The Williston Herald

What The Williston Herald does

The Williston Herald is a local newspaper serving Williston, Williams County, and surrounding areas in northwestern North Dakota, founded in 1911 and currently operating as a division of Forum Communications Company, a family-owned media company held by the Black/Marcil family since 1917. The publication delivers local news, sports, weather, business, health, opinion, obituaries, and lifestyle content across a multi-channel platform that includes a website (willistonherald.com), iOS and Android mobile applications, a 7-day e-paper, Saturday print delivery, email newsletters, and a podcast network (Bison Media Zone, Hot Mic with Dom Izzo, Plain Talk, Agweek Podcast). It is designated as the official newspaper for Williston Basin School District #7 for the publication of board proceedings.

The Herald generates revenue through four primary streams: recurring digital subscriptions priced at $14.99/month after a $2 six-month trial, combined print-and-digital subscriptions at $19.99/month after a $3 three-month trial, display and classified advertising targeted at local businesses and consumers, and paid public notices and obituary placements. The business also leverages shared Forum Communications infrastructure for classifieds (classifieds.forumcomm.com), employment listings (jobshq.com), and legal notices (column.us), enabling cross-sell across the parent company's regional media portfolio. Editorial operations are run by a small in-market team including an editor, reporters, and a multimedia sales consultant, consistent with Forum's decentralized newsroom model in which local editors retain content decision-making authority.

Name

The Williston Herald

Legal name

The Williston Herald

Website

https://willistonherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1911

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Williston Herald is a local newspaper, founded 1911, serving Williston, Williams County, and surrounding North Dakota communities. Operating as a division of Forum Communications Company, it delivers local news, sports, weather, and obituaries via website, mobile apps, e-paper, and print under subscription and advertising revenue models.

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 news subscription
• Community journalism
• Newspaper advertising
• Print and digital media

Headquarters

HQ city

Williston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Unlimited digital access subscription with online content, starts at $2 for 6 months trial then $14.99/month
2. Print + Digital Subscription: Combined newspaper delivery and digital access package at $3 for 3 months trial then $19.99/month
3. Advertising: Display advertising, classifieds, business announcements, and employment ads across digital platform and print
4. Public Notices: Legal and public notice publications, obituaries, milestone announcements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Williston Herald is a local newspaper publishing company that produces community journalism covering Williston, Williams County, and surrounding areas in North Dakota. It sells digital news subscriptions and combined print+digital subscriptions, complemented by display advertising, classifieds, public notices, obituaries, and employment advertising. The newspaper distributes content via website, mobile apps, e-paper, Saturday print delivery, email newsletters, podcasts, and social media as a division of Forum Communications Company.

Product overview

The Williston Herald is a local digital news publication offering a combination of free and subscription-based content. The core offering includes unlimited digital news access through subscription plans ($2 for 6 months trial, then $14.99/month), combined with optional newspaper delivery. Supporting products include e-paper access, classifieds marketplace, public notices, obituaries, JobsHQ employment listings, StormTracker weather service, puzzles and comics, a podcast network (Bison Media Zone, Hot Mic with Dom Izzo, Plain Talk, Agweek Podcast), and milestone/celebration announcements. The site is part of the Forum Communications Company network, providing access to their broader news site network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Subscription Subscription plan providing unlimited digital access to the Williston Herald website and the broader Forum Communications news site network, including subscriber-only content. Marketed at $2 for 6 months trial then $14.99/month, with account shareable with one other person.
• Newspaper Delivery + Digital Subscription Combined Saturday mail delivery of the print newspaper plus e-paper access 7 days a week and full digital plan benefits. Priced at $3 for 3 months trial then $19.99/month.
• Classifieds Online classified advertising marketplace operated under the Forum Communications network, covering categories such as jobs, vehicles, real estate, and other listings for the Williston region.
• Public Notices Legal public notice publication service provided to meet statutory notice requirements, leveraging the publication's designation as an official newspaper (including for Williston Basin School District #7).
• Obituaries Paid obituary notices and death announcements published online through the obituaries section, with submission handled via [email protected].
• JobsHQ Regional employment advertising and job listing service provided via the JobsHQ platform (jobshq.com), with ad submissions handled through [email protected].
• Milestones & Announcements Paid celebration announcements for births, weddings, anniversaries, and other personal or community milestones, with submissions handled via [email protected].

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 indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Minot Daily News: Local daily newspaper serving Minot, ND — a comparable North Dakota small-city market. Operates under Ogden Newspapers but follows the same regional-news and subscription model as the Herald.
• The Dickinson Press: Forum Communications newspaper serving Dickinson, ND, and Stark County. Closely comparable in scale, audience, and editorial model as a small-market North Dakota daily within the same parent network.
• Bismarck Tribune: Forum Communications sister newspaper serving Bismarck, North Dakota. Directly comparable as a regional North Dakota daily with the same subscription tiers, classifieds platform (classifieds.forumcomm.com), and FCC technology stack.
• Sidney Herald: Local newspaper serving Sidney, Montana, with shared reporting coverage (the Herald's sports reporter covers both papers). Comparable as a Bakken/Williston Basin regional newspaper with similar rural-news economics.
• Grand Forks Herald: Forum Communications publication serving Grand Forks, ND. Comparable subscription structure, digital+print bundle, and classifieds integration as a fellow FCC regional newspaper.
• McKenzie County Farmer / Watford City Press: Local newspaper serving Watford City and McKenzie County, ND — immediately adjacent to the Herald's Williams County coverage area. Comparable small-market community newspaper with overlapping sports and oil-industry coverage.

Emerging players

• Agweek: Forum Communications agriculture-focused publication also distributed through the Herald. Comparable as a regional niche outlet within the FCC network, targeting agricultural advertisers and readers in the same Williston/North Dakota region.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises newspapers (e.g., Rapid City Journal): Large newspaper chain owning numerous regional dailies across the Midwest and Plains, including papers in markets adjacent to North Dakota. Comparable as an incumbent multi-title operator with shared subscription, advertising, and content-management economics.
• The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead: FCC's flagship daily and the parent of The Williston Herald. Provides shared content, classifieds, JobsHQ, and StormTracker across the network — an overlapping incumbent within the same owner that competes for the same advertiser and reader dollars in adjacent North Dakota markets.

Regional players

• Bakken Today: Online news outlet focused on the Bakken oil region of western North Dakota. Comparable as a regional digital-native news source covering the same Williston/Williams County market, competing for local ad dollars and reader attention.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/willistonherald
• Facebookfacebook.com/willistonherald
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-williston-herald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Williston Herald