Moberly Monitor Index

What Moberly Monitor Index does

Moberly Monitor-Index is a hyperlocal digital newspaper serving Moberly, Missouri and surrounding Randolph County communities (Higbee, Huntsville, Cairo, Renick, Monroe City). The publication originated in 1869 and has been owned since 2020 by CherryRoad Media, a New Jersey-based media holding company founded by Jeremy Gulban that traces its corporate lineage to the 1983-founded DataStudy Inc (rebranded CherryRoad Technologies in 2003). Coverage spans local news, high school and community sports, government meetings, community events, obituaries, opinion, and lifestyle verticals including Recipes, Health and Wellness, Outdoor/Recreation, and Religion.

The product is delivered primarily through a WordPress-based CMS hosted on CherryRoad Technologies infrastructure at moberlymonitor.com, supplemented by email newsletters (Early Week and Mid Week editions) and a Digital Issues archive. The site offers multi-language accessibility tooling and accessibility profiles for vision-impaired, seizure-safe, ADHD-friendly, blindness, and epilepsy-safe modes. The newspaper integrates with Legacy.com for obituary browsing and submission, and with eType services for Classifieds and Legals storefronts.

The business model is a freemium hybrid. Free categories (Obituaries, Breaking News, and selected Free content) are open access; most articles sit behind a login/paywall, with membership-level plans and complimentary-access sign-up available through the website. Direct revenue streams include digital subscriptions (monthly recurring), local advertising and classifieds, and paid obituary submissions. GTM is product-led/self-serve: individual subscribers and SMB advertisers transact directly through the website with no enterprise sales motion. The newspaper operates with 11-50 employees and has no public ticker, no disclosed funding rounds, and no independently reported revenue figures.

Name

Moberly Monitor Index

Legal name

Newspaper Site, a CherryRoad Media Newspaper

Website

https://moberlymonitor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Moberly Monitor-Index is a hyperlocal digital newspaper founded in 1869 serving Moberly and Randolph County, Missouri. Owned by CherryRoad Media, it operates a WordPress-based digital platform with freemium subscriptions, local advertising, classifieds, and obituary services for community residents and SMBs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJADAB

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/News Publishing (Newspapers, Digital Newsrooms, Wire Services)

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Community journalism
• Digital newspaper
• Obituary services
• Classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Moberly

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: The newspaper operates a membership/subscription model where users can sign up for plans through the website. Premium content requires login to access, suggesting a tiered subscription approach with free content categories available to drive engagement and convert to paid subscribers.
2. Advertising & Classifieds: Local businesses and individuals can submit classified advertisements through the website. The publication features local business news, ribbon cuttings, and community events that drive local advertising revenue.
3. Obituary Services: The newspaper charges for obituary submissions, requiring contact information, exact text, photos, funeral home details, and publication dates. This is a direct revenue stream for death care and community services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Moberly Monitor-Index is a local digital newspaper serving Moberly and Randolph County, Missouri with hyperlocal coverage of news, sports, government, community events, and lifestyle content. It sells tiered digital subscriptions, accepts paid obituary submissions, and runs classified and legal notice advertising. Content is delivered primarily through its website with free categories (Obituaries, Breaking News) and login-gated premium articles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Moberly Monitor-Index Digital News Publication A local digital news publication serving Moberly, Missouri and surrounding Randolph County communities with news, sports, recipes, community, lifestyle, and obituary content distributed through a subscription-based website.
• Obituary Submission Service A paid submission service that publishes obituary and death notices for individuals and funeral homes, requiring contact information, exact text, photos, and publication dates.
• Classified Advertising Platform A self-serve classified advertising platform where local businesses and individuals can submit listings for jobs, items for sale, and community announcements distributed across the Moberly/Randolph County readership.
• Legal Notice Publishing Service A submission and publication service for legal notices required by government agencies, businesses, and individuals, fulfilling statutory publication requirements in Randolph County.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CherryRoad MediacoreOthers · 1 January 2020CherryRoad Media is the parent company of Moberly Monitor-Index. Founded in 1983 as DataStudy Inc. by the Gulban family, CherryRoad Technologies grew into a technology company serving thousands of customers. In 2020, CEO Jeremy Gulban entered the media world, creating CherryRoad Media through acquisitions and newspaper start-ups. CherryRoad Media operates local news publications nationwide with technology-first approach while maintaining local journalism presence.
• Legacy.comminorOthersObituary partnership linking Moberly Monitor-Index to Legacy.com for online obituary browsing and submission services. The website links to legacy.com for obituary browsing and submissions via 'Submit an Obituary' redirect.
• CherryRoad TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationCherryRoad Technologies provides the underlying technology infrastructure for CherryRoad Media newspapers including Moberly Monitor-Index. The technology company background enables innovative media and technology services, providing digital experience and engagement solutions for subscribers.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Boone County Journal: Independent community weekly serving Boone County, Missouri. Comparable hyperlocal focus and small-market subscription/donation model, though slightly larger market than Moberly.
• Kirksville Daily Express: Small-town northeast Missouri daily serving Adair County. Comparable rural Mid-Missouri market dynamics, audience size, and digital/print revenue mix.
• Columbia Daily Tribune: Regional daily serving Boone County, Missouri — geographically adjacent to Moberly. Comparable in digital subscription model and community news coverage, but larger market.
• The Mexico Ledger: Nearby small-town Missouri daily covering Audrain County. Directly comparable in scale, content mix, and rural Mid-Missouri market dynamics; potential direct competitor for regional ad budgets.

Direct peers

• Adams Publishing Group: Family-owned operator of small-town and suburban community newspapers in the Midwest and Mid-South. Highly comparable in market size, geography, and operational model.
• CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.): Private owner of community newspapers across the U.S., many in rural markets comparable to Moberly. Similar scale, local-journalism focus, and digital transition strategy.
• CherryRoad Media newspapers (portfolio peers): Other community newspapers operated by CherryRoad Media, sharing the same technology stack, editorial workflows, and subscription model. Directly comparable in scope, structure, and scale.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Large publicly-traded local newspaper chain operating dozens of daily and weekly community papers across the U.S., including properties in Missouri. Closest large-scale analog in business model and hyperlocal focus.
• Tribune Publishing: Operator of regional and local dailies including titles in the Midwest. Comparable in subscription/digital transition playbook though typically larger market scale.
• Gannett Co. USA TODAY Network parent operating the largest U.S. local newspaper portfolio. Operates similar small-town dailies and weeklies with comparable digital subscription and classifieds revenue mixes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/moberlymonitorindex
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/moberly-monitor-index

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Moberly Monitor Index