What Belleville News Democrat does

Belleville News-Democrat (BND) is a regional daily newspaper and digital news platform serving the metro-east portion of the greater St. Louis metropolitan area in southwestern Illinois. Founded in 1858 and headquartered in downtown Belleville, the publication covers St. Clair and Madison counties and reaches across eight counties, operating as the leading local news source in a market that constitutes the second-largest metropolitan area in Illinois. The company is a private, wholly owned property of McClatchy, acquired in 2006 through McClatchy's purchase of Knight Ridder, and shares technology, advertising, and distribution infrastructure across the McClatchy Media Network.

BND's product surface is built on a web-based digital news platform (bnd.com) with iOS and Android mobile applications, a daily e-edition replica, and a portfolio of themed email newsletters (Morning Update, P.M. Report, News Alerts, Metro-Eats, Daily Tribute, Around Belleville, The O'Fallon Report, Weekend Edition Sneak Peek). Adjacent modules include games/puzzles powered by Arkadium, obituary services via Legacy.com, classifieds, a Money/personal finance section, weather coverage, and product reviews. The Belleville Weekly Group, three community weekly publications, operates as a wholly owned subsidiary out of the same headquarters. Technology is conventional CMS-driven publishing with third-party integrations rather than proprietary AI/ML systems.

The business model combines recurring digital and print subscriptions with advertising and partnership revenue. Digital subscriptions are sold at $1.99 for the first month then $15.99/month, or $159.99 annually (approximately 44 cents per day), with auto-renewal and 30-day notice for rate changes; print home delivery is sold separately. Advertising revenue spans display, classifieds, celebration ads (obituaries, weddings, graduations), job postings, legal notices, and political advertising, supplemented by syndicated partnership content (US Weekly, Woman's World, Soap Opera Digest, The Street). Distribution is direct-to-consumer across web, mobile, email, and print, with social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube) used for top-of-funnel acquisition.

Name

Belleville News Democrat

Legal name

Belleville News Democrat

Website

https://bnd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1858

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Belleville News-Democrat is a regional daily newspaper and digital news platform serving southwestern Illinois and the metro-east St. Louis area, providing local journalism via website, mobile apps, e-edition, newsletters, and print under McClatchy ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper / Local News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local news coverage
• Digital news subscription
• Print newspaper delivery
• Community journalism
• News media publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Belleville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital subscription plans providing unlimited access to website content, e-edition, mobile apps, exclusive digital content, and breaking news alerts. Auto-renewal model with subscriber retention focus.
2. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery print newspaper subscriptions available through separate print offer page.
3. Advertising Revenue: Display advertising, classified ads, celebration ads (obituaries, graduations, weddings), job postings, legal notices, and political advertising.
4. Partnership Content: Syndicated content partnerships including US Weekly, Woman's World, Soap Opera Digest, and The Street for business/financial content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Belleville News-Democrat is a local daily newspaper and digital news platform serving southwestern Illinois, providing local news, breaking news, sports, weather, obituaries, classifieds, and community information. It distributes content through digital subscriptions, a digital e-Edition, iOS/Android mobile applications, email newsletters, and home-delivery print newspaper, monetized through subscription fees, display and classified advertising, and syndication partnerships.

Product overview

BND operates as a local newspaper with a digital-first subscription model. The core product is the BND Digital Subscription providing unlimited online access to local news content. This is complemented by the E-Edition (digital replica of the print newspaper), BND Mobile App for on-the-go access, and themed Newsletters for specific audiences. Additional modules include Games & Puzzles (via Arkadium integration), Obituaries (via Legacy.com), Classifieds, Weather coverage, and a Money/Personal Finance section provided by a third-party partner.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BND Digital Subscription
• BND E-Edition Digital replica of the daily newspaper accessible via web, mobile, and e-readers, offering a curated daily digital news experience to subscribers.
• BND Mobile App Mobile application providing real-time updates and unlimited access to local news on iOS and Android devices, available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• BND Print Newspaper Subscription Home delivery print newspaper subscription available to local metro-east Illinois readers through a separate print subscription offer page.
• BND Newsletters Suite of targeted email newsletters delivering curated local news, sports, food, and community content to subscriber inboxes, including Morning Update, P.M. Report, News Alerts, Metro-Eats, Daily Tribute, Around Belleville, and O'Fallon Report.
• BND Obituaries Obituary viewing and placement services for the metro-east Illinois community, integrated with Legacy.com, allowing families to view and place obituaries.
• BND Classifieds Online classified advertising platform for jobs, real estate, vehicles, celebrations, and legal notices in the metro-east Illinois market.
• BND Weather Coverage Weather news section providing forecasts, storm alerts, tornado warnings, and severe weather coverage for the metro-east Illinois region.
• BND Money/Personal Finance Section Personal finance content section covering mortgages, insurance, credit cards, loans, and investing, provided by Money Research Collective as a syndicated content partnership.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• McClatchyflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBND is part of the McClatchy Media Network. McClatchy acquired the newspaper in 2006 with its purchase of Knight Ridder. BND operates as part of the McClatchy portfolio of local news outlets with shared technology, advertising, and distribution infrastructure.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Miami Herald: Another McClatchy regional daily with digital subscription paywall, newsletters, classifieds, and sponsored content products analogous to BND's stack.
• The Charlotte Observer: McClatchy regional daily with the same paywall, newsletter, and e-edition infrastructure. Comparable in audience size, subscription pricing, and product breadth to BND.
• The Sacramento Bee: McClatchy-owned regional daily with the same network infrastructure, ad sales platform, and subscription pricing structure as BND. Highly comparable on unit economics and audience model.
• The Kansas City Star: Flagship McClatchy regional daily operating a nearly identical digital subscription + newsletter + classifieds stack as BND. Closest internal comparable for operating model and revenue mechanics.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Regional daily newspaper serving the broader St. Louis metro area, including overlap with BND's metro-east Illinois readership. Directly comparable in product mix (print + digital subscription, classifieds, obituaries) and target audience.
• Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL): Lee Enterprises Illinois daily with a subscription-based digital access model, classifieds, and local-news focus directly comparable to BND's metro-east positioning.
• The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL): Gannett-owned daily serving another Illinois metro. Comparable in subscription pricing, digital + print product mix, and reliance on classifieds and local display advertising.
• Herald & Review (Decatur, IL): Lee Enterprises regional daily in Illinois with a similar print + digital subscription model and classifieds/obituaries product line, competing for the same Illinois-based SMB advertisers as BND.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Operator of a large portfolio of mid-size regional U.S. newspapers (including Illinois titles such as the Herald & Review and Pantagraph) with subscription + advertising models directly comparable to BND's.
• Gannett: Largest U.S. newspaper chain (USA Today network). Operates a national digital subscription stack and ad marketplace directly analogous to BND's local-market offering, with overlapping SMB advertising customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bellevillenewsd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BNDVideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/BellevilleND
• Instagraminstagram.com/bellevillenewsd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/belleville-news-democrat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Belleville News Democrat