The Herald-Leader

Name

The Herald-Leader

Legal name

The Herald-Leader

Website

https://herald-leader.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1895

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Herald-Leader is a locally owned and operated weekly community newspaper founded in 1895, serving Fitzgerald, Georgia, and Ben Hill County with local news, sports, obituaries, public notices, and community announcements distributed in print and via a digital e-edition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing

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

• Community newspaper publishing
• Local news coverage
• Classified advertising
• Public notice placement
• Newspaper e-edition

Headquarters

HQ city

Fitzgerald

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, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Classified Advertising: Revenue from commercial and non-commercial classified advertisements. Commercial line ads charged at $7.00/week for up to 30 words with $0.15 per additional word. Display bordered classified ads available. Non-commercial classifieds free up to 30 words.
2. Happy Ads: Personal greeting messages published in print edition. Single Happy Ad $16.00, Double Happy Ad $32.00 in print only.
3. Cards of Thanks: Thank you messages at $10 for up to 100 words in weekly edition. Cards of Thanks following a death are free.
4. Subscriptions and E-Edition: Subscription revenue for print edition and digital E-Edition access. E-Edition available through Newstogo.us platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Herald-Leader publishes a weekly community newspaper covering Fitzgerald, Georgia and Ben Hill County, distributed in print and via a digital E-Edition. The newspaper sells subscriptions, accepts paid classified ads (commercial and non-commercial), and offers life-event announcement and public-notice placements such as weddings, engagements, births, cards of thanks, and obituaries. Local businesses and residents transact with the paper through its office, website, and E-Edition platform.

Product overview

The Herald-Leader is a locally owned and operated weekly community newspaper serving Fitzgerald, Georgia, built on the WebsitesForNewspapers.com platform. The core offering is the print newspaper published on Wednesdays in broadsheet format, supplemented by a digital E-Edition. The product portfolio includes various announcement services: wedding, engagement, bridal party, final plans, birth, birthday celebration, and anniversary announcements (offered as form-based services with photo capabilities); classified advertising in both commercial (paid line/display ads) and non-commercial (free personal ads) categories; Cards of Thanks and Happy Ads for personal messages; obituaries; and public notices. The company also syndicates national and world news content from ABC News and other outlets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Herald-Leader Weekly Newspaper Weekly community newspaper covering local news, sports, obituaries, and civic information for Fitzgerald, GA and Ben Hill County, delivered to subscribers and available by single copy.
• Herald-Leader E-Edition Digital replica of the weekly Herald-Leader newspaper delivered through the Newstogo.us E-Edition platform, allowing readers to view the paper online.
• Commercial Classified Advertising Paid classified ad placement service for businesses and professionals advertising products, services, or opportunities to Fitzgerald, GA readers.
• Non-Commercial Classified Advertising Classified ad placement service for private individuals placing personal-item, vehicle, or similar listings in the Herald-Leader.
• Card of Thanks Placement Paid placement service that publishes a personal thank-you message in the Herald-Leader for residents of the Fitzgerald, GA area.
• Happy Ads Paid short celebratory or congratulatory message placement service published in the Herald-Leader for community members.
• Wedding Announcement Service Paid service that publishes wedding announcements submitted by couples in the Herald-Leader and its E-Edition.
• Engagement Announcement Service Paid service that publishes engagement announcements submitted by couples in the Herald-Leader and its E-Edition.
• Birth Announcement Service Paid service that publishes birth announcements submitted by families in the Herald-Leader and its E-Edition.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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

Others

• Newstogo.us: Newstogo.us is the E-Edition platform and subscription infrastructure provider used by The Herald-Leader and many other small community newspapers. It is comparable as an enabling technology partner whose broader customer base of community papers gives it visibility into the same small-market newspaper economics that drive Herald-Leader's business.
• WebsitesForNewspapers.com: WebsitesForNewspapers.com is the website platform provider powering The Herald-Leader's online presence and serving many other community newspapers. It is comparable as a technology enabler for small-market newspapers, sharing the same publisher customer base and operational constraints as The Herald-Leader.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: Patch.com is a digital-first hyperlocal news network operating in thousands of U.S. communities, including small towns. It competes with The Herald-Leader for local news readership and small-business digital advertising in community markets, representing a free online alternative to the paid print/digital weekly newspaper model.

Direct peers

• Ogden Newspapers: Ogden Newspapers is a family-owned chain of community newspapers serving small cities and rural markets across the U.S. It is highly comparable to The Herald-Leader as an operator of weekly community titles with similar local advertising and subscription economics, though at a multi-title portfolio scale.
• Schurz Communications: Schurz Communications is a private media company operating community newspapers, broadcasting, and digital media properties in small and mid-sized markets. It is comparable to The Herald-Leader as an operator of locally owned community newspaper titles serving similar small-market audiences with mixed print/digital business models.
• Paxton Media Group: Paxton Media Group is a family-owned publisher of daily and weekly community newspapers concentrated in the Midwest and South. It is directly comparable to The Herald-Leader as a regional operator of locally focused newspaper titles serving small-market communities with similar advertising-driven business models.
• Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI): CNHI is a publisher of community newspapers, websites, and niche publications across small and mid-sized U.S. markets. It is comparable to The Herald-Leader as a peer in the community-newspaper segment with shared reliance on local advertising, public notices, and subscription revenue from weekly and small-daily titles.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Lee Enterprises is one of the largest community newspaper publishers in the United States, operating dozens of daily and weekly local titles across small and mid-sized markets. It is comparable to The Herald-Leader as a direct operator in the same community-newspaper segment, though at much greater scale and across many more geographies.
• Tribune Publishing: Tribune Publishing operates regional daily and weekly newspapers and digital sites across the United States. It is comparable to The Herald-Leader in the community/regional newspaper category, though it focuses primarily on larger metropolitan and suburban markets rather than rural weekly titles.
• Gannett Co. Gannett is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, operating USA TODAY and hundreds of local daily and weekly titles across the country, including in Georgia. It is comparable to The Herald-Leader as a competitor in the same community-newspaper space, though at vastly greater scale and with a digital-first orientation.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 The Herald-Leader