Tri-City Herald

What Tri-City Herald does

Tri-City Herald is a privately held daily newspaper serving the Tri-Cities region of southeastern Washington state, headquartered in Kennewick and operating under McClatchy, one of the United States' largest newspaper companies, since the 1970s. The company publishes hyperlocal coverage of the Tri-Cities area (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) and surrounding Benton and Franklin counties across categories including crime, politics, business, weather, sports, education, Hanford site news, entertainment, and obituaries, alongside national and world news through syndication.

The product surface is a digital-first subscription platform built on a standard newspaper publishing stack, delivered through tri-cityherald.com, iOS/Android mobile apps, and an e-edition replica of the print newspaper, with print home delivery as a secondary channel. The company has expanded its engagement surface well beyond news: nine segmented email newsletters (mid-morning headlines, afternoon updates, breaking news, business, obituaries, weekend preview), a portfolio of interactive games and puzzles (crosswords, Sudoku, Mahjongg variants, solitaire, word games), and sub-brands such as Tri-Cities Best, Reality Check, and Uniquely Tri-Cities. Content licensing agreements with Us Weekly, Woman's World, and Soap Opera Digest add lifestyle and entertainment verticals without expanding editorial staff, and obituary services are operated through a partnership with Legacy.com.

The revenue model is a mix of recurring consumer subscriptions (digital at $1.99 introductory then $15.99/month or $159.99/year; print home delivery separately priced), advertising (display, classifieds, political/advocacy, celebration ads), and professional obituary services distributed via the McClatchy advertising network and Legacy.com. The go-to-motion is direct-to-consumer, with self-serve signup through the website and apps; advertiser acquisition flows through the central McClatchy advertising infrastructure. The single operating geography and the absence of disclosed financials, headcount, or subscriber metrics constrain external assessment.

Name

Tri-City Herald

Legal name

Tri-City Herald

Website

https://tri-cityherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tri-City Herald is a privately held daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, delivering local news, sports, and entertainment across digital, mobile, e-edition, and print channels to residents of the Tri-Cities region of southeastern Washington.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscription
• Print home delivery
• Community journalism
• Obituary placement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kennewick

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. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital subscription plans providing unlimited access to website content, e-edition, and mobile apps. Monthly plan at $1.99 for first month then $15.99/month; annual plan at $159.99/year.
2. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery of physical newspaper editions. Print subscription options available with separate pricing from digital plans.
3. Advertising Revenue: Display advertising, classified ads, political advertising, and celebration ads (birthdays, anniversaries) placed by local businesses and individuals.
4. Obituary Services: Paid obituary placement services through partnership with Legacy.com and tricityherald.obituaries.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tri-City Herald is a daily local newspaper serving the Tri-Cities region of southeastern Washington (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland), providing hyperlocal news, crime, sports, politics, business, entertainment, weather, and obituary coverage. It sells digital and print subscription access via website, e-edition, and mobile apps, and monetizes audience attention through display, classified, political, and celebration advertising as well as obituary placement services.

Product overview

Tri-City Herald is a local newspaper serving southeastern Washington state, offering a digital-first subscription platform with a core digital subscription product, the Edition digital newspaper, and mobile apps. The product portfolio includes interactive games and puzzles (crosswords, Sudoku, Mahjongg, card games, word games, and TV show-themed games) as well as email newsletters (morning headlines, afternoon updates, breaking news alerts, business news, local events, and obituaries). The core offering provides unlimited digital access with expanded content not available in print, while add-on games/puzzles and newsletters enhance engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tri-Cities Best: Local lifestyle and best-of guide for the Tri-Cities area
• Reality Check
• Uniquely Tri-Cities

Products and services

• Digital Subscription Recurring digital subscription providing Tri-Cities area readers unlimited access to tri-cityherald.com news content, the e-edition digital newspaper, and iOS/Android mobile apps, with exclusive digital content and reduced advertising not available to non-subscribers.
• Print Subscription (Home Delivery) Home-delivered print edition of the daily Tri-City Herald newspaper serving Tri-Cities residents with the physical paper, offered as a separate subscription from the digital plan.
• E-Edition Digital Newspaper Daily digital replica of the print newspaper providing subscribers curated local, national, and world news, puzzles, games, features, and sports coverage in a digital newspaper format.
• Mobile Apps (iOS and Android) Native mobile applications for iOS and Android providing subscribers real-time access to the latest local Tri-Cities news on the topics they care about, with push notifications for breaking news.
• Obituary Placement Service Paid obituary and death notice placement service operated in partnership with Legacy.com and routed through the tricityherald.obituaries.com microsite, serving Tri-Cities families and funeral homes.
• Advertising Placements (Display, Classified, Political, Celebration) Self-service advertising products for local businesses, political/advocacy campaigns, job recruiters, and individuals, including display ads, classifieds, political/advocacy advertising, and celebration ads (birthdays, anniversaries) placed via McClatchy's advertising portals.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• McClatchycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParent company ownership. McClatchy is one of the nation's largest newspaper companies. The Tri-City Herald operates as part of the McClatchy Media Network while maintaining local editorial independence.
• Us WeeklyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent licensing partnership providing celebrity and entertainment news from Us Weekly for Tri-City Herald readers, including newsletters and website content.
• Woman's WorldminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent licensing partnership providing women's interest content including horoscopes, wellness, and lifestyle newsletters.
• Soap Opera DigestminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent licensing partnership for soap opera news and updates including Days Newsletter, General Hospital Newsletter, The Bold & the Beautiful Newsletter, and The Young & the Restless Newsletter.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Olympian: McClatchy-owned daily newspaper serving Olympia, Washington. Direct peer because it operates under the same parent (McClatchy), serves a similar mid-sized Washington state regional market, and uses the same digital subscription and advertising infrastructure.
• The Bellingham Herald: McClatchy-owned daily newspaper serving Bellingham, Washington. Direct peer because of shared McClatchy ownership, comparable regional daily format, and overlapping digital subscription and newsletter products.
• Yakima Herald-Republic: Regional daily newspaper serving the Yakima Valley of central Washington. Direct peer because it covers a similar mid-sized Washington regional market with comparable print and digital subscription offerings.
• Wenatchee World: Daily newspaper serving North Central Washington including Wenatchee and the Columbia River basin. Direct peer because of geographic proximity to the Tri-Cities, similar mid-sized Washington regional coverage, and print-plus-digital subscription model.
• The News Tribune: McClatchy-owned daily newspaper serving Tacoma and Pierce County, Washington. Direct peer because of shared McClatchy ownership, similar mid-sized regional daily format, and shared digital subscription and advertising platforms.

Regional players

• The Spokesman-Review: Family-owned daily newspaper based in Spokane, Washington. Regional peer because it serves a Washington state market adjacent to the Tri-Cities and competes for similar regional advertising and subscription dollars, though it operates outside the Tri-Cities geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• The Sacramento Bee: McClatchy's flagship newspaper serving Sacramento, California. Broader incumbent peer because of shared McClatchy ownership, shared digital subscription infrastructure, and overlapping advertising network, though it operates at significantly larger scale and in a different geography.
• The Miami Herald: Flagship McClatchy newspaper serving Miami and South Florida. Broader incumbent peer because of shared McClatchy ownership and shared publishing and advertising infrastructure, though it operates at much larger scale and in a major metro market.
• Idaho Statesman: McClatchy-owned daily newspaper based in Boise, Idaho. Broader incumbent peer because of shared McClatchy ownership and infrastructure; geographically adjacent to the Pacific Northwest regional cluster but serving a different metro market.
• The Seattle Times: Family-owned major regional daily serving the Puget Sound region. Broader incumbent peer because it competes for Washington state digital audience and advertising share with Tri-City Herald's national and state-level coverage, though it operates at much larger scale in a major metro.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TriCityHerald
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheTriCityHerald
• Facebookfacebook.com/TriCityHerald1
• Instagraminstagram.com/tricityherald
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tri-city-herald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Tri-City Herald