The Wake Weekly

What The Wake Weekly does

The Wake Weekly is a privately held local community newspaper founded in 1947 and headquartered in Wake Forest, North Carolina, serving Wake and Franklin counties, including the towns of Wake Forest, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wendell, Zebulon, and surrounding Franklin County communities. The publication is owned by Restoration NewsMedia, a regional media holding company that also operates sister titles such as The Enterprise, The Johnstonian News, The Wilson Times, The Ledger News, and The Butner-Creedmoor News, with the parent's corporate office in Wilson, NC. Headcount is reported in the 11–50 range, consistent with a small regional newsroom.

The company operates a multi-platform news operation spanning a weekly print edition with home delivery, an E-Edition digital replica, a content website (wakeweekly.com) built on PubGen CMS, an email newsletter, classifieds, obituaries (via Legacy.com integration), and public notices (via Column.us integration), with a Weather.gov widget on the homepage. Revenue is generated through six identifiable streams: print subscriptions, digital subscriptions, display advertising sold to local businesses, classified advertising, fee-based public notices placed by government entities, and obituary placement services. Distribution is primarily self-serve direct-to-consumer via the website and e-edition, supplemented by direct sales for print subscriptions and display advertising, with third-party reseller relationships (Legacy.com, Column.us) extending reach into obituary and legal-notice verticals.

The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer for subscriptions (both print and digital) and direct-to-local-business for advertising. The Wake Weekly's competitive position is built on hyperlocal coverage that larger regional or national outlets cannot replicate, anchored by a deep community engagement footprint including the Best of the Best Readers' Poll co-hosted with the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, coverage of local high school sports, government meetings, obituaries, and community events, and participation in cultural initiatives such as the Wake Murals program (2023). No mobile app, API, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or venture funding are disclosed in the source data.

Name

The Wake Weekly

Legal name

The Wake Weekly

Website

https://wakeweekly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Wake Weekly is a privately held, family of Restoration NewsMedia-owned local newspaper in Wake Forest, NC, serving Wake and Franklin counties with print and digital editions, obituaries, classifieds, public notices, and community news since 1947.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Community newspaper publishing
• Local news reporting
• Print and digital subscriptions
• Classified advertising
• Public notices

Headquarters

HQ city

Wake Forest

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery subscriptions providing weekly print editions of the newspaper
2. Digital Subscriptions: Online access to e-edition and website content including archives
3. Display Advertising: Advertising sold to local businesses for placement in print and digital editions
4. Classified Advertising: Paid classified ads including employment, real estate, and personal listings
5. Public Notices: Legal public notices published for government entities and businesses
6. Obituary Services: Fee-based obituary placement through Legacy.com partnership

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Wake Weekly is a community newspaper founded in 1947 that publishes local news, sports coverage, obituaries, public notices, and classified advertisements for readers in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Its offering is delivered through weekly print editions alongside a digital website, e-edition access, and online subscriptions, with revenue derived from both consumer subscriptions and local business advertising.

Product overview

The Wake Weekly is a local newspaper serving Wake Forest, North Carolina, and surrounding communities. The publication operates a multi-platform news operation combining print and digital distribution. Core offerings include the print newspaper, E-Edition digital replica, online news articles, classifieds, obituaries via Legacy.com integration, and public notices through Column.us. The company offers both digital and print subscription products with tiered access levels. Related newspaper brands under Restoration NewsMedia include The Enterprise, The Johnstonian News, The Wilson Times, The Ledger News, and The Butner-Creedmoor News.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekly Print Newspaper Weekly printed newspaper delivered to homes and newsstands featuring local news, government reporting, sports, obituaries, and public notices for Wake Forest, NC readers.
• Digital News Subscription Online subscription providing access to Wake Forest local news, sports, and community content through the publication's website and digital edition.
• E-Edition Access Digital replica edition of the printed Wake Weekly newspaper, available to subscribers through an online reader.
• Display Advertising Sold display ad placements in the print and digital editions used by local businesses to reach Wake Forest area readers.
• Classified Advertising Paid classified listings accepted from individuals and businesses for placement in the print edition and online classifieds.
• Legal Public Notices Paid publication of legal and government public notices in the newspaper for required filings such as estate notices, foreclosures, and municipal announcements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Best of the Best Winners' Reveal Party recognizes top local businesses as voted by readers

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• United Arts of Raleigh and Wake CountyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Wake Murals program partnership commissioning new murals in Wake County towns, with The Wake Weekly covering the initiative
• Ting InternetminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2023Co-sponsored the Wake Murals program project in Rolesville alongside the town of Rolesville
• PubGencoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite technology provider powering the wakeweekly.com website with content management and digital publishing tools
• Legacy.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationObituary partnership allowing readers to browse and place obituaries through the Legacy.com platform integrated into the website
• Column.uscoreTechnology or IntegrationPublic notices platform partnership for searching and placing public notices online
• Restoration NewsMediaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company operating The Wake Weekly along with other regional newspapers including The Enterprise, The Johnstonian News, The Wilson Times, and The Ledger News

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Johnstonian News: Another Restoration NewsMedia community newspaper covering Johnston County, NC. Operates the same print + digital + public-notice + classified model and shares back-office infrastructure with The Wake Weekly.
• The Ledger News: Another Restoration NewsMedia community newspaper. Direct comparable on local-news subscription, public notice, and obituary revenue mechanics.
• The Wilson Times: Sister publication under Restoration NewsMedia, also a North Carolina community newspaper with print and digital editions, obituaries, public notices, and classifieds. Directly comparable in business model, scale, and audience.
• The Butner-Creedmoor News: Smaller sister title within the Restoration NewsMedia group, also a community weekly in North Carolina. Comparable in mission, scale, and product mix to The Wake Weekly.
• The Enterprise (Spring Hope / Nash County): Sister publication under Restoration NewsMedia serving a different NC community with the same hyperlocal weekly newspaper model, making it a near-perfect operational and structural comparable.

Emerging players

• Patch.com: Digital-first hyperlocal news network covering thousands of U.S. communities including parts of Wake County. Represents the digital-native threat to The Wake Weekly's local advertising and reader mindshare.
• 6AM City: Newsletter-driven local news startup expanding across U.S. metros. An emerging digital competitor targeting the same local-news reader and local-SMB advertiser that The Wake Weekly serves.

Broad incumbents

• News & Observer (Raleigh): Regional daily owned by McClatchy that covers the broader Raleigh metro including Wake Forest. Competes for regional advertising and overlapping audience but does not match The Wake Weekly's hyperlocal depth.
• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded newspaper group operating mid-sized dailies and weeklies across the U.S. Comparable at the operating-model and industry-strategy level, though focused on larger markets.
• Gannett / USA TODAY Network: Largest U.S. newspaper group, operating hundreds of community and regional titles. Represents the broad-incumbent model and a potential acquirer or competitor in the same NC geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wakeweekly
• Xx.com/WakeWeekly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-wake-weekly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 The Wake Weekly