Milwaukee Community Journal
Milwaukee Community Journal is a privately-held weekly African-American newspaper founded in 1976 serving Milwaukee's Black community with print editions, digital archives, and community programs, funded primarily through advertising.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersMilwaukee, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Milwaukee Community Journal does
Milwaukee Community Journal (MCJ) is a privately-held weekly newspaper founded in 1976 and headquartered at 3612 North Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is described as the largest African-American newspaper in Wisconsin, serving Milwaukee's Black community with coverage spanning local, national, and world news, politics, health, education, economy, lifestyle, arts, and culture. The publication is led by Publisher Patricia Pattillo, who was the first female president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association in 1987, and maintains an average weekly readership of approximately 200,000.
MCJ's product line centers on a flagship weekly newspaper, supplemented by a Weekend Edition, a Healthy Start health-focused publication, the Dr. TNT Scholarship Fund program, classified advertising services (including legal notices), and digital archives accessible via communityjournal.net. Distribution is multi-channel and free to readers: physical copies are placed at community churches, Walgreens, Pick n' Save stores, Milwaukee City Hall, and the Milwaukee County Courthouse, while digital content is delivered through the website and social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, including video content such as MCJ Weekly and a Black Nouveau feature.
MCJ's business model is advertising-driven, with revenue generated from display advertising (with a media kit available to advertisers) and classified advertising for legal notices, divorces, and personal announcements. No subscription pricing is publicly disclosed, consistent with the free-distribution model. The company has no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, parent company, subsidiaries, or strategic partnerships, and operates as an independent, founder/owner-operated community newspaper within a single metro market.
Milwaukee Community Journal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Milwaukee Community Journal
- Legal name
- Milwaukee Community Journal
- Website
- https://communityjournal.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Milwaukee Community Journal is a privately-held weekly African-American newspaper founded in 1976 serving Milwaukee's Black community with print editions, digital archives, and community programs, funded primarily through advertising.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Milwaukee Community Journal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Newspaper Publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)
Keywords
Where Milwaukee Community Journal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milwaukee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Milwaukee Community Journal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Advertising: The newspaper generates revenue through advertising, with a media kit available for advertisers. The MCJ is described as the largest African American newspaper in Wisconsin.
- Classifieds: The newspaper accepts classified advertising for notices of divorce, name changes, and other personal announcements. Contact information provided for placing classifieds.
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Milwaukee Community Journal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Milwaukee Community Journal publishes a weekly African-American newspaper covering local, national, and world news, politics, health, education, economy, and lifestyle content for Milwaukee's Black community. The publication generates revenue primarily through advertising sales, supplemented by classified advertising for legal notices and personal announcements.
Product overview
Milwaukee Community Journal (MCJ) is a newspaper publishing company offering a portfolio of print and digital products. The core offering is the MCJ newspaper, published weekly since 1976 as Wisconsin's largest African-American newspaper with an average weekly readership of 200,000. The product line includes the main newspaper, Weekend Edition, and Healthy Start publication, all distributed at community churches, Walgreens, and Pick n' Save locations. The company also operates digital archives, a scholarship fund program, classifieds services, and advertising services for businesses targeting the African American community.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Milwaukee Community Journal (MCJ) Newspaper The flagship weekly African-American newspaper serving Milwaukee's Black community since 1976, covering local news, national news, world news, politics, health, education, economy, and lifestyle content with an average weekly readership of 200,000.
- Weekend Edition A weekend edition of the newspaper distributed at community churches and retail locations throughout Milwaukee.
- Healthy Start Publication A health-focused publication distributed alongside the main newspaper at community locations.
- Digital Archives
Companies that use Milwaukee Community Journal
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Milwaukee Community Journal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Milwaukee Community Journal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Milwaukee Community Journal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Atlanta Daily World: One of the oldest African-American newspapers in the country, covering Atlanta's Black community with print and digital editions. Comparable to MCJ in audience, advertiser value proposition, and community-service mission.
- The Washington Informer: Washington D.C.-based African-American community newspaper covering local news, politics, and culture. Direct peer in the same niche ethnic/community news publishing category as MCJ.
- The Chicago Defender: One of the most storied African-American weekly newspapers in the U.S., serving Chicago's Black community with local news, lifestyle, and classifieds. Directly comparable to MCJ as a legacy Black-community weekly operating in the Upper Midwest regional corridor.
- New Pittsburgh Courier: Historic African-American newspaper serving Pittsburgh's Black community with news, sports, and classifieds. Closely comparable to MCJ as a legacy Black-press weekly in a Midwestern/U.S. industrial metro.
- The Philadelphia Tribune: The oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the United States, providing news and advertising serving Philadelphia's Black community. Closely comparable in mission, audience, and weekly print-plus-digital business model to MCJ.
- The Baltimore Afro-American (AFRO): Long-running African-American newspaper serving Baltimore's Black community with news, opinion, and classified advertising. Directly comparable to MCJ as a heritage Black-community newspaper publisher.
Emerging players
- Block Club Chicago: Digital nonprofit hyperlocal news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods. Comparable to MCJ as a community-focused news publisher, though operating in a different geography and a digital-only model.
- Madison365: Wisconsin-based digital-first news outlet covering communities of color, including Black, Latino, and Hmong communities across the state. Comparable as a Wisconsin-focused multicultural news competitor, though primarily digital rather than print.
Broad incumbents
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: General-market daily newspaper serving the same Milwaukee metro as MCJ. Comparable as a regional newspaper competitor for advertising dollars, though it serves a much broader, mainstream audience rather than MCJ's African-American community focus.
Others
- National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA): The trade association of Black-owned newspapers in the U.S., of which MCJ's publisher Patricia Pattillo is a former president. Comparable as the network and standards body governing MCJ's peer category, and a channel for syndicated content like the BlackPressUSA wire MCJ uses.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Milwaukee Community Journal social profiles
Digital presenceMilwaukee Community Journal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Milwaukee Community Journal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Milwaukee Community Journal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Milwaukee Community Journal 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 Milwaukee Community Journal
What does Milwaukee Community Journal do?
Milwaukee Community Journal publishes a weekly African-American newspaper covering local, national, and world news, politics, health, education, economy, and lifestyle content for Milwaukee's Black community. The publication generates revenue primarily through advertising sales, supplemented by classified advertising for legal notices and personal announcements.
Is Milwaukee Community Journal a public or private company?
Milwaukee Community Journal is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Milwaukee Community Journal founded?
Milwaukee Community Journal was founded in 1976. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Milwaukee Community Journal based?
Milwaukee Community Journal is headquartered in Milwaukee, United States, in the North America region.
How does Milwaukee Community Journal make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are classifieds.
Who are Milwaukee Community Journal's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Atlanta Daily World, The Washington Informer, The Chicago Defender, New Pittsburgh Courier, The Philadelphia Tribune and The Baltimore Afro-American (AFRO). Emerging players are Block Club Chicago and Madison365. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is listed as a broad incumbent. National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is listed as an others.
Does Milwaukee Community Journal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Milwaukee Community Journal.
What industry is Milwaukee Community Journal in?
Milwaukee Community Journal's product category is Community Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAG, Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers, with a secondary code of MPAJADAB, Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital). Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.