Hermiston Herald

What Hermiston Herald does

Hermiston Herald is a privately held community newspaper founded in 1906 by Horace Greeley Newport and William Skinner, serving Hermiston, Oregon and the surrounding Umatilla County region. The publication operates through three primary distribution channels: the hermistonherald.com website, a digital eEdition replica of the print paper, and a physical print newspaper available by subscription and newsstand. Editorial coverage spans local news, government, elections, sports (including high school athletics), obituaries, classifieds, and community events.

The product portfolio is broader than a traditional newspaper, extending into email newsletters, an online classifieds marketplace (eastah.eomediagroup.com), a regional events calendar (Go! Eastern Oregon), a local Area Guide business directory, online puzzles and games, sponsored content, weather information, and reader contests including the Readers' Choice Awards. A separate Digital Services offering markets website development, programmatic and social media advertising, SEO, videography, and content creation to local businesses. Technology infrastructure is standard, built on a WordPress-based CMS.

Hermiston Herald operates as part of Carpenter Media Group, a regional newspaper conglomerate that also owns East Oregonian, Baker City Herald, Blue Mountain Eagle, La Grande Observer, and Wallowa County Chieftain, enabling cross-publication syndication and shared back-office functions. Revenue is generated through five streams: print and digital subscriptions, display and classified advertising, sponsored content, professional digital services for local businesses, and event sponsorship and vendor fees (notably from the annual Farm City Home & Garden Expo). The company employs 51-100 staff and operates from a single headquarters in Hermiston, Oregon.

Name

Hermiston Herald

Legal name

Hermiston Herald

Website

https://hermistonherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1906

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hermiston Herald is a 120-year-old local newspaper serving Hermiston and Umatilla County, Oregon, delivering news, sports, and community information via website, eEdition, and print, with ancillary revenue from advertising, digital services, and community events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news reporting
• Print and digital media
• Newspaper subscriptions
• Local advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Hermiston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Subscription-based revenue from print and digital newspaper subscriptions. Website offers subscribe functionality through subscribe.eastoregonian.com. eEdition digital version available.
2. Advertising: Display advertising, classified advertising, and digital advertising services. Classifieds managed through eomediagroup.com platform. Digital services include programmatic advertising, social media advertising, search engine marketing for local businesses.
3. Digital Services for Local Businesses: Website development, programmatic advertising, email marketing, videography/photography, social media management, SEO, search engine marketing, OTT/CTV/ZTV campaigns, graphic design, content creation, sponsored content, lead capture, and campaign/media planning for local businesses.
4. Sponsored Content: Sponsored articles and content from local businesses and organizations including Energy Trust of Oregon, SAGE Center, and Good Shepherd Health Care System.
5. Events and Contests: Farm City Home & Garden Expo, Readers' Choice Awards, and various community events generating sponsorship and vendor revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Hermiston Herald is a community newspaper that publishes local news, sports, obituaries, opinion, and feature stories covering Hermiston, Oregon and Umatilla County. It distributes content across a printed newspaper, a digital eEdition replica, the hermistonherald.com website, and email newsletters. Revenue is generated primarily through reader subscriptions, local and regional advertising, sponsored content, classified listings, and community events.

Product overview

Hermiston Herald operates as a local community newspaper platform offering a unified digital news experience. The core product is the hermistonherald.com website providing daily local news coverage, supplemented by the eEdition digital replica of the print edition. The portfolio includes value-added services such as email newsletters, an online classifieds marketplace, puzzles and games, a regional area guide directory, community events calendar, business-focused digital marketing services, local weather information, sponsored content, and reader contests. These products work together to serve the Hermiston, Oregon community with comprehensive local journalism, information services, and business advertising solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Print Newspaper

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

One partnership is on record.

• Carpenter Media GroupcoreOthersParent company that owns and operates the Hermiston Herald along with other regional publications including East Oregonian, Baker City Herald, Blue Mountain Eagle, La Grande Observer, and Wallowa County Chieftain.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Patch Media: Hyperlocal digital news network covering thousands of U.S. communities with online-only local news, events, and classifieds. Comparable in that it targets the same local-news-and-information consumer need as Hermiston Herald, though as a digital-native pure-play rather than a legacy print+digital hybrid.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Major U.S. local newspaper chain operating daily and weekly community publications across more than 70 markets. Comparable in that it owns and operates many small-market community newspapers with subscription and advertising revenue models analogous to Hermiston Herald.
• Gannett Co. Largest U.S. local newspaper operator (USA TODAY network) with hundreds of community publications across the country. Operates many titles comparable in size and rural-market profile to Hermiston Herald, though at vastly greater scale and with substantially more digital and shared-services infrastructure.
• Tribune Publishing: Regional newspaper publisher operating metropolitan and community dailies across the U.S. Shares the legacy newspaper publisher business model (print subscriptions, advertising, digital transition) with Hermiston Herald, though at significantly larger scale and metropolitan focus.

Direct peers

• Wallowa County Chieftain: Sibling publication under Carpenter Media Group serving Wallowa County, Oregon. Operates identical subscription, advertising, and digital services model and shares infrastructure with Hermiston Herald under Carpenter Media Group.
• Blue Mountain Eagle: Sibling publication under Carpenter Media Group serving Grant County, Oregon. Operates the same small-market community newspaper model with subscriptions, advertising, and digital services — a directly comparable peer operating under identical parent and revenue structure.
• East Oregonian: Sibling publication under Carpenter Media Group serving Pendleton and surrounding Eastern Oregon. Operates the same multi-revenue model (subscriptions, advertising, digital services, sponsored content, classifieds via shared eomediagroup platform), with overlapping audience geography and shared management (Phil Wright is Regional Editor and Publisher for both titles).
• Baker City Herald: Sibling publication under Carpenter Media Group serving Baker City, Oregon. Operates identical business model and shares classifieds, digital services, and events infrastructure with Hermiston Herald, making it a directly comparable rural local newspaper peer.
• La Grande Observer: Sibling publication under Carpenter Media Group serving La Grande, Oregon. Same subscription + advertising + digital services revenue model, shared eomediagroup classifieds platform, and overlapping Eastern Oregon geographic coverage — a directly comparable small-market newspaper peer.

Regional players

• Salem Reporter: Oregon-based nonprofit digital local news outlet serving the Salem area. Operates a digital-first subscription-supported local news model in the same state as Hermiston Herald, addressing an adjacent Oregon local-news market with comparable mission and audience profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HermistonHerald
• Facebookfacebook.com/HermistonHerald

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 Hermiston Herald