Digital First Media

Local Newspaper Publishingdigitalfirstmedia.com

Digital First Media is a privately held U.S. local-media group operating 235+ newspaper and digital publications reaching 47.2 million readers monthly, monetized through subscriptions, advertising, and its in-house Adtaxi digital marketing agency serving local and national advertisers.

Company typePrivate
Founded2011
HeadquartersDenver, United States
Headcount5,001–10,000
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What Digital First Media does

Digital First Media, headquartered in Denver, is one of the largest privately held local-media groups in the United States. Operating under the MediaNews Group banner, the company runs a multi-platform portfolio of more than 235 local newspapers and digital publications—including the Denver Post, The Mercury News, the LA Daily News, The News-Herald, the Daily Freeman, and the Boston Herald—serving approximately 47.2 million readers per month across U.S. communities, with reported activity extending into Canada via Digital First Canada.

The group's product surface is built around two integrated lines. The first is the publication portfolio itself, distributed through digital and print channels and monetized via subscriptions, newsstand sales, and audience-driven advertising. The second is Adtaxi, an in-house digital marketing agency that sells cross-platform advertising and integrated marketing solutions to local and national businesses, leveraging the readership base of the owned-and-operated publications. Underlying technology is described broadly as a multi-platform digital media infrastructure supporting the 235+ properties, with the proprietary Adtaxi stack functioning as the B2B monetization layer on top.

Commercially, Digital First Media operates a dual-audience model. Consumer-facing revenue is generated through paid subscriptions and advertising against the readership base; business-facing revenue is generated through Adtaxi's direct sales of integrated cross-platform campaigns. The go-to-market is sales-led via regional sales teams servicing both local SMB advertisers and national brands. The company is privately held (founded 2011 in its current corporate form), employs more than 10,000 people, and has pursued a roll-up strategy historically anchored in recurring acquisitions of distressed or family-owned daily newspapers.

Digital First Media firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Digital First Media
Website: https://digitalfirstmedia.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2011
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 5,001–10,000 employees
Short description: Digital First Media is a privately held U.S. local-media group operating 235+ newspaper and digital publications reaching 47.2 million readers monthly, monetized through subscriptions, advertising, and its in-house Adtaxi digital marketing agency serving local and national advertisers.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Digital First Media industry classification

Industry

Product category: Local Newspaper Publishing
NAICS: Newspaper Publishers (513110), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
SIC: Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising (7310)
akta.pro primary industry: Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)
akta.pro secondary industries: Digital Publishing Platforms (News/Magazines) (BPAMAJAE), Online News & Magazine Publishing Platforms (CMS & Hosting) (MPAJAMAC)

Keywords

Local news publishing
Digital media advertising
Newspaper publications
Digital marketing agency
Cross-platform advertising solutions

Where Digital First Media is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Denver
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Markets served

Digital First Media business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Advertising Solutions: Integrated marketing and media services providing cross-platform solutions to local and national businesses. The company's own Adtaxi digital marketing agency delivers cutting-edge cross-platform advertising services.
Publication Subscriptions: Trusted local news publications serving readers with award-winning journalism since 1846, generating revenue through reader subscriptions and newsstand sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Digital First Media product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Digital First Media operates a multi-platform portfolio of more than 235 local media publications (including Denver Post, The Mercury News, LA Daily News, and others) serving 47.2 million readers monthly. It also operates Adtaxi, a proprietary digital marketing agency that delivers integrated cross-platform advertising and media solutions to local and national businesses.

Product overview

MediaNews Group operates a multi-platform local news portfolio comprising over 235 newspaper and digital publications (including the Denver Post, The Mercury News, LA Daily News, and The News-Herald) serving 47.2 million readers monthly. The company pairs its traditional publishing operations with Adtaxi, an integrated digital marketing agency that provides cross-platform advertising solutions to local and national businesses. This structure combines trusted local journalism brands with proprietary digital marketing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

MediaNews Group Publications

Companies that use Digital First Media

Customer profile

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Digital First Media technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Digital First Media partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

AdtaxicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdtaxi is the company's proprietary digital marketing agency that provides cutting-edge cross-platform advertising solutions for local and national businesses. It operates as an integrated part of MediaNews Group's advertising solutions offerings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Digital First Media competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Hearst Communications: Hearst is a major private media conglomerate that owns newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle) alongside magazines, TV stations, and digital properties. It overlaps with Digital First Media in local newspaper publishing and integrated advertising services.
News Corp: News Corp operates The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and a portfolio of Australian and U.K. newspapers. It is a broad incumbent in the global newspaper industry with overlapping digital subscription and advertising businesses.
Advance Publications: Advance Publications owns Condé Nast, Reddit, and a portfolio of local newspapers. While diversified beyond local news, its newspaper operations and digital ad platform (Condé Nast, Reddit) compete with Digital First Media for digital ad budgets.
The New York Times Company: The New York Times Company is a much larger and more successful publicly traded newspaper publisher that has executed the digital subscription transformation. While primarily a national brand rather than a local-news portfolio, it competes for the same digital subscription dollars and advertising budgets.

Direct peers

Lee Enterprises: Lee Enterprises operates a portfolio of local newspapers across the U.S., similar to Digital First Media's MediaNews Group portfolio. Both companies face the same structural pressures of declining print advertising and are pursuing digital subscription and advertising pivots.
BH Media Group: BH Media Group operated a large portfolio of local newspapers across the U.S., acquired by Lee Enterprises in 2020. It is comparable in scale and multi-platform local news strategy to Digital First Media's portfolio.
Tribune Publishing: Tribune Publishing operates major metropolitan newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, and Baltimore Sun. It is a direct competitor in the local multi-platform newspaper space and shares similar subscription and advertising revenue dynamics.
McClatchy: McClatchy emerged from bankruptcy in 2020 and operates local newspapers including the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, and Kansas City Star. It is a direct peer in the local multi-platform newspaper space with a comparable subscriber and advertiser base.
Gannett: Gannett is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, operating USA Today and over 200 local publications including the Indianapolis Star and Detroit Free Press. It is the closest direct competitor to Digital First Media in scale, multi-platform local news strategy, and subscription-plus-advertising revenue model.

Emerging players

Vox Media: Vox Media operates digital-first brands including Vox, The Verge, and SB Nation, and competes for the same digital advertising budgets and reader attention that Digital First Media is targeting with its digital pivot.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Digital First Media financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Digital First Media leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Digital First Media funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Digital First Media M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A2 records

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Digital First Media

What does Digital First Media do?

Is Digital First Media a public or private company?

Digital First Media is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.

When was Digital First Media founded?

Digital First Media was founded in 2011. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.

Where is Digital First Media based?

Digital First Media is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.

How does Digital First Media make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Advertising Solutions are the primary driver. The others are publication Subscriptions.

Who are Digital First Media's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Hearst Communications, News Corp, Advance Publications and The New York Times Company. Direct peers are Lee Enterprises, BH Media Group, Tribune Publishing, McClatchy and Gannett. Vox Media is listed as an emerging player.

Does Digital First Media have an API?

No public API is recorded for Digital First Media.

What industry is Digital First Media in?

Digital First Media's product category is Local Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAD, Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First), with a secondary code of BPAMAJAE, Digital Publishing Platforms (News/Magazines). Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.