The McPherson Sentinel
The McPherson Sentinel is a privately held local newspaper serving McPherson County, Kansas, owned by CherryRoad Media. It delivers hyperlocal news, high school sports, obituaries, and legal notices via a WordPress digital platform and print home delivery, monetized through subscriptions, advertising, and classifieds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersMcpherson, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The McPherson Sentinel does
The McPherson Sentinel is a privately held local newspaper serving McPherson County, Kansas, owned and operated as a portfolio property of CherryRoad Media, which was founded in 2020 by CEO Jeremy Gulban to acquire and run community newspapers. The publication delivers hyperlocal coverage of county news, high school athletics (notably the McPherson Bullpups), local government (including City of McPherson Commission meetings), obituaries, community events, opinion, and entertainment, with content authored by resident local reporters rather than syndicated staff. Its digital platform runs on WordPress with eType services integration for classifieds, legal notices, and subscription management, and is supplemented by a physical print edition delivered to subscriber mailboxes.
The business operates a diversified small-market monetization model spanning four revenue streams: recurring digital subscriptions behind a paywall, recurring print subscriptions with home delivery, local and regional advertising (display and programmatic on-site), and classifieds including jobs, obituaries, and legally mandated public notices. The pricing architecture is freemium, offering a complimentary access tier alongside paid plans, with weekly email newsletters used as a mid-funnel retention and conversion channel. Distribution is single-market U.S. domestic, and customer relationships are long-tail and fragmented across individual subscribers, local SMB advertisers, and institutional public-notice sources such as municipal government.
Technology infrastructure is shared at the parent level through CherryRoad Media, which provides back-office, accessibility (OneTap WCAG 2.1 AA toolbar), and content management tooling across its portfolio. The publication is not venture-backed, does not disclose financials, and has no disclosed API, app, or AI/ML capabilities; its competitive position rests primarily on local brand trust, dual print-digital distribution, statutory public-notice publication rights, and the cost leverage of being part of a multi-property newspaper operator.
The McPherson Sentinel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The McPherson Sentinel
- Legal name
- McPherson Sentinel
- Website
- https://mcphersonsentinel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The McPherson Sentinel is a privately held local newspaper serving McPherson County, Kansas, owned by CherryRoad Media. It delivers hyperlocal news, high school sports, obituaries, and legal notices via a WordPress digital platform and print home delivery, monetized through subscriptions, advertising, and classifieds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The McPherson Sentinel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Local newspaper publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI)
Keywords
Where The McPherson Sentinel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mcpherson
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The McPherson Sentinel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital Subscriptions: The newspaper offers subscription-based access to premium digital content, with both free articles and paywalled content requiring login or paid subscription.
- Print Subscriptions: Physical newspaper delivery to subscribers' mailboxes as part of subscription plans.
- Advertising: Local and regional advertising revenue through the website and print publication.
- Classifieds: Classified advertising section covering jobs, obituaries, legal notices, and community classifieds.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free access tier with limited articles |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
The McPherson Sentinel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The McPherson Sentinel is a local newspaper publishing local news, high school sports, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and legal notices for McPherson County, Kansas. It distributes content via a subscription website, a digital archive of past issues, and physical newspaper delivery to subscribers' mailboxes, with supplemental offerings including online classifieds, subscription plans, and interactive games/puzzles.
Product overview
The McPherson Sentinel operates as a unified local news platform delivering comprehensive coverage of McPherson County, Kansas. The core offering is the McPherson Sentinel Online News website, supplemented by Digital Issues for archived newspaper editions, a Classifieds module for jobs/obituaries/legals, Subscription Plans for premium access, and Games/Puzzles for reader engagement. The publication also embeds an Accessibility Toolbar (OneTap) to ensure WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all content. The newspaper was recently redesigned for 2026 with a more colorful, easier-to-read format.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- McPherson Sentinel Online News The flagship digital news website of The McPherson Sentinel delivering hyperlocal news, high school sports, entertainment, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and legal notices for McPherson County, Kansas residents and subscribers.
- Subscription Plans Paid subscription tiers that grant subscribers unlimited access to premium digital content on mcphersonsentinel.com, with a complimentary access sign-up option for non-paying readers; bundled with print newspaper delivery where applicable.
- Digital Issues Online archive of past published newspaper editions available for digital viewing, enabling subscribers and visitors to access prior issues of the McPherson Sentinel.
- Classifieds Online classified advertisements platform for jobs, obituaries, legal notices, and community listings, allowing local businesses and individuals to submit and browse listings via the eType services integration.
- Games and Puzzles Interactive games, puzzles, and horoscope content available on the McPherson Sentinel website, serving as a reader engagement offering that complements the news, obituaries, and classifieds sections.
Companies that use The McPherson Sentinel
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The McPherson Sentinel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The McPherson Sentinel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- CherryRoad MediacoreCherryRoad Media is the parent company that acquired and operates The McPherson Sentinel as part of its local newspaper portfolio. CherryRoad Media was founded in 2020 by CEO Jeremy Gulban to enter the media world, combining technology expertise with local journalism. The company is committed to keeping local news local while leveraging technology to improve digital subscriber experience.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The McPherson Sentinel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Lee Enterprises: Lee Enterprises operates a portfolio of local daily and weekly newspapers across the U.S. Midwest and beyond, generating revenue from subscriptions, advertising, and digital services. It is a directly comparable publicly-traded community-newspaper operator, though at much greater scale than The McPherson Sentinel.
- CherryRoad Media: CherryRoad Media is the corporate parent and operator of The McPherson Sentinel. As a portfolio operator of multiple local newspapers, CherryRoad applies shared technology, design, and subscription infrastructure across properties, making it the closest comparable operating model for how The Sentinel is run and monetized.
- Gannett (USA Today Network): Gannett is the largest U.S. local newspaper chain, operating hundreds of community dailies and weeklies with a similar print-plus-digital subscription model. While far larger and geographically diversified, Gannett's local-market publications follow the same advertising, subscription, and classified revenue architecture that The McPherson Sentinel operates in.
Direct peers
- The Newton Kansan: The Newton Kansan is another CherryRoad Media-owned local newspaper serving Newton, Kansas — the neighboring Harvey County community. It is a direct operational twin to The McPherson Sentinel, sharing the same parent, tech stack, and small-market Kansas community-newspaper playbook.
- Emmis Communications: Emmis Communications operates local radio and publishing assets in mid-sized U.S. markets, including community-oriented content businesses. While primarily known for radio, its local-media operating philosophy and reliance on community-level audience engagement parallels the small-market strategy of The McPherson Sentinel.
- Schurz Communications: Schurz Communications historically operated a portfolio of community newspapers and local media properties across the U.S., serving small and mid-sized markets with subscription and advertising-driven business models comparable to The McPherson Sentinel's.
- Aspen Daily News: Aspen Daily News is an independently-owned small-market daily newspaper serving a single community with hyperlocal coverage, digital subscriptions, and print delivery. As a single-property community daily, it represents the same operating archetype as The McPherson Sentinel at the individual publication level.
- Boone Newspapers: Boone Newspapers is a privately-held group that owns and operates local community newspapers across the U.S. South and Midwest. Its strategy of acquiring and professionally managing small-market dailies and weeklies closely mirrors CherryRoad Media's approach to properties like The McPherson Sentinel.
- Ogden Newspapers: Ogden Newspapers is a family-owned chain operating community newspapers in small and mid-sized U.S. markets. Its ownership structure, focus on small-town journalism, and subscription-plus-advertising model closely mirror the operating profile of The McPherson Sentinel under CherryRoad Media.
- Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI): CNHI is a leading operator of community newspapers and associated digital platforms in small U.S. markets. Its focus on local news, public-notice advertising, and digital subscriptions to local readerships is directly comparable to The McPherson Sentinel's business model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The McPherson Sentinel social profiles
Digital presenceThe McPherson Sentinel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The McPherson Sentinel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The McPherson Sentinel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The McPherson Sentinel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The McPherson Sentinel
What does The McPherson Sentinel do?
The McPherson Sentinel is a local newspaper publishing local news, high school sports, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and legal notices for McPherson County, Kansas. It distributes content via a subscription website, a digital archive of past issues, and physical newspaper delivery to subscribers' mailboxes, with supplemental offerings including online classifieds, subscription plans, and interactive games/puzzles.
Is The McPherson Sentinel a public or private company?
The McPherson Sentinel is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was The McPherson Sentinel founded?
The McPherson Sentinel was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The McPherson Sentinel based?
The McPherson Sentinel is headquartered in Mcpherson, United States, in the North America region.
How does The McPherson Sentinel make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Digital Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are print Subscriptions, advertising and classifieds.
Who are The McPherson Sentinel's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Lee Enterprises, CherryRoad Media and Gannett (USA Today Network). Direct peers are The Newton Kansan, Emmis Communications, Schurz Communications, Aspen Daily News, Boone Newspapers, Ogden Newspapers and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI).
Does The McPherson Sentinel have an API?
No public API is recorded for The McPherson Sentinel.
What industry is The McPherson Sentinel in?
The McPherson Sentinel's product category is Local newspaper publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAI, News & Content Aggregation Portals. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.