from 330mm monthly page views and 78mm monthly unique visitors. Mobile accounts for 67% of digital visits. Includes programmatic, display, and native advertising across 30 markets.
2. Print Advertising: Traditional print advertising across 30 newspaper markets, reaching 4mm daily print readers and 6mm Sunday print readers, plus 7mm through print community and advertising products.
3. Digital Subscriptions: Subscription revenue from digital news content, with readers subscribing through mcclatchydc.com customer service. Subscription terms governed by separate Terms of Subscription.
4. Print Subscriptions: Traditional newspaper subscription revenue for print editions across 30 markets including Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The McClatchy Company operates 30 local daily newspapers and affiliated digital properties across 14 U.S. states (including the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star, and Charlotte Observer), publishes a portfolio of acquired magazines (US Magazine, Life & Style, Woman's World, Soap Opera Digest), and sells advertising through McClatchy Advertising across digital, print, and video channels reaching 78 million monthly unique visitors. It also produces the Longshot branded podcast series with iHeartMedia, licenses content via PARS International, and sells digital and print subscriptions to consumers.

Product overview

McClatchy operates a diversified local media company with two primary product lines: (1) a network of 30 local newspapers spanning from California to Florida, including flagship titles like the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, and Kansas City Star, plus magazine properties (Life & Style, US Magazine, Woman's World, Soap Opera Digest, Bargain Hunter); and (2) McClatchy Advertising, a multi-channel advertising platform connecting local and national advertisers to 330mm monthly page views and 78mm monthly unique visitors across 29 markets. The portfolio also includes digital subscription services, podcast content (via the Longshot/iHeartMedia partnership), and content licensing. The company also recently deployed a Content Scaling Agent AI tool for article summarization and repurposing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Local Newspaper Portfolio A portfolio of 30 daily local newspapers and affiliated digital news sites serving communities across 14 U.S. states (California, Idaho, Washington, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina), with flagship titles including Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star, Charlotte Observer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and The News & Observer. The publications deliver local accountability journalism, investigative reporting, and community news to over 65 million monthly readers.
• Magazine Publications Entertainment and lifestyle magazine brands including US Magazine, Life & Style, Woman's World, Soap Opera Digest, and Bargain Hunter, distributed nationally to consumer audiences.
• McClatchy Advertising Integrated digital and traditional advertising platform offering programmatic, display, native, print, and video ad placements to local, regional, and national advertisers across 29-30 markets. Delivers 330 million monthly page views, 78 million monthly unique visitors, 10.2 million monthly video views, and 67% mobile traffic. National advertiser sales are conducted through Gannett's USA TODAY Network sales force, providing combined access to 300 local markets and over 200 million consumers.
• Digital Subscriptions Recurring digital subscription service providing consumer access to local news content, print replica editions, and archives across McClatchy's 30 news brands. Subscription terms and customer service are managed centrally via mcclatchydc.com and a toll-free number (1-844-445-5715).
• Print Subscriptions Traditional home-delivery and single-copy print newspaper subscriptions across 30 U.S. markets reaching 4 million daily readers and 6 million Sunday readers, plus 7 million through community and advertising products.
• Content Licensing Third-party content licensing services managed through PARS International, allowing organizations to obtain reproduction rights for McClatchy journalism. Rights and reprint requests are handled centrally at 212-221-9595.
• Longshot Podcast Series Character-driven audio documentary anthology podcast co-produced with iHeartMedia and distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network, focusing on sports and social change topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65+ million monthly readers across all platforms
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, flagship and minor.

• MediaferrycoreTechnology or Integration · 20 April 2026Mediaferry provided end-to-end creative operations workflow management solution integrated with McClatchy's existing systems including Atex, Google Ad Manager, and Salesforce. Solution utilizes AI-powered tools to semi-automate production workflows for print, digital, and video advertising campaigns.
• a360mediamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2024McClatchy announced a planned merger with a360media (accelerate360), a major magazine publisher owned by Chatham Asset Management. The merger aims to combine local journalism with celebrity and lifestyle magazines, potentially tripling profits and revenues. a360media publishes Us Weekly and Woman's World.
• iHeartMediacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2021Co-production partnership for 'Longshot' anthology podcast series exploring intersection of sports and social change. First season 'Return Man' distributed through iHeartPodcast Network. McClatchy provides investigative journalism while iHeartMedia provides podcast distribution and reach.
• GannettflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational brands and agencies gain access to 300 local markets in the U.S. and more than 200M highly-engaged consumers through combined McClatchy and Gannett local media reach. Gannett's USA TODAY national sales team serves as go-to-market partner.
• Local Media ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership of leading local media companies working together to create new opportunities for revenue and audience growth.
• The Seattle Times CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Seattle Times Co. is an investment in smart growth, extending McClatchy's ability to connect with important audiences. Seattle Times publishes The Seattle Times newspaper and three affiliated newspapers in Washington state.
• PlexminorOthersInvestment in smart growth. A new way to organize and share video, music, and photo collections with instant access on all devices.
• Engage3minorOthersInvestment in smart growth. Engage3 is revolutionizing retail with predictive analytics and big data, changing how fast-moving consumer products are priced, bought, and sold.
• RadioPublicminorOthersInvestment in smart growth. Digital platform founded by Public Radio Exchange for podcast subscription management.
• StringrminorOthersInvestment in smart growth. Online marketplace enabling media content contributors to upload and submit photos, videos, and other media for licensing to media organizations.
• OfflineminorOthersInvestment in smart growth. Leading technology platform giving people instant access to best events and experiences in their city, curated daily.
• PieminorOthersInvestment in smart growth. Platform for discovering and creating 360 videos using 360 camera or smartphone.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/McClatchyCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/McClatchyCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-mcclatchy-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries35 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments18 records

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

Frequently asked questions about The McClatchy Company