Ocean City Today

What Ocean City Today does

Ocean City Today, doing business as OC Today-Dispatch, is a privately-held hyperlocal newspaper serving Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland. Founded in 1993 and operated under the corporate parent Flag Publications, Inc. (established 2018 in Maryland), the publication provides local news, sports, lifestyle, business, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and public notices to residents, businesses, and visitors of the Ocean City resort area and surrounding Worcester County communities on the Mid-Atlantic coast. Christine Brown serves as Publisher with a small editorial, sales, and production team; the staff is sized at 11–50 employees and headquartered at 11934 Ocean Gateway, Suite 6, Ocean City, MD.

The publication's product portfolio centers on the print OC Today-Dispatch newspaper and a parallel digital platform delivering news, a photo gallery, an event calendar, a dining guide, a real estate report, weather, classifieds, e-Editions, and print/digital subscriptions (including gift subscriptions). Technology infrastructure is built on BLOX Digital's BLOX Content Management System for content, subscription, and account management; Issuu hosts the digital e-Edition; and Evvnt powers the "Promote Your Event" feature for community event promotion. The publication does not operate a native mobile app, does not expose public APIs, and has no AI/ML capabilities disclosed in its product set.

Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring digital and print subscriptions (annual/monthly plans with e-edition access), display and classified advertising sold by a team of account managers to local SMBs, and transaction-fee revenue from classified ad placements and statutory public-notice publications. Marketing and distribution are hybrid — print via newsstand and home delivery, digital via the website, email newsletter delivered weekday mornings, and a Facebook presence — with a sales-led go-to-market targeting Worcester County residents and local businesses for subscription renewals, display ad placements, classifieds, and event promotion services. No formal equity funding, M&A activity, or institutional ownership stake has been disclosed.

Name

Ocean City Today

Legal name

Flag Publications, Inc

Website

https://oceancitytoday.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ocean City Today (OC Today-Dispatch) is a privately-held hyperlocal newspaper serving Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland, delivering local news, sports, lifestyle, classifieds, and public notices via print, website, email newsletter, and e-Edition to area residents, businesses, and visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper and Community Journalism

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

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 newspaper
• Community journalism
• Newspaper subscriptions
• Display advertising
• Classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Ocean City

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: Annual and monthly subscription plans for digital and print access to news content, e-editions via Issuu platform
2. Advertising: Display advertising, classified ads, and public notices. Account managers sell advertising space across digital and print platforms. Evvnt integration for event promotion services.
3. Classifieds and Public Notices: Revenue from classified ad placements and public notice publications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ocean City Today (OC Today-Dispatch) publishes and distributes a community newspaper serving Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland, providing local news, sports, lifestyle, business, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, dining guides, event calendars, and public notices via print and digital editions. Revenue is generated through paid print and digital subscriptions, display advertising, classified ads, and public notice placements, with an in-house account management team selling advertising space to local businesses.

Product overview

OC Today-Dispatch operates as a traditional local newspaper with a digital presence, providing comprehensive coverage of Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland. The publication offers a print subscription service alongside a digital platform that includes the e-Edition, online news content, classifieds, a dining guide, event calendar, and bill payment services. The product portfolio centers on the core OC Today-Dispatch newspaper brand supplemented by digital-first services like weather information and photo galleries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OC Today-Dispatch Newspaper The primary newspaper publication serving Ocean City and Worcester County, Maryland, offering local news, sports, lifestyle coverage, obituaries, classifieds, and community information in both print and digital formats.
• e-Edition Digital edition of the newspaper accessible through the Issuu platform, allowing subscribers to read the publication online as a digital replica.
• Digital Subscription Recurring online access to news content including article comments, saved items, event submissions, and daily newsletter delivery for the Ocean City and Worcester County newspaper.
• Print Subscription Recurring home delivery of the physical OC Today-Dispatch newspaper to subscribers in the Ocean City and Worcester County service area.
• Classifieds Online and print classified advertising service for job listings, real estate, vehicles, personal announcements, and public notice publications.
• Gift Subscription Subscription product allowing customers to purchase gift subscriptions for others to access the publication's news content and digital services.
• Dining Guide Directory listing local restaurants and dining establishments in the Ocean City area as part of the publication's lifestyle coverage.
• Event Calendar Community calendar listing local events, activities, and entertainment for the Ocean City region, with organizer submission enabled via the Evvnt platform.
• Bill Pay Online billing and payment service for managing subscriptions and paying invoices for OC Today-Dispatch.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BLOX DigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite powered by BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital. Provides the platform infrastructure for content management, subscriptions, and digital publishing.
• evvntminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent promotion partnership with evvnt for the 'Promote Your Event' feature, allowing local event organizers to reach the publication's audience.
• Flag Publications, InccoreOthersParent company holding copyright (2018) of oceancitytoday.com content. All rights reserved.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Star Democrat: The Star Democrat is a regional daily newspaper on Maryland's Eastern Shore, partially overlapping Ocean City Today's geographic footprint. It serves as a comparable peer in the Mid-Atlantic regional newspaper space with similar SMB advertising and subscription dynamics.
• Maryland Coast Dispatch: Maryland Coast Dispatch is a local newspaper serving the Ocean City and Berlin, Maryland area, overlapping directly with Ocean City Today's coverage territory. It competes for the same local advertisers and readers using a comparable weekly print + online news publishing model.
• Coastal Point: Coastal Point is a community newspaper covering coastal Sussex County, Delaware, adjacent to Ocean City, Maryland. It directly competes for resort-area advertising dollars, classifieds, and hyperlocal news readership with a similar print + digital subscription model and SMB advertising focus.
• Bayside Gazette: Bayside Gazette is a community newspaper serving the Berlin/Ocean City corridor in Worcester County, Maryland. It is a direct competitor in the same local market with a similar subscription + advertising + classifieds revenue mix and hyperlocal editorial focus.
• The Daily Times (Salisbury, MD): The Daily Times is a regional daily newspaper serving the Delmarva Peninsula, including Worcester County where Ocean City Today operates. It competes for the same local advertisers, subscribers, and digital readers in the same geographic market, making it the closest direct peer in terms of product, audience, and business model.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: Patch.com is a digital hyperlocal news network with local editions across the U.S., including communities near Ocean City. It competes for local advertising dollars and reader attention through a digital-native, volunteer-driven model and represents an emerging alternative to traditional community newspapers.
• Shore Local News Network: Shore Local News Network is a digital-first local news outlet serving Maryland's Eastern Shore, including Worcester County. It is an emerging player that targets the same hyperlocal audience and SMB advertisers as Ocean City Today but through a digital-native model without print distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Capital Gazette: Capital Gazette is a regional daily serving the Annapolis and broader Maryland area. It is a broader incumbent in Maryland local journalism with an established subscription + advertising model and competing for statewide digital reader attention and advertising spend.
• The Baltimore Sun: The Baltimore Sun is Maryland's largest general-interest newspaper and operates broadly across the state. While not focused exclusively on Ocean City, it overlaps in covering Worcester County and competes for regional advertising budgets and digital readership, making it a broader incumbent in the same industry.
• WBOC-TV: WBOC-TV is the dominant local TV broadcaster for the Delmarva Peninsula, including Ocean City and Worcester County. While it operates in broadcast rather than print, it competes for the same local advertising budgets and community news audience, making it a broader incumbent in the local media market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/oceancitytoday
• Xx.com/oceancitytoday
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocean-city-today

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Ocean City Today