Cherokee Scout Newspaper

What Cherokee Scout Newspaper does

Cherokee Scout is a community newspaper headquartered in Murphy, North Carolina, founded in 1889 and operating as part of Community Newspapers Inc. (CNI), a publisher of 24 hometown newspapers across the Southeast. It publishes a weekly print edition every Wednesday with circulation of 5,100+ copies, reaching approximately 67% of Cherokee County households, and supplements print with a digital e-edition delivered via eType Services, a company website, and a portfolio of niche specialty publications (health, real estate, and community supplements). In 2019, Cherokee Scout merged with the Andrews Journal, expanding its regional footprint, and it has since partnered with NewsBank to extend its digital archive reach.\n\nThe core product is a weekly local news package covering Cherokee County government, schools, courts, sports, obituaries, and community events — content areas where local incumbency matters more than scale. Production technology is conventional: offset/digital print workflows for the Wednesday edition, an e-edition mirror, and standard CMS-driven web publishing. The business model rests on two revenue pillars: paid subscriptions (home delivery and digital) and local advertising, with the latter including display, classifieds, legal notices, and niche publication inserts targeted at segmented advertisers.\n\nCustomer segments are split between household subscribers across the county and a long tail of local SMB advertisers — retailers, real estate agents, legal services, healthcare providers, and automotive dealers. The newspaper functions as the dominant local distribution channel in its market, and its operations are small in scale (single-digit editorial headcount consistent with a community weekly), embedded within a larger CNI portfolio that provides shared back-office and production infrastructure.

Name

Cherokee Scout Newspaper

Legal name

Cherokee Scout

Website

https://cherokeescout.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cherokee Scout is a weekly community newspaper founded in 1889 in Murphy, NC, owned by Community Newspapers Inc., serving Cherokee County households with print, digital e-edition, and niche specialty publications supported by subscriptions and local advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Murphy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Weekly print newspaper subscriptions and digital e-edition access. Subscribers can choose from Digital only, Print only, or Print and Digital combined plans.
2. Advertising: Local advertising sold to businesses in Cherokee County and surrounding areas. Rate cards available for display ads, classifieds, and special section advertising.
3. Special Publications: Revenue from specialty publications including themed magazines (Veterans Day, Business Guide, Pigskin Preview, Celebrating Our Children, etc.) and niche publications throughout the year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cherokee Scout is a traditional community newspaper that publishes a weekly print edition every Wednesday, an online e-edition, and a news website (CherokeeScout.com) covering local news, sports, opinion, and events for Cherokee County, NC. It also produces multiple annual specialty publications such as Veterans Day, Pigskin Preview, Celebrate Cherokee County, and Readers' Choice. The newspaper merged with the Andrews Journal in 2019 to provide complete countywide coverage and is part of the Community Newspapers Inc. network.

Product overview

Cherokee Scout is a traditional newspaper publisher offering both print and digital products. The core offering is the weekly print edition published every Wednesday, supplemented by a subscriber-accessible e-edition platform and the dynamic website CherokeeScout.com. The publication also produces multiple specialty/niche publications throughout the year including Celebrate Cherokee County (annual information guide), Celebrating Our Veterans, Living Healthy medical directory, Pigskin Preview (football), Readers' Choice (annual awards), and Mountain Hoops (basketball). The company merged with the Andrews Journal in 2019 for expanded countywide coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cherokee Scout Weekly Print Edition
• Cherokee Scout E-Edition
• CherokeeScout.com Website
• Celebrate Cherokee County Magazine
• Celebrating Our Veterans Magazine Special November publication honoring veterans and military service members in the community.
• Pigskin Preview Football preview magazine published in August covering local high school and college football teams.
• Readers' Choice Annual publication in October featuring locally voted best businesses and services in Cherokee County.
• Mountain Hoops Basketball Magazine Basketball preview magazine published in December covering local high school and college basketball teams.
• Living Healthy Medical Directory Medical directory magazine published in February featuring local healthcare providers and health-related information.
• Andrews Journal Local newspaper merged with Cherokee Scout in 2019, providing coverage for Andrews and surrounding areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches 67% of Cherokee County households with weekly print edition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major.

• Andrews JournalmajorOthers · 1 January 2019Merger in 2019 combining the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal for complete countywide coverage. The partnership expanded coverage area and readership across Cherokee County.
• Community Newspapers Inc.majorOthersParent company that publishes 24 quality hometown newspapers across the Southeast. Cherokee Scout is part of this CNI network. CNI provides operational support, shared resources, and the CNI Awards competition for member newspapers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Transylvania Times: Community newspaper serving Transylvania County in western North Carolina. Direct peer with weekly print cadence, local sports and government coverage, and subscription/advertising revenue model identical to Cherokee Scout.
• Smoky Mountain News: Community weekly newspaper serving the Smoky Mountains region of western North Carolina. Closely comparable to Cherokee Scout in geographic scope, weekly print cadence, local news focus, and rural North Carolina coverage area.
• The Mountaineer: Weekly community newspaper serving Henderson County and surrounding areas of western North Carolina. Comparable as a regional weekly with print and digital editions, local advertising, and similar rural WNC readership profile.
• Watauga Democrat: Community newspaper serving Watauga County (Boone area) in western North Carolina. Comparable weekly print/digital format, local sports coverage, and rural mountain county readership.
• Tryon Daily Bulletin: Daily newspaper serving Tryon and Polk County in western North Carolina. Comparable community newspaper operating in the same regional media market with print/digital editions and local advertising focus.
• The News Herald (Morganton): Daily newspaper serving Burke County in western North Carolina. Comparable community newspaper in the same regional cluster of WNC papers with overlapping print/digital distribution and local advertising model.
• The McDowell News: Weekly community newspaper serving McDowell County in western North Carolina, part of the same regional newspaper group. Closely comparable in scale, cadence, and WNC local news focus.

Broad incumbents

• Asheville Citizen-Times: Regional daily newspaper covering Asheville and western North Carolina, operated by Gannett. Larger incumbent in the same regional market with broader coverage area but overlapping local news and advertising audiences with Cherokee Scout.
• Blue Ridge Now (Times-News): Regional daily newspaper serving Hendersonville and the four-county Blue Ridge area in western North Carolina. Operated by Gannett, comparable as a larger regional paper in overlapping WNC territory.

Emerging players

• Mountain Xpress: Alternative weekly and digital news outlet serving Asheville and western North Carolina. Comparable as a regional local news brand serving a similar WNC audience, though with an urban-alternative editorial focus rather than rural community coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CherokeeScoutnews?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Xx.com/thescoutnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cherokee-scout

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Cherokee Scout Newspaper