Wichita Business Journal

What Wichita Business Journal does

Wichita Business Journal is a local business news publication serving the Wichita, Kansas metropolitan area. Launched in 1986 and now marking its 40th year, it operates as one of more than 45 city-specific editions under American City Business Journals (ACBJ), a privately held media company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The publication delivers daily business news, analysis, and ranked data products covering local industries including commercial real estate, banking, technology, health care, and residential real estate, alongside email newsletters, digital subscription access, and a portfolio of branded events such as Best Places to Work, 40 Under 40, Women of Influence, Most Admired CEOs, and Deals of the Year.

Its core products include digital news content, Book of Lists ranked datasets used for sales prospecting and market intelligence, advertising and sponsored content solutions, and recurring awards and networking events. The underlying technology is a multi-platform digital publishing system comprising city-specific websites, mobile applications, email newsletters, and digital editions, with shared infrastructure across the ACBJ network. Specialized sub-brands American Inno (startup and innovation coverage) and Bizwomen (women-in-business content) extend the editorial footprint across multiple local markets.

The business model is a hybrid of subscription-based recurring revenue, advertising sales, event sponsorship, and one-time data licensing. Individual market subscriptions and multi-city access subscriptions (covering 45+ markets) are sold primarily through direct digital channels to business professionals and executives. Reader demographics skew toward affluent decision-makers, with the network reporting 62% top management representation, 85%+ college graduates, and $2.2M average net worth, which underwrites premium advertising CPMs and event sponsorship pricing. Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees for the Wichita edition, consistent with a lean local team supported by shared corporate resources.

Name

Wichita Business Journal

Legal name

American City Business Journals, Inc.

Website

https://bizjournals.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wichita Business Journal is a local business news publication serving the Wichita, Kansas metro, founded in 1986 and operating as one of 45+ city editions under American City Business Journals, delivering digital news, ranked data products, events, and advertising to area executives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Business News Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Business news publishing
• Local market intelligence
• Business subscriptions
• Advertising solutions
• Events and awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Wichita

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: The Business Journals generates revenue through paid digital subscriptions offering exclusive content, lists, and market intelligence to business professionals.
2. Advertising: The publication monetizes its audience of educated and affluent business professionals through targeted advertising solutions, including display ads, sponsored content, and partnership insights.
3. Events: Revenue generated from hosting business events including awards programs (Best Places to Work, 40 Under 40, Women of Influence), conferences, and networking opportunities in local markets.
4. Book of Lists and Data Products: Sale of ranked lists and market data products including Book of Lists Unlimited with verified intelligence on local businesses and decision makers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Wichita Business Journal is a regional edition within The Business Journals network (operated by American City Business Journals) that publishes local business news, analysis, and market intelligence for the Wichita, Kansas metropolitan area. It sells digital subscriptions to business content, ranked company data via the Book of Lists product, hosts awards and networking events, and monetizes its audience of business professionals through targeted advertising solutions.

Product overview

The Business Journals is a multi-platform local business media network operated by American City Business Journals (ACBJ). It offers a unified portfolio of digital news content, curated business Lists and Book of Lists data, live events and awards programs, email newsletters, and targeted advertising solutions. Key sub-brands include American Inno (startup/innovation coverage) and Bizwomen (women-in-business content). The Wichita Business Journal is a regional edition serving the Wichita metro area, launched in 1986. The platform covers 45+ U.S. cities through locally-edited publications, each delivering news on commercial real estate, banking, technology, health care, and residential real estate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American City Business Journals (ACBJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Business Journals is the consumer-facing brand name for American City Business Journals (ACBJ), a network of 45+ local business news publications. Wichita Business Journal is one of the local city editions under the ACBJ umbrella, with the parent company providing shared technology, advertising sales infrastructure, and editorial resources across all markets.
• City-Specific Inno and Bizwomen PlatformscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Business Journals network includes specialized platforms like American Inno (covering innovation and startups) and Bizwomen (focused on women's business leadership) that operate across multiple local markets, providing integrated content and sponsorship opportunities.
• BizEquityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBizEquity is a business valuation platform offered as part of the ACBJ product ecosystem, integrated into local Business Journal offerings for business research and valuation services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Media: Bloomberg operates one of the largest business news subscription and data businesses globally and competes for the same affluent business-professional readers and B2B advertisers that Wichita Business Journal targets, though at a national/global scale rather than local Wichita focus.
• The Wall Street Journal: WSJ is the dominant subscription-based business news publication in the U.S., serving many of the same C-suite and affluent readers that Wichita Business Journal reaches. A category leader at national scale rather than competing directly in the Wichita metro.
• Forbes: Forbes is a long-established broad business media brand with subscription, advertising, and list/data products (Forbes Lists) targeting the same demographic of executives and business decision-makers as Wichita Business Journal, but at a national brand scale.

Direct peers

• Crain's New York Business: Crain's New York Business is Crain's flagship regional business journal, operating the same combination of local business news, data products (Book of Lists), and events as Wichita Business Journal — a direct functional analogue at a larger scale.
• Charlotte Business Journal: Charlotte Business Journal serves the Charlotte metro from ACBJ's headquarters and represents the same editorial, subscription, and event template. Operates in a comparable mid-sized regional metro with similar vertical coverage to Wichita Business Journal.
• Crain's Chicago Business: Crain's Chicago Business is a leading regional business journal serving Chicago with the same combination of local business news, ranked lists (Crain's Book of Lists), and awards events. It is the closest direct functional peer to Wichita Business Journal outside of the ACBJ network.
• Atlanta Business Chronicle: Atlanta Business Chronicle is a sister ACBJ network publication serving the Atlanta metro with identical subscription, advertising, and Book of Lists products. Same operating model, content verticals (CRE, banking, healthcare, tech), and awards franchise (40 Under 40, Best Places to Work) as Wichita Business Journal.
• Kansas City Business Journal: Kansas City Business Journal is another ACBJ sister publication serving the geographically adjacent Kansas City market. Directly comparable product mix, audience profile, and regional coverage focus to Wichita Business Journal, and a relevant benchmark for Wichita's local market positioning.

Regional players

• The Wichita Eagle: The Wichita Eagle is the dominant general-interest daily newspaper in the Wichita market and the primary local incumbent that covers overlapping (though broader) business news in the same metro. Operates as a regional general-news competitor rather than a business-specialized one.

Emerging players

• Industry Dive: Industry Dive is a digital B2B media company operating subscription newsletters and business intelligence across multiple verticals, overlapping with WBJ's vertical coverage (banking, healthcare, tech) and its data/insight product strategy. A scaled, but more vertical-specialized, emerging competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ICTBizJournal
• Facebookfacebook.com/ICTBizJournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wichita-business-journal
• Instagraminstagram.com/americancitybusinessjrnls

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 Wichita Business Journal