The New Bedford Light

What The New Bedford Light does

The New Bedford Light is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) digital news outlet founded around 2021 and headquartered at 127 W. Rodney French Blvd. in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It produces original local and investigative journalism covering city hall, the statehouse, police and courts, education, environment, offshore wind, immigration, fishing, and arts and culture for residents of New Bedford and the broader South Coast Massachusetts region. The publication is editorially nonpartisan, free to readers with no paywall, and operates without corporate ownership.

The organization runs on Newspack, a WordPress-based content management and publishing platform, and distributes across a website plus six social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, BlueSky), three email newsletters (Daily Newsletter, The Weekender, Arts Illuminated), and video/podcast content including The Chat with Jack Spillane. It has built out specialized sub-products such as The Daily Catch (daily seafood auction pricing), Culture Calendar and Civic Life Calendar (event listings), Navigating New Bedford (civic how-to guides), Ask The Light (reader Q&A), Community Voices (op-ed submissions), Street Style (photo series), and NoticiasNB (Spanish-language coverage).

The business model is donor-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit operations. Revenue is generated through voluntary reader donations (one-time, monthly, and annual tiers suggested at $7 to $360) and institutional support from named founding benefactors including the Joan and Irwin Jacobs fund of the Jewish Community Foundation and Mary and Jim Ottaway. The organization has 11–50 employees, an IRS-determined public charity status (EIN 86-2407296), and no parent company or subsidiaries.

Name

The New Bedford Light

Legal name

New Bedford Light, Inc.

Website

https://newbedfordlight.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The New Bedford Light is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) digital news outlet founded in 2021, providing free investigative and local journalism to residents of New Bedford and South Coast Massachusetts, funded by reader donations and institutional benefactors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Digital News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK)

Keywords

• Local investigative journalism
• Nonprofit digital news
• Community news coverage
• Independent journalism
• Local newsletter publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

New Bedford

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, The New Bedford Light relies primarily on reader donations and contributions. The publication offers one-time, monthly, and annual donation options with suggested amounts ranging from $7 to $360.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The New Bedford Light operates a free, digital-first nonprofit news publication that delivers investigative journalism and local reporting on New Bedford and South Coast Massachusetts issues including city hall, statehouse, immigration, environment, offshore wind, fishing, education, arts and culture, police and courts, and economic development. It distributes content through its website, email newsletters, video/podcast series, event calendars, daily seafood pricing data, reader Q&A, and community op-ed submissions, funded entirely by reader donations and grants with no paywall.

Product overview

The New Bedford Light is a single-platform digital news organization offering investigative journalism and local news coverage through its website. The publication is organized into distinct topic sections including Immigration, Environment, History, City Hall, Statehouse, Police and Courts, Economic Development, Offshore Wind, Education, Fishing, and Arts and Culture. The organization offers subscription newsletters (Daily Newsletter, The Weekender, Arts Illuminated), video/podcast content (The Chat with Jack Spillane), a daily seafood pricing service (The Daily Catch), event calendars (Culture Calendar, Civic Life), how-to guides (Navigating New Bedford), a reader Q&A feature (Ask The Light), community opinion submissions (Community Voices), and a fashion photo series (Street Style). The publication is independent, nonprofit, and free to readers, relying on donations and reader support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The New Bedford Light Website (Digital News Platform) Primary free digital news platform providing investigative journalism, local news coverage, and community reporting on city hall, statehouse, immigration, environment, offshore wind, education, fishing, police and courts, and arts and culture, organized into topic sections for residents of New Bedford and the South Coast region.
• Daily Newsletter Free weekday email newsletter delivering New Bedford news to subscribers' inboxes each weekday morning.
• The Weekender Newsletter Free Saturday morning email newsletter providing a weekly roundup of the biggest stories from The New Bedford Light.
• Arts Illuminated Newsletter Free email newsletter providing updates on Arts Illuminated, a live talk show where artists discuss their work and audience members can purchase art.
• The Chat with Jack Spillane Video and podcast interview series featuring in-depth conversations with local leaders, officials, and community figures on issues affecting New Bedford.
• The Daily Catch Free daily listing of the latest seafood prices from the Buyers and Sellers Exchange, updated weekdays by noon, covering scallop and fish auction prices from New Bedford's commercial fishing port.
• Culture Calendar Free searchable calendar of area civic, community, and municipal events including arts, culture, music, and cultural celebrations.
• Civic Life Calendar Free calendar of civic events including parades, celebrations, road races, and community programming for the South Coast region.
• Navigating New Bedford Free how-to guide series helping residents navigate city services including homebuyer assistance, utility bills, career centers, health insurance enrollment, heating assistance, and South Coast Rail.
• Ask The Light Free Q&A feature where readers submit questions for reporters to investigate about what's happening in New Bedford.
• Community Voices Free op-ed and guest essay platform welcoming first-person essays (750 words max), letters to the editor (400 words max), and short comments on news coverage and community topics.
• Street Style Free photo series documenting fashion and style in New Bedford, featuring local residents and their personal style choices.
• Arts and Culture Coverage Free news coverage of local arts including exhibitions, performances, theater, museums, and cultural events across the South Coast region.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Texas Tribune: Flagship example of a state-level nonprofit digital news outlet funded by donations, free to readers, and known for investigative and accountability journalism — the same operating model The New Bedford Light pursues at a city/regional scale.
• VTDigger: Vermont's nonprofit digital news outlet covering statehouse, government, and local issues through donor funding — a near-architectural match for a small-team, free-access, investigative local news organization.
• The Connecticut Mirror: Connecticut-focused nonprofit digital newsroom operating on donor funding with deep coverage of statehouse, policy, and government — the closest regional-tier comparison for New Bedford Light's single-region coverage model.
• CalMatters: California-focused nonprofit digital news outlet known for policy and accountability reporting funded by donations and philanthropy — a directly analogous operating model at a larger scale.
• The Public's Radio (Rhode Island): Nonprofit regional public-media organization serving southern New England with digital-first news; comparable in scope, geography (adjacent to New Bedford's South Coast market), and nonprofit funding model.
• The Berkshire Eagle: Western Massachusetts regional newspaper (now nonprofit-owned) covering a similar rural/suburban exurban Massachusetts region — directly comparable in geographic scope and regional accountability journalism mission.
• The Maine Monitor: Maine's statewide nonprofit investigative news outlet funded primarily by reader donations — a near-format twin to The New Bedford Light operating in a New England state market.

Broad incumbents

• ProPublica: National nonprofit investigative newsroom that pioneered the donor-funded investigative-journalism model that The New Bedford Light applies locally; serves as a structural incumbent and capacity-building partner for the regional nonprofit news sector.
• The Boston Globe: Dominant regional daily in New England that covers broader South Coast / New Bedford stories and competes for the same advertiser and reader attention; overlaps with The New Bedford Light's coverage territory at the regional level.

Emerging players

• The 19th News: National nonprofit digital newsroom funded by donations that demonstrates the next-generation donor-funded digital news model — comparable in funding mechanism and digital-first ethos, though with different topical focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newbedfordlight
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpCFeEfhNqQpgYqK65VBSJw
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewBedfordLight
• Instagraminstagram.com/newbedfordlight
• TikToktiktok.com/@thenewbedfordlight
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-new-bedford-light

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 The New Bedford Light