What Vineyard Gazette does

The Vineyard Gazette is a privately held local news publication founded in 1846 by Edgar Marchant, making it one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in the United States. It serves Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, providing hyperlocal coverage across the island's six towns (Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and West Tisbury) through a dedicated multi-platform media operation. Headquartered in Vineyard Haven with 11–50 employees, the company operates under the Vineyard Gazette Media Group umbrella and is independently owned with no disclosed external investors or parent company.

The publication distributes content through a weekly print edition, the vineyardgazette.com website, email newsletters, the 'On The Vineyard' weekly podcast (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube), and an active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, and X. Core product offerings include the main news platform, a lifestyle sub-brand called 'The Vine,' a digital historical archive ('Time Machine') containing searchable content dating to 1846, dedicated real estate and classifieds sections, and an island event calendar. The underlying technology consists of a standard digital content management system with web publishing, email newsletter distribution, and multimedia content delivery — no proprietary AI, ML, or API capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through five primary streams: recurring print and digital subscriptions (sold via vineyardgazettestore.com), display and classified advertising (including real estate, employment, legal notices, and boating), event/special feature sponsorships, paid obituary placements, and merchandise sales. Pricing is quote-based for advertising and subscription-based for readers on an annual billing cadence; specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. The customer base comprises year-round island residents as the primary segment, supplemented by seasonal visitors and second-home owners, with local businesses and real estate brokerages forming the core advertiser base. Geographic revenue exposure is entirely concentrated on Martha's Vineyard.

Name

Vineyard Gazette

Legal name

Vineyard Gazette

Website

https://vineyardgazette.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1846

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Vineyard Gazette is a privately held local newspaper founded in 1846 serving Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, delivering hyperlocal coverage across the island's six towns through print, web, podcast, and lifestyle sub-brand products to year-round residents, seasonal visitors, and local advertisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Local newspaper
• Community journalism
• News publishing
• Classified advertising
• Digital media

Headquarters

HQ city

Edgartown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Print and digital subscriptions for the newspaper, with a dedicated store at vineyardgazettestore.com offering subscription products and merchandise.
2. Advertising: Display and classified advertising within the print edition and digital platforms, including real estate listings, employment classifieds, and business directory listings.
3. Classifieds: Revenue from classified advertisements including real estate for sale and rent, employment, for sale items, boating, legal notices, community announcements, and services.
4. Events and Special Features: Calendar event listings, special sections like 'Best of the Vineyard' awards, and community features that may include sponsorship or promotional elements.
5. Obituary Services: Paid obituary placement services for individuals who lived or vacationed regularly on Martha's Vineyard.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Vineyard Gazette is a local news publication serving Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, delivering hyperlocal journalism across six towns (Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and West Tisbury). It distributes news and information through a weekly print edition, the vineyardgazette.com website, email newsletters, and a weekly podcast, with additional offerings including a digital historical archive, real estate listings, classifieds, and a community event calendar.

Product overview

Vineyard Gazette is a local news publication serving Martha's Vineyard, operating as a multi-platform media company. The core product is the vineyardgazette.com news website, which provides comprehensive local coverage across news, arts, real estate, and community content. The company distributes content through multiple channels including the weekly print newspaper edition, the 'On The Vineyard' podcast (a 10-minute weekly news wrap-up), and 'The Vine' lifestyle magazine section. Additional digital offerings include the 'Time Machine' archival platform containing historical content dating to 1846, a real estate listings section, online classifieds, and an island-wide event calendar. The publication covers six towns on Martha's Vineyard (Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and West Tisbury) and is part of the Vineyard Gazette Media Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Vine: A lifestyle publication covering features, essays, Vine & Dine, and interviews, published by the Vineyard Gazette Media Group.

Products and services

• Vineyard Gazette Online (vineyardgazette.com) The main digital news platform providing local news coverage for Martha's Vineyard, including news articles, opinion pieces, photography, and multimedia content across multiple topic sections including News, Arts & Entertainment, Nature & Science, Real Estate, and Obituaries.
• Print Edition The traditional print newspaper edition of the Vineyard Gazette, published weekly with news and features, distributed to subscribers on Martha's Vineyard.
• On The Vineyard Podcast A weekly 10-minute news wrap-up podcast covering top stories from Martha's Vineyard, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
• The Vine A lifestyle and features magazine section covering local features, essays, food and dining content (Vine & Dine), interviews, and event calendar, published as part of the Vineyard Gazette Media Group.
• Time Machine Digital Archive A digital archive platform showcasing the Vineyard Gazette's extensive historical content dating back to 1846, featuring collections on Vineyard history, JAWS, hurricanes, presidential visits, and other historical topics.
• Real Estate Listings A dedicated real estate section featuring property listings for sale and rent on Martha's Vineyard, including residential properties, land, and commercial spaces, along with market news and transaction records.
• Classifieds Online classified advertisements covering real estate for rent, summer rentals, employment opportunities, for sale items, boating, legal notices, community announcements, and services.
• Island Event Calendar A community calendar service listing local events on Martha's Vineyard including author talks, concerts, festivals, workshops, and community gatherings.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Martha's Vineyard Magazine: Sister publication under the Vineyard Gazette Media Group. Comparable lifestyle/feature publishing for the same audience but focused on lifestyle and visitor content rather than breaking local news; included to reflect its actual relationship rather than external competition.

Others

• Local Media Association: Industry association and consultancy for local newspapers. Not a competitor but a peer-relevant ecosystem player that provides benchmarking, technology partnerships, and advertising network access relevant to a small independent like the Vineyard Gazette.

Direct peers

• Cape Cod Times: Direct regional peer: Gannett-owned daily newspaper serving Cape Cod and the Islands including Martha's Vineyard. Overlaps directly with the Gazette on regional news, real estate listings, and Cape & Islands advertising spend.
• The Inquirer and Mirror (Nantucket): Direct peer: another historic, privately held island weekly newspaper serving Nantucket, MA. Same operating model (print + digital, subscriptions + display + classifieds, town-by-town coverage) and same affluent seasonal-island market dynamics as the Vineyard Gazette.
• Provincetown Banner: Direct peer: small independent weekly serving Provincetown, MA. Comparable hyperlocal coastal-community journalism model with print and digital distribution and classified-driven revenue.
• Block Island Times: Direct peer: independent weekly newspaper serving Block Island, RI. Nearly identical model: one-island audience, seasonal tourism exposure, subscription + advertising + classifieds revenue mix.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Globe: Broad incumbent: large regional daily that increasingly covers Martha's Vineyard politics, real estate, and lifestyle. Overlaps in audience (second-home owners, regional advertisers) and competes for regional advertising dollars but is not a true hyperlocal substitute.
• Hearst Newspapers: Broad incumbent: large media group operating community and metro newspapers. Comparable to the Gazette in subscription + advertising + events model but at vastly larger scale, serving as a benchmark for what scaled multi-product news media looks like.
• The New York Times (Regional/National desks): Broad incumbent: national publication with significant regional coverage of Martha's Vineyard lifestyle, real estate, and politics. Competes for the attention of affluent second-home owners and for digital subscription wallet share rather than directly for local advertising.
• Gannett (USA TODAY Network): Broad incumbent: largest U.S. newspaper operator, parent of Cape Cod Times. Operates many community dailies and weeklies with similar subscription/advertising models and is a structural reference point for valuation and operating benchmarks in community journalism.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vineyardgazette
• Facebookfacebook.com/marthasvineyardgazette
• Instagraminstagram.com/vineyardgazette
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7Z0jJbX5v8gZqKqUqJKw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Vineyard Gazette