The Herald-Sun

Name

The Herald-Sun

Legal name

The Herald-Sun

Website

https://heraldsun.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

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)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsstand & Single-Copy Distribution (MPAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Local newspaper
• Digital news subscription
• Community journalism
• Classified advertising
• Regional sports coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

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, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Digital subscriptions including monthly and annual plans providing unlimited digital access to the Herald-Sun website, Edition, and mobile apps with expanded content not available in print
2. Advertising: Display advertising, classifieds, obituaries, political advertising, and staffing solutions advertised through the McClatchy advertising network
3. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery print subscriptions available for new subscribers with print offers also available
4. Affiliate Commerce: Deals and offers section featuring partner products and services with affiliate commissions from retailers like Amazon Prime

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Herald-Sun is a regional daily newspaper serving Durham, Orange, Chatham, Person, and Granville counties in North Carolina, publishing local news, crime, politics, business, weather, and college sports (Duke, NC State, UNC) in print and digital formats. The publication sells digital and print subscriptions that unlock unlimited website access, e-edition, mobile apps, newsletters, and puzzles, and monetizes audience reach through display, classified, political, and obituary advertising plus affiliate commerce deals.

Product overview

The Herald-Sun is a traditional local newspaper offering a platform-plus-module product architecture. The core product is the newspaper itself (print and digital) covering Durham-area news, sports, crime, and local coverage. Digital access is provided through a subscription tier that includes the E-Edition, mobile apps, and newsletters. Supplementary modules include the Games & Puzzles platform (online puzzles/games), Personal Finance Hub (content partnership with Money Research Collective), Bargain Hunter deals section, and various topic-specific newsletters. The product portfolio operates primarily as a content publication with subscription-based monetization rather than a technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Herald-Sun Newspaper (print and digital) The primary local daily newspaper covering Durham and surrounding North Carolina counties (Orange, Chatham, Person, Granville) in print and digital formats, including local news, crime, politics, business, weather, and college sports (Duke, NC State, UNC).
• Digital Subscription

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The McClatchy Co.coreOthers · 1 January 2016The Herald-Sun was purchased by The McClatchy Co. in 2016. McClatchy also owns The (Raleigh) News & Observer. The partnership provides syndicated content, shared advertising network, and integration within the McClatchy Media Network.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Fayetteville Observer: McClatchy-owned regional daily in North Carolina; smaller metro than Durham but operates the same digital subscription, classifieds, and McClatchy ad network stack.
• The News & Observer (Raleigh): Sister McClatchy publication covering Raleigh and the broader Triangle market; directly comparable as a North Carolina regional daily with hybrid print+digital subscription model, shared advertising network, and overlapping Triangle readership.
• Charlotte Observer: Another McClatchy regional daily in North Carolina, serving the Charlotte metro with the same digital subscription tiers, e-edition, and newsletter infrastructure; directly comparable in scale and revenue model.
• Greensboro News & Record: Gannett-owned regional daily serving the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina; directly comparable as a mid-sized NC daily newspaper with hybrid print+digital subscriptions and local advertising focus.
• The Tennessean (Nashville): USA Today Network / Gannett regional daily in a fast-growing college-town metro; directly comparable to the Herald-Sun in format (daily, hybrid print+digital), college sports coverage, and mid-sized DMA dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• WRAL.com: Dominant local TV/broadband news outlet in the Raleigh-Durham market; competes with the Herald-Sun for the same local-news audience and local advertising dollars, but distributes via broadcast and streaming rather than print.

Emerging players

• IndyWeek: Durham-based alt-weekly covering the Triangle with an arts/culture/politics focus; competes for the same Durham readership with a younger, digital-first audience, but at a much smaller scale and without print or full daily newsroom.

Regional players

• The Roanoke Times: Gannett-owned regional daily serving southwestern Virginia; comparable in scale, format, and subscription model, but operates in a different geography with no direct competition overlap.
• Richmond Times-Dispatch: Lee Enterprises regional daily serving the Richmond, VA metro; comparable mid-sized daily newspaper with print+digital subscription model, classifieds, and college/regional sports focus, though in a different regional market.

Others

• The Daily Tar Heel: UNC-Chapel Hill independent student newspaper covering local Triangle news and UNC athletics; thematically adjacent (local NC news, college sports) but operates as a non-profit student publication rather than a commercial regional daily.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheHerald_Sun
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DurhamHeraldSun
• Facebookfacebook.com/theheraldsun
• Instagraminstagram.com/durhamheraldsun
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/durham-herald-sun

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Herald-Sun