What Cowboy State Daily does

Cowboy State Daily is a privately held, Wyoming-based digital news organization headquartered in Cheyenne that operates as a statewide digital-first news outlet covering government and politics, crime and courts, energy, business and tourism, outdoors, Wyoming life, and opinion. The publication is co-founded and led by Executive Editor Jimmy Orr, a fourth-generation Wyomingite, with Greg Johnson serving as Managing Editor, and maintains a roster of veteran reporters distributed across Wyoming beats in Riverton, Casper, and Gillette. Its product surface extends well beyond text articles to include a free daily email newsletter delivered via Kmail, video newscasts hosted by Jake Nichols, live radio/podcast programming, recurring community features (Wyoming Sunrise photo submissions, Don Day Weather, daily editorial cartoons), and a structured letters-to-the-editor channel. The technology foundation is a standard digital publishing stack: a CMS-driven website (cowboystatedaily.com) with active social distribution across Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn, analytics via Google Analytics, and payments via WooCommerce/PayPal/Stripe.

The business model is advertising-supported, with branded display advertising on the website, a sponsored content category, and a dedicated advertising page. The daily newsletter and full website access are currently free to consumers; however, the Terms of Service reserves the right to charge subscription fees in the future with advance notice, indicating a possible transition toward a hybrid ad-plus-subscription revenue model. Primary customer segments are Wyoming residents seeking comprehensive statewide and local news and newsletter subscribers who want a morning recap of key Wyoming stories. No external venture capital, private equity, or strategic investors are disclosed, and no parent company or subsidiary relationships have been identified.

Name

Cowboy State Daily

Legal name

Cowboy State Daily

Website

https://cowboystatedaily.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cowboy State Daily is a privately held, Wyoming-based digital news organization providing statewide coverage across government, crime, energy, business, outdoors, and opinion via a website, free daily newsletter, video newscasts, and live radio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Digital News

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Local news
• Digital journalism
• News website
• Email newsletter
• Community news

Headquarters

HQ city

Cheyenne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The publication generates revenue through advertising on its website. The site has a dedicated advertising page and accepts sponsored content. Advertisers can reach Wyoming audiences interested in local news, politics, business, and outdoor content.
2. Newsletter Subscriptions (Potential Future Revenue): Currently offers free newsletter subscriptions. Terms of Service states they reserve the right to charge fees for subscriptions in the future with advance notice to subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cowboy State Daily is a digital-first Wyoming news publication that produces and distributes original local and statewide journalism across categories including Government & Politics, Crime & Courts, Energy, Business & Tourism, Outdoors, Wyoming Life, Obituaries, and Opinion. Content is delivered through a news website, a free daily email newsletter, video newscasts, and live radio/podcast programming. The publication supports community engagement via reader-submitted features such as Wyoming Sunrise photos and Letters to the Editor, and it offers daily editorial cartoons and Don Day weather forecasts as recurring features.

Product overview

Cowboy State Daily operates as a single unified digital news platform providing comprehensive Wyoming news coverage. The core product is the news website delivering articles across multiple category sections including Government & Politics, Crime & Courts, Energy, Business & Tourism, Outdoors, Wyoming Life, Obituaries, Opinion, Daily Features, Video, Radio, Sponsored, and The American West. The platform offers supplementary content products including a free daily newsletter, Wyoming Sunrise photo feature, video newscasts, radio/podcast content, a letters-to-the-editor community feature, Don Day weather forecasting, and daily editorial cartoons. The site is supported by paid subscription options and advertising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cowboy State Daily News Website
• Daily Email Newsletter
• Video Newscasts
• Live Radio and Podcast Programming
• Website Advertising and Sponsored Content

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Idaho Capital Sun: A nonprofit digital news outlet focused on Idaho government and statewide policy. Comparable as a digitally native, statewide-focused news organization covering politics and policy in a rural Western state.
• The Colorado Sun: A digital-first, state-focused news outlet covering Colorado with a journalist-owned model. Comparable as a digitally native competitor to legacy regional papers targeting statewide readership in a Western state.
• Casper Star-Tribune: Wyoming's other major daily newspaper, based in Casper and covering statewide and regional news. It competes with Cowboy State Daily for Wyoming readers, advertisers, and reporting talent.
• Wyoming Tribune Eagle: The legacy daily newspaper serving Cheyenne and southeastern Wyoming, headquartered in the same city as Cowboy State Daily. It is the most direct geographic competitor for Wyoming news consumers and local advertising dollars.
• Gillette News Record: A local newspaper serving Gillette, Wyoming — the same beat where Cowboy State Daily places reporter Jen Kocher. It competes directly for northeast Wyoming readership and local advertisers.
• Montana Free Press: A nonprofit digital-first state-focused news outlet covering Montana. Comparable as a digitally native, statewide-focused news organization serving a small rural Western state audience.
• The Sheridan Press: A regional Wyoming newspaper covering Sheridan and northern Wyoming. Comparable as a community-rooted Wyoming news outlet competing for the same local audience and advertiser base.
• New Mexico In Depth: A nonprofit digital news organization focused on investigative and policy reporting in New Mexico. Comparable as a digitally native outlet covering a small Western state with a similar rural, politically engaged audience.

Broad incumbents

• The Daily Wire: A larger digital media company producing news, opinion, and entertainment content. Comparable as a digital-first news and commentary brand with multi-format distribution (video, podcasts, newsletters), though operating nationally rather than within a single state.

Emerging players

• Block Club Chicago: A nonprofit digital news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods. Comparable as a digitally native, geographically focused local news outlet competing with legacy dailies, though operating in an urban rather than rural state market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/daily_cowboy
• Facebookfacebook.com/cowboystatedaily
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cowboy-state-daily
• Instagraminstagram.com/cowboystatedaily

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Cowboy State Daily