Daily Herald

What Daily Herald does

Daily Herald is a daily newspaper serving suburban Chicago, published by Paddock Publications, Inc., an employee-owned private company headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Founded in 1898, the publication delivers hyperlocal news, sports, opinion, obituaries, business, and lifestyle content to residents across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties, with a stated employee base of 501-1,000. Coverage emphasizes community-level reporting — high school sports, local politics, crime, and suburban municipal affairs — that is not addressed by major metro dailies.

The product surface spans a traditional print newspaper, a digital E-Edition replica, an email newsletter suite, photo galleries, a community-events/contests platform (events.dailyherald.com), a classifieds and business-directory marketplace (marketplace.dailyherald.com), and geographically-segmented online community pages. Technology is described as a conventional newspaper publishing platform with digital e-edition capability; no proprietary AI, data, or platform-architecture differentiators are disclosed. No APIs, SDKs, or third-party integrations are documented, and there is no mobile app.

Revenue is generated through four streams: print and digital subscription sales, local/regional advertising (display, sponsored content, classifieds), transaction-based classifieds and marketplace fees, and advertising-supported community events and contests. Distribution is purely domestic, relying on home delivery, the e-edition, the company website, and a community events program. The business is currently navigating an active sale process, with Alden Global Capital publicly announcing an acquisition offer in February 2026 and Shaw Media also cited as a potential acquirer.

Name

Daily Herald

Legal name

Paddock Publications, Inc.

Website

https://dailyherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Daily Herald is an employee-owned daily newspaper published by Paddock Publications, Inc., delivering hyperlocal news, sports, and community information to residents across suburban Chicago's Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties via print, digital, and events channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital classifieds marketplace
• Community news coverage
• Suburban news media
• Local advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Daily Herald generates revenue through print and digital subscription models, providing access to local news, classifieds, and e-edition content.
2. Advertising: Local and regional advertising across print and digital platforms, including display ads, sponsored content, and classified advertising marketplace.
3. Classifieds and Marketplace: Online marketplace for classifieds including autos, real estate, jobs, merchandise, and business directory services.
4. Events and Contests: Community events, contests, and sponsored programs including Best of the Best reader awards, high school athlete programs, and community festivals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Daily Herald is a local newspaper and multi-platform news publisher serving suburban Chicago across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties. Its core product is the Daily Herald print newspaper and its digital counterparts (E-Edition, website, newsletters, photo galleries, community pages, events platform, obituaries, and online classifieds marketplace for autos, real estate, jobs, merchandise, services, and legal notices).

Product overview

Daily Herald operates as a multi-platform local newspaper publisher covering suburban Chicago communities. The core product is the Daily Herald print and digital newspaper, supplemented by the E-Edition digital replica, email newsletters, photo galleries, an events/contests platform, and an online classifieds marketplace. Content is organized by geographic community sections and topic categories including news, sports, opinion, obituaries, business, entertainment, and lifestyle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Daily Herald Newspaper Daily suburban Chicago newspaper covering local news, high school and professional sports, opinion, obituaries, business, entertainment, and lifestyle content across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties; delivered via print home delivery subscription to suburban households.
• Daily Herald E-Edition Digital replica of the Daily Herald print newspaper accessible online at e-edition.dailyherald.com, providing electronic access to the daily edition for subscribers across suburban Chicago.
• Daily Herald Email Newsletters Email newsletter offerings delivering curated news content, breaking news alerts, and community updates to subscribers based on topical interests and preferences.
• Daily Herald Photo Galleries Online collection of photographs documenting local events, sports, news, and community coverage from across suburban Chicago.
• Daily Herald Events & Contests Event calendar and contest platform featuring community events, reader contests, and local activities across suburban Chicago, including the Best of the Best readers' choice awards and high school athlete recognition programs.
• Daily Herald Classifieds Marketplace Online classified advertising marketplace covering autos, real estate, jobs, merchandise, business services, legal notices, and announcements for the suburban Chicago market; placement available via self-serve at classifiedsdailyherald.adperfect.com.
• Community Pages Geographic-specific editorial sections covering local news, crime, sports, business, entertainment, lifestyle, and schools for individual suburbs including Arlington Heights, St. Charles, Wheaton, and others across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties.
• Daily Herald Obituaries Online obituary listings and search for suburban Chicago residents, with a self-serve obituary submission flow and integration with legacy.com syndication.
• Local Business Directory and Shopping Local business directory and shopping pages at local.dailyherald.com, including today's print advertisers, connecting suburban Chicago consumers with nearby businesses.

Segments2 records

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 moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Chicago Tribune (Tribune Publishing): Major Chicago metro daily newspaper that also operates suburban titles and competes directly for suburban advertising and readership. Comparable as a major regional print/digital publisher serving the greater Chicago market.
• Chicago Sun-Times: Major Chicago daily tabloid with broader metro focus but overlapping suburban coverage and advertising audience. Comparable as a print-and-digital Chicago news brand of similar size and revenue mix.
• Crain's Chicago Business: Weekly business trade publication covering Chicago's Suburban Business beat. Comparable in editorial coverage of local business, real estate, and finance that overlap with Daily Herald's Suburban Business sections.

Direct peers

• Shaw Media: Family-owned publisher of community and daily newspapers across suburban Chicago and Illinois. Cited as a potential acquirer of Paddock Publications and the closest comparable operator with multi-county suburban newspaper footprint and similar SMB-ad-driven model.
• Pioneer Press (Chicago Tribune): Suburban Chicago community newspapers published by Chicago Tribune that cover many of the same suburbs and counties (Cook, DuPage, Lake) as Daily Herald, making it the most direct geographic and content competitor.
• Lake County News-Sun (Tribune): Lake County daily newspaper under Tribune Publishing. Directly comparable as a suburban Chicago daily covering one of Daily Herald's core counties with similar print+digital model.
• Naperville Sun (Tribune): DuPage County-focused suburban daily from Chicago Tribune. Competes head-to-head for DuPage readership and SMB ads, the same geography and audience the Daily Herald targets.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: Digital-first hyperlocal news network with multiple suburban Chicago sites. Competes with Daily Herald for digital classifieds, SMB advertising, and local-news attention without print overhead.
• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit digital news outlet focused on hyperlocal Chicago neighborhood reporting. Comparable as a Chicago-area hyperlocal player competing for digital ad spend and reader engagement, though without print or classifieds.

Others

• Daily Herald Media Group (corporate sibling local weeklies): Career page references 'Daily Herald Media Group,' indicating Paddock Publications operates adjacent suburban weeklies or niche titles. Included for completeness as an adjacent operating entity of the same parent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dailyherald
• Facebookfacebook.com/DailyHeraldFans
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedailyherald
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/daily-herald

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 Daily Herald