The Red & Black

What The Red & Black does

The Red & Black is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, student-led news organization headquartered at 540 Baxter Street, Athens, Georgia, that has published continuously since 1893 to serve the University of Georgia and Athens-Clarke County community. Its core product is redandblack.com, a daily news website spanning UGA News, Athens News, Sports (covering 16 listed high school, college, and club teams), Culture, Opinion, Photos, and Guides, with the underlying publishing platform provided by BLOX Digital's BLOX Content Management System. The product portfolio is broader than the website alone and includes: print and digital newspaper editions; email newsletters; podcasts (notably 'The Red & Black All Over' and the 'Athens on the Ballot' political series); photo, video, and multimedia content; community guides (UGA 101, Student Housing Guide, Eat & Drink Guide, Visitors Guide, Tailgate Guide); classifieds; an En Español Spanish-language desk; and special/in-depth reports. A separate commercial property, redandblackstore.com, handles merchandise. The organization is small (1-10 employees in firmographic data, supplemented by UGA student journalists) and operates as a dual-mission entity that combines community journalism with hands-on training of future journalists.

The Red & Black is funded through three revenue streams: (i) advertising — primarily 'Feature Your News' placements on the local-businesses front page at $10 for 30 days, plus general display advertising; (ii) donations and charitable support — one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations, employer matching, the Torchbearer's Society major-donor program, and estate/legacy planning; and (iii) photo and content licensing for external reuse of its visual archive. News content is free to readers (freemium). Distribution is omnichannel and regional: the website, physical print editions inside Athens-Clarke County, opt-in newsletters, full social presence (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), and third-party podcast platforms. There is no disclosed revenue figure, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no senior management team data in the source material; the organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led editorially by UGA students.

Name

The Red & Black

Legal name

The Red & Black Publishing Co.

Website

https://redandblack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Red & Black is a 501(c)(3) student-led nonprofit news organization that has published continuously since 1893, serving the University of Georgia and Athens-Clarke County community through redandblack.com, print editions, newsletters, podcasts, and an En Español Spanish desk.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Long-Form Writing & Article Platforms (MPACAIAC)

Keywords

• Student journalism
• Local news publishing
• Community news
• Campus news coverage
• Nonprofit news media

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Primary revenue stream from ad sales. Local businesses can pay to feature content. The publication offers 'Feature Your News' advertising packages for local businesses.
2. Donations and Charitable Support: Supported primarily through donations as a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Accepts one-time gifts and monthly recurring donations. Offers Torchbearer's Society for major donors and estate planning options for legacy giving.
3. Photo and Content Licensing: Licensing of photographs and content for external use. Revenue generated from photo licensing services available through the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Red & Black publishes a student-led, nonprofit daily news outlet serving the University of Georgia and the Athens-Clarke County community. Its core offering is daily editorial coverage across UGA news, Athens news, sports, culture, opinion, and multimedia, delivered through redandblack.com, print editions, newsletters, podcasts, and photo and video content. The organization monetizes this content primarily through advertising sales and reader donations, with photo and content licensing as a supplementary service.

Product overview

The Red & Black is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit student media organization operating redandblack.com as its primary digital news platform. The organization provides daily news coverage across multiple sections including UGA News, Athens News, Sports, Culture, Opinion, and Multimedia. The core product (redandblack.com) is supplemented by print editions, newsletters, podcasts (including the 'Athens on the Ballot' political series), photo/video multimedia content, community guides (UGA 101, Housing Fair, Visitor's Guide, etc.), classifieds, and an En Español Spanish-language section. The portfolio is unified under the editorial mission of serving the University of Georgia and Athens communities with independent journalism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• redandblack.com Digital News Platform The Red & Black's primary digital news platform, providing daily news coverage of the University of Georgia and Athens-Clarke County across UGA News, Athens News, Sports, Culture, Opinion, Photos/Video, and Guides for UGA students, Athens residents, parents, alumni, donors, and local advertisers.
• Print Editions Physical and digital newspaper editions of The Red & Black, including current issues and archived print editions, distributed within the Athens-Clarke County area for readers who prefer a print format.
• Email Newsletters Email newsletter subscriptions that deliver The Red & Black's news updates and top stories to readers' inboxes on an opt-in basis.
• Podcast Series Audio podcast series produced by The Red & Black, including 'The Red & Black All Over' and 'Athens on the Ballot' political coverage, distributed through the website and external podcast platforms.
• Photo & Content Licensing Licensing service that allows external parties to license The Red & Black's photographs and editorial content for their own use, generating licensing revenue for the nonprofit.
• Local Business Advertising Packages Advertising offering sold to local Athens-area businesses (including the 'Feature Your News' $10/30-day package) to feature their content on redandblack.com and reach the UGA student and Athens resident audience.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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.

• BLOX DigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationBLOX Digital provides the BLOX Content Management System (CMS) that powers The Red & Black's website and digital publishing operations. This is the technology platform underlying all digital content creation and publication.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Daily Tar Heel: Independent student newspaper serving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Operates with a similar nonprofit, student-led model covering campus and local community news — the closest direct comparison to The Red & Black.
• The Stanford Daily: Student-run daily newspaper at Stanford University covering campus news, athletics, and local Palo Alto community issues. Operates with comparable digital-first, student-led editorial structure.
• The Michigan Daily: Independent student newspaper at the University of Michigan covering Ann Arbor campus and community news. Runs on a similar advertising-and-donation revenue model with digital and print distribution.
• The Daily Texan: Student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin covering campus and Austin-area news with a digital-first, student-led editorial model analogous to The Red & Black.
• The Crimson White: Student newspaper of the University of Alabama covering campus and Tuscaloosa community news. Operates with a comparable student-led, multi-channel editorial structure.
• The Battalion: Student newspaper at Texas A&M University covering campus and Bryan-College Station community news. Comparable in its student-led, advertising-supported local journalism model.
• The Columbia Daily Spectator: Independent student newspaper of Columbia University covering Morningside Heights campus and New York City-adjacent local news. Operates as a nonprofit with digital and print editions similar to The Red & Black.
• The Cornell Daily Sun: Independent student newspaper at Cornell University covering Ithaca campus and local community. Runs a digital-first, advertising-supported model with comparable distribution channels.

Regional players

• Flagpole Magazine: Local alternative weekly serving the Athens, Georgia community. Direct geographic peer operating in the same Athens market as The Red & Black, covering music (AthFest), culture, food, and local news.
• The Emory Wheel: Student newspaper of Emory University covering the Druid Hills campus and greater Atlanta area. Operates in the same Georgia market as The Red & Black with a similar student-led, digital-first model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/redandblack
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChek1Dpg_xlxUOm8VnKR33g
• Facebookfacebook.com/theredandblack
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-and-black
• Instagraminstagram.com/redandblackga
• TikToktiktok.com/@redandblackpublishing?lang=en

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 The Red & Black