What Wick Communications does

Wick Communications is a third-generation, family-owned community media company founded in 1926 by brothers Milton and James Wick and headquartered in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The company operates a portfolio of approximately 30 community newspapers, digital news platforms, magazines, specialty publications, and — as of October 2024 — the NCWLIFE television station serving North Central Washington. Operations span 10 U.S. states across the West, Northern Plains, and Pacific Northwest (Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana), with Arizona Regional Media (ARM) serving as the company's digital advertising arm and proprietary products including the NABUR community engagement platform, a Legacy obituaries platform, and a forthcoming newsroom SMS text messaging service. The company has received multiple industry recognitions, including a perfect 100/100 NewsGuard credibility rating across 22 of its websites — placing it alongside The New York Times and Wall Street Journal — and significant award recognition from organizations such as Editor & Publisher Magazine and the Google News Initiative.

The company's revenue model combines subscription revenue from print and digital newspaper subscriptions with multi-channel advertising revenue (print, digital/programmatic, social media management, and broadcast), supplemented by events, grant funding, and ancillary services such as page design and property management. Arizona Regional Media offers programmatic advertising, database building, and social media marketing to local SMBs, while NCWLIFE generates broadcast and streaming advertising revenue. Distribution is multi-platform, including print newspapers, ~30 digital websites, broadcast TV, YouTube streaming, and direct SMS alerts, with 750,000+ people reached in Arizona alone and 150,000+ combined social followers through The Wenatchee World and NCWLIFE. The company is currently executing a deliberate portfolio reshape, having divested its Midwest newspaper portfolio (to Forum Communications, January 2026), Colorado newspaper group and printing operations (to Grand Junction Media, April 2026), and the Alaska-based Frontiersman (to Mat-Su Sentinel, May 2026), while investing in digital, multimedia, and first-party data capabilities.

Wick is led by CEO Josh O'Connor (appointed February 2024, previously SVP/Regional Publisher at Carpenter Media, with prior leadership roles at Black Press, Sound Publishing, and the Daily Herald of Everett), with third-generation family member Francis Wick retaining the President and Board Member seat after stepping down as CEO. The leadership team includes CFO Susan Ellis (FEI Arizona 2025 CFO of the Year finalist), Editorial Director Dan Shearer (2025 University of Arizona School of Journalism Hall of Fame inductee), and recently created executive roles including Director of Philanthropy and Community Impact, Chief of Staff, and Senior Product Manager. The company is fully family-controlled, with no external private equity or institutional investors identified in the source material, and operates as a private corporation domiciled in Arizona.

Name

Wick Communications

Legal name

WICK COMMUNICATIONS

Website

https://wickcommunications.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Wick Communications is a third-generation, family-owned community media company operating approximately 30 newspapers, digital platforms, and NCWLIFE-TV across 10 U.S. states, serving local readers and small-business advertisers through subscriptions, advertising, and emerging digital products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing and Local Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

News OTT & Live News Streaming Channels (MPABAHAK), Newsstand & Single-Copy Distribution (MPAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Community newspaper publishing
• Local news media
• Digital advertising services
• Programmatic advertising platform
• Multimedia broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Sierra Vista

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Recurring subscription revenue from community newspaper print and digital subscriptions serving local communities across multiple states.
2. Advertising Revenue: Digital and print advertising revenue from local businesses, with Arizona Regional Media (ARM) offering programmatic advertising, managed digital marketing, and social media platform services.
3. Local Events: Revenue from regional events and community-focused programming that complement news coverage and engage local audiences.
4. Grant-Funded Journalism: Funding from organizations like the Local Media Association, Family Independent Media Sustainability Group, and Lenfest Institute to support innovation in local news delivery and business transformation.
5. Multimedia Broadcasting: Revenue from NCWLIFE television station operations including broadcast advertising, streaming content, and video production serving the Wenatchee Valley region.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Wick Communications operates a portfolio of approximately 30 community newspapers, digital news platforms, magazines, and specialty publications across 10 U.S. states, alongside the NCWLIFE television station in North Central Washington. The company also sells digital advertising, programmatic media buying, and social media marketing services to local businesses through its Arizona Regional Media (ARM) division and Wick Digital sub-brand, and operates consumer-facing digital products including the NABUR community platform, Legacy Obituaries platform, and a newsroom SMS alerting service.

Product overview

Wick Communications is a third-generation family-owned community media company offering a portfolio of products and services centered on local journalism and advertising. The core offering consists of community newspapers, websites, magazines, and specialty publications. Supporting this are digital and marketing services through Arizona Regional Media (programmatic advertising, database building, social media marketing) and Wick Digital. The company also operates NCWLIFE television station, NABUR community platform, Legacy obituaries platform, and the newsroom text messaging service. Additional sub-brands include Wick Page Design, Wick Property Management, and The Eagle Trophy. The product architecture is portfolio-based, combining owned media properties with digital marketing services rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wick Digital: Digital marketing and advertising services division
• Wick Property Management
• Wick Page Design
• The Eagle
• Wick Communications Eagle Trophy

Products and services

• Community Newspapers Portfolio
• Arizona Regional Media (ARM)
• NCWLIFE Television Station
• Wick Digital
• NABUR Community Conversations Platform
• Legacy Obituaries Platform
• Wick Newsroom SMS Text Messaging Service

Quantifiable outcome

• SMS open rates consistently exceed 90 percent
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Local Media Association (LMA)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 May 2026LMA partnered with Family Independent Media Sustainability Group to provide grant funding for Wick's pilot newsroom SMS text messaging program, demonstrating confidence in Wick's approach to local journalism and audience engagement.
• Family Independent Media Sustainability Group (FIMs)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 May 2026FIMs joined LMA in providing grant funding for Wick's newsroom text messaging pilot, supporting independent media companies building sustainable community-centered business models.
• Mat-Su SentinelminorOthers · 29 May 2026Nonprofit nonpartisan Mat-Su Sentinel acquired Frontiersman from Wick, returning local Alaskan journalism to community ownership.
• Grand Junction Media / Seaton Publishing CompanyminorOthers · 1 April 2026Grand Junction Media, a subsidiary of family-owned Seaton Publishing, acquired Wick's Colorado newspaper group and printing operations including Montrose Daily Press and Delta County Independent.
• Lenfest InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2026Lenfest Institute's Beyond Print program provided $400,000 in grant funding across 11 newspapers to support business transformation experiments including Wick's participation in text messaging initiatives, AI integration, and vertical video content.
• Forum Communications CompanyminorOthers · 14 January 2026Forum Communications acquired Wick's Midwest newspaper portfolio including Sidney Herald, Williston Herald, Capital Journal, Madison Daily Leader, Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Wahpeton Daily News, and News Monitor, continuing Wick's portfolio optimization.
• Google News InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2021Google News Initiative awarded Wick funding to develop NABUR, a local community discussion board platform, as part of innovation efforts to strengthen local journalism.
• Arizona State University Walter Cronkite SchoolminorOthersPartnership for talent recruitment; Reilly Kneedler attended ASU's journalism school before joining Wick's digital team.
• Dirks, Van Essen & AprilminorOthersMedia merger and acquisition firm representing Wick Communications in the Forum Communications transaction for Midwest newspapers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI): Raycom Media-owned newspaper group publishing community dailies and weeklies in small-to-mid markets. CNHI's focus on small-market local journalism and digital advertising mirrors Wick's core operations.
• Schurz Communications: Privately held family/employee-owned media company that has owned community newspapers, TV stations, and digital properties across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable multi-platform local media operator with recent divisional restructurings.
• Tribune Publishing: Mid-sized U.S. newspaper chain (Chicago Tribune, NY Daily News, etc.) that sold its intellectual property to New York Post-affiliate Alden. Tribune's recent portfolio rationalization and emphasis on digital subscriptions parallel Wick's strategic pruning and digital reinvestment.
• Carpenter Media Group: Privately held, family/employee-owned newspaper holding company acquiring community publications across the U.S. (formerly Welch Newspapers/Halifax Media). Carpenter is the most active acquirer in this space and was Wick CEO Josh O'Connor's prior employer, making it a comparable growth-by-acquisition peer.
• McClatchy: Privately held (post-emergence) U.S. newspaper publisher with metro and regional dailies. Operates the same subscription + advertising business model across multiple markets and has actively divested non-core assets, much as Wick has done.
• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned (Nutting family) chain of daily and weekly newspapers spanning multiple states. Operating model — community journalism, multi-state footprint, family-controlled ownership — closely matches Wick's structure.
• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded newspaper publisher operating community dailies and weekly publications across dozens of U.S. markets. Lee's revenue mix (print circulation + advertising, with growing digital subscriptions) mirrors Wick's, and its SMB-focused local advertising model is the closest public-market analog.
• Forum Communications Company: Family-owned Upper Midwest newspaper and broadcasting company (Fargo Forum). Acquired six Wick Midwest papers in 2026, making it a direct transactional peer and a benchmark for how peer family-owned groups are consolidating small-market dailies.
• Adams Publishing Group: Family-owned newspaper group with daily and weekly publications across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Adams has similarly focused on community journalism with digital transition — directly comparable in scale and operating philosophy to Wick.

Broad incumbents

• Gannett: USA TODAY parent and the largest U.S. newspaper chain (hundreds of community dailies and weeklies). Like Wick, Gannett operates a print-rooted, multi-state community newspaper portfolio transitioning to digital subscriptions and advertising — a directly comparable business mix at far greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/71670
• Xx.com/wicknewspapers
• Facebookfacebook.com/wickcommunications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Wick Communications