The News Journal

What The News Journal does

The News Journal is an independently owned local newspaper headquartered in Corbin, Kentucky, serving southeastern Kentucky with a primary focus on Whitley County and adjacent communities including Williamsburg and Knox County. Founded in 1908, the publication operates as the legal paper of record for Whitley County, a statutory designation that makes it the official outlet for court filings, legal notices, deeds, marriage licenses, arrests, and other public records. Its core product is a multi-category digital news platform covering local news, breaking news, high school and community sports (football, basketball, baseball, softball), opinion columns by a roster of named local writers, business news, obituaries, community events, weddings and anniversaries, and announcements. A digital E-Edition replicates the printed newspaper for online subscribers, and a tiered subscription product branded NewsWeekPRO is offered on monthly and annual billing cadences.

The business model combines three revenue streams: consumer subscriptions (digital and print), local display advertising from small and medium businesses in the catchment, and statutory legal-notice and public-records publication for Whitley County government and courts. Distribution is omnichannel for a small-market paper — a website (thenewsjournal.net) with categorized archives and event listings, social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and YouTube (all under the cwnewsjournal handle), a print edition distributed regionally, and a direct sales channel for legal notice clients. The publisher is Trevor Sherman; no parent company, private equity ownership, or external funding is disclosed. The technology stack appears to be a standard WordPress-based CMS with off-the-shelf subscription and e-edition plugins; no APIs, SDKs, proprietary technology, or AI/ML capabilities are documented.

The company's strategic posture is that of a stable, defensive community franchise rather than a growth-stage venture. Recent activity has focused on digital monetization (E-Edition launch, NewsWeekPRO subscriptions, expanded breaking news coverage) and on maintaining its statutory role, while the broader small-market newspaper industry continues to face secular print advertising declines. No acquisitions, partnerships, fundraising, geographic expansion beyond the established catchment, or senior technology hires are evident in the available data.

Name

The News Journal

Legal name

The News Journal

Website

https://thenewsjournal.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The News Journal is an independently owned community newspaper in Corbin, Kentucky, serving Whitley County and southeastern Kentucky as the designated legal paper of record. It delivers local news, sports, opinion, and public records via print, digital subscription (NewsWeekPRO), and an E-Edition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news coverage
• Legal notice publication
• Digital news subscription
• Print newspaper edition

Headquarters

HQ city

Corbin

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The News Journal is a local newspaper serving southeastern Kentucky that publishes daily news, sports, obituaries, opinion columns, public records (legal notices, arrests, lawsuits, deeds, marriage licenses), business news, and community announcements in both print and digital formats. It operates as the legal paper of record for Whitley County and offers digital subscriptions (monthly and annual NewsWeekPRO tiers) and an E-Edition digital replica, supplemented by classified advertising and event calendar services.

Product overview

The News Journal is a single-product digital newspaper offering. The core product is its digital news platform delivering local news coverage across multiple content categories including news, sports (football, basketball, baseball, softball), opinion columns, public records, business, community events, and obituaries. An E-Edition module provides subscribers with digital access to the printed newspaper format.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The News Journal Digital Edition The flagship online news platform providing daily coverage of local news, sports, community events, opinion columns, public records, business news, and obituaries for southeastern Kentucky, with a focus on Whitley County. Sold via monthly and annual digital subscription tiers (including NewsWeekPRO annual with full archive access) to individual subscribers and community members.
• E-Edition Digital version of the printed newspaper available for online viewing, allowing subscribers to access the full newspaper content in a digital replica format via the publication's e-edition viewer.
• Print Edition Physical newspaper distributed locally in Whitley County and across southeastern Kentucky communities, sold via single-copy and subscription purchases to local readers.
• Legal Notices and Public Records Publication Statutory publication service for courts, law enforcement, and government agencies in Whitley County, covering legal notices, arrests, lawsuits, district court records, marriage licenses, inspections, master commissioner reports, and deeds as required by law.
• Local Advertising Services Display advertising, classifieds, and sponsored placements sold to local small and medium businesses seeking reach into southeastern Kentucky households through the print edition, website, and E-Edition channels.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• MediaNews Group: Operates a large portfolio of daily and community newspapers across the U.S., focused on local news and digital subscriptions. Overlaps with The News Journal in community newspaper operations but at meaningfully greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• Gannett: Largest U.S. newspaper publisher, operating USA TODAY and hundreds of local publications including community titles. Comparable in community newspaper operations but operates as a broad incumbent across many markets, not a single small-town franchise.
• Schurz Communications: Privately held media company historically owning newspapers, broadcast, and digital media properties across the Midwest and South. Comparable as an incumbent community-news publisher with a multi-market footprint.
• Tribune Publishing: National newspaper group operating regional dailies and community titles across the U.S. Comparable as a broad incumbent publisher of local news with both print and digital subscription models, though with significantly larger titles.
• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded large-scale newspaper operator with a portfolio of daily and weekly community papers across the U.S. Overlaps with The News Journal in the small-market community newspaper space but operates at far greater scale and is publicly listed.

Direct peers

• Boone Newspapers: Family-owned group that owns and operates community newspapers across the U.S. South and Midwest. Comparable as a multi-title community newspaper chain running papers in similar population-size markets with print, digital, and legal-notice revenue mix.
• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned publisher of daily and weekly community newspapers across more than a dozen states. Comparable in operating community papers of similar size with subscription, print advertising, and statutory legal-notice revenue.
• CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.): Owns community newspapers and associated digital products in small and mid-sized U.S. markets. Directly comparable to The News Journal's operating model of community-focused news, legal notices, and local advertising in non-metro geographies.
• Paxton Media Group: Privately held media company headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky that owns numerous community and daily newspapers across Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Southeast. Directly comparable to The News Journal as a small-market Kentucky community newspaper operator with similar legal-notice and local advertising revenue dynamics.
• The Advocate-Messenger: Danville, Kentucky-based community newspaper covering Boyle and surrounding counties with local news, sports, and public records. Closely comparable to The News Journal as a similarly sized privately operated Kentucky community paper with print, digital, and legal-notice revenue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cwnewsjournal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGrJZjdo6m2-YoAaiqvDxOw
• Facebookfacebook.com/cwnewsjournal
• Instagraminstagram.com/cwnewsjournal

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 The News Journal