The Cullman Times

What The Cullman Times does

The Cullman Times is a local newspaper serving Cullman County, Alabama, in continuous operation since 1901 and currently owned by Carpenter Media Group. It publishes daily coverage of city and county government, schools, local sports, community events, obituaries, and public notices for the city of Cullman and surrounding communities including Hanceville, Vinemont, and Fairview. The business operates a multi-channel distribution model: print home delivery, a website at cullmantimes.com, a digital e-edition at digital.cullmantimes.com, and dedicated subdomains for obituaries, classifieds, and public notices, supplemented by email newsletter signup and an SMS text notification service for contest participation.

The underlying technology stack is a WordPress-based content management system layered with proprietary-feel subdomain properties (e-edition, obituaries, marketplace) and an SMS text-to-vote service. The company employs 11-50 people and has been recognized for four consecutive years with the Alabama Press Association first-place award for Best Sports Coverage. Revenue is generated from a mix of recurring home delivery and digital subscriptions, display advertising, classified marketplace listings, legally required public notices, and promotional services including the annual Best of the Best community contest. Key customers span local SMB advertisers, government and legal entities, community organizations, and individual subscribers across the county, with no disclosed material customer concentration.

Name

The Cullman Times

Legal name

The Cullman Times

Website

https://cullmantimes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cullman Times is a community newspaper serving Cullman County, Alabama since 1901, publishing local news, sports, obituaries, classifieds, and public notices across print, digital e-edition, and email/SMS channels, and generating revenue from subscriptions, advertising, and contests under owner Carpenter Media Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cullman

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, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Home delivery and digital subscriptions for the newspaper providing ongoing recurring revenue from readers seeking local news coverage.
2. Display Advertising: Traditional newspaper display advertising sold to local businesses targeting the Cullman County community.
3. Classified Advertising: Paid classified advertisements including job listings, real estate, vehicles, and other categories through the marketplace platform.
4. Public Notices: Legal public notice advertisements required by law, generating revenue from government entities and legal professionals.
5. Contest and Promotional Services: Best of the Best annual contest and other promotional activities generating revenue through participation and community engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Cullman Times is a local newspaper that publishes hyperlocal news, sports, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and public notices for Cullman County, Alabama. It distributes content through print home delivery subscriptions, a WordPress-based website, a digital e-edition platform, a dedicated obituaries portal, an online classifieds marketplace, a public notices search portal, a mobile app, email newsletters, and SMS text notifications. Additional offerings include a seasonal Cullman Magazine and the annual Best of the Best community contest.

Product overview

The Cullman Times operates as a traditional local newspaper offering print and digital content through a multi-platform approach. The core offerings include the main newspaper (The Cullman Times), its digital E-Edition, Cullman Magazine (seasonal publication), Obituaries, Classifieds/Marketplace, and Public Notices. Additional services include the annual Best of the Best community voting contest, email newsletter subscriptions, and SMS text notifications for contests and voting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cullman Magazine: A magazine publication by The Cullman Times covering Cullman community content.

Products and services

• The Cullman Times (Print Newspaper) Local newspaper serving Cullman, Alabama with daily news coverage including local news, sports, community events, and opinion pieces, delivered via print home delivery subscriptions.
• E-Edition (Digital Newspaper)
• Cullman Magazine Magazine publication covering Cullman community content, published seasonally with editions such as the Fall issue.
• Obituaries Portal Dedicated obituary listings service hosted on a separate subdomain for local death announcements and memorials.
• Classifieds/Marketplace Online marketplace for classified advertisements including jobs, for sale items, vehicles, real estate, and services.
• Public Notices Official public notice listings service for legal publication including government announcements and legal notices, accessed via a search portal on the marketplace subdomain.
• Best of the Best Contest Annual community voting contest recognizing top local businesses across multiple categories including automotive, food, medical, and services, with SMS text-to-vote participation.
• Mobile Application Mobile application providing digital news content from The Cullman Times to readers on smartphones and tablets.
• Email Newsletter Email newsletter subscription service delivering news updates and breaking stories to subscribers.

Quantifiable outcome

• First place in Best Sports Coverage for four consecutive years by Alabama Press Association

Named customers5 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Carpenter Media GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company and corporate owner of The Cullman Times. Carpenter Media Group operates multiple newspaper properties and provides centralized support services including advertising, circulation, technology infrastructure, and corporate policies for terms of service and privacy.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Selma Times-Journal: Alabama daily newspaper serving Dallas County with print and digital products — comparable small-market daily newspaper product mix and audience structure.
• The Gadsden Times: Alabama regional daily newspaper serving Etowah County with print and digital editions, owned by Carpenter Media Group — directly comparable operating model, geography, and ownership to The Cullman Times.
• TimesDaily (Florence): Northwest Alabama regional daily published in Florence and owned by Carpenter Media Group, offering print, E-Edition, and digital news — a near-identical product mix and ownership peer in the same state.
• The Decatur Daily: Daily newspaper serving Morgan and Lawrence counties in Alabama, also under Carpenter Media Group, with print/digital subscriptions and classifieds — operates with the same revenue model and parent-company support as The Cullman Times.
• The Anniston Star: Long-running Alabama daily newspaper serving Calhoun County with print, digital, classifieds, and public notices — directly comparable community-newspaper operating model in the same state.
• The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama regional daily newspaper owned by Carpenter Media Group covering Tuscaloosa County with print and digital editions — same ownership, scale tier, and product portfolio as The Cullman Times.
• The Dothan Eagle: Daily newspaper serving the Dothan area in southeast Alabama with print, digital, and classified platforms — directly comparable community-newspaper structure and revenue mix.
• The Opelika-Auburn News: Local Alabama daily covering Lee County with print/digital editions, classifieds, and public notices — same small-market daily newspaper operating model as The Cullman Times.

Broad incumbents

• The Montgomery Advertiser: Larger Alabama daily owned by Carpenter Media Group covering the state capital region with print and digital editions — same ownership family but larger geographic and audience scope than The Cullman Times.
• AL.com / The Birmingham News: Alabama's largest digital news platform with affiliated Birmingham and Huntsville print editions — competing statewide digital news source that overlaps with Cullman Times' regional coverage and audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thecullmantimes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-cullman-times

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 The Cullman Times