The Independent Newspaper Group

What The Independent Newspaper Group does

The Independent Newspaper Group operates the South County Independent, a community newspaper serving South County, Rhode Island since 1970. The publication covers local news for residents of South Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, and surrounding South County communities, producing editorial content across sections including local government reporting (town council, school committee), business features, sports, arts and living, opinion pieces, classifieds, community/neighbor profiles, and photo galleries. Headcount is reported at approximately 49 employees. The publication's digital property at scindependent.com is built and maintained on the Town News content management and classifieds technology platform, which provides the editorial CMS, ad-placement forms, and gallery sub-channel (Instant Image Gallery integration). Archival content dating back to 2007 is retained on the site.

The business model is a traditional community-newspaper model combining print edition distribution with a digital website, monetized principally through display advertising and classified ad placements. The website features a "Place An Ad" workflow that funnels both consumer and SMB advertisers into the classifieds system. There is no publicly disclosed subscription pricing, rate card, or subscription economics. The operating entity is privately held, with no parent company, no institutional investors, and no public listing disclosed. Ownership structure, legal entity type, and revenue figures are not disclosed in available source material.

The current product mix extends beyond purely local journalism: recent 2025-2026 posts include sponsored/paid-content articles (e.g., Hawx Pest Control reviews, residential proxy reviews, waste management coverage) alongside traditional reporting and editorial pieces on broader media-industry topics such as streaming-era cable news. There is no evidence of AI/ML capability, no app, no API, and no integrations beyond the Town News platform and an AccuWeather weather widget. Legal entity and management team are not formally disclosed; the only public contact is a general email alias.

Name

The Independent Newspaper Group

Legal name

South County Independent

Website

https://scindependent.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Independent Newspaper Group publishes the South County Independent, a community newspaper and digital site serving South County, Rhode Island residents since 1970 with local news, classifieds, sports, and opinion coverage in print and online.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community journalism
• Classified advertising
• Print media
• Local news coverage

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Independent Newspaper Group, doing business as South County Independent, publishes a community newspaper serving South County, Rhode Island since 1970. The core offering includes local news coverage of town council meetings, community events, business news, sports, arts and living content, opinion pieces, classified advertisements, and photo galleries, delivered through both a print edition and a digital news website (scindependent.com).

Product overview

The Independent Newspaper Group operates South County Independent, a digital local news publication serving South County, Rhode Island. The offering is a single, unified news website that provides community journalism including local news, arts & living content, sports, classifieds, opinion pieces, and photo galleries. The site features standard newspaper sections covering South Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, and the broader South County region, along with archival access to historical content. No distinct product modules, sub-brands, or technology platforms are offered beyond the core news website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Westerly Sun: Local daily newspaper serving Westerly, Rhode Island and adjacent Connecticut border communities. Directly comparable as a small-market community newspaper operating print and digital editions covering town government, schools, and local events in southern New England.
• Block Island Times: Weekly community newspaper serving Block Island, Rhode Island. Comparable as a small Rhode Island local newspaper with print and digital distribution focused exclusively on a single community's news and advertising needs.
• Narragansett Times / RI Local News Group: Group of Rhode Island community weekly newspapers covering specific towns across the state. Directly comparable as hyperlocal weekly newspapers serving small Rhode Island communities with print and digital editions focused on town-level coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Globe Media: Major regional newspaper serving New England including southern Rhode Island communities. Comparable as a regional newspaper competing for the same South County reader and advertiser attention from a much larger scale, particularly for digital subscriptions and classified advertising.
• The Providence Journal: Rhode Island's largest daily newspaper serving statewide audiences including South County. Comparable as a regional newspaper serving overlapping geography, but operates at substantially larger scale across broader Rhode Island coverage rather than hyperlocal community focus.
• Gannett (USA Today Network): Largest U.S. newspaper chain operating hundreds of local daily and weekly publications. Comparable as a newspaper operator at scale in the same industry, though focused on larger markets with more standardized digital infrastructure than hyperlocal community papers.

Others

• Town News (Bloomsburg, PA): Digital publishing platform and technology vendor powering the South County Independent website (scindependent.com). Adjacent as the infrastructure provider enabling the newspaper's digital operations, classified ad workflow, and content management rather than a competing publication.

Regional players

• Newport Daily News: Daily newspaper serving Newport County, Rhode Island. Comparable as a regional Rhode Island newspaper with overlapping South County/Newport County readership and similar small-market print/digital model serving coastal southern New England communities.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-independent-newspaper-group

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 Independent Newspaper Group