Pickens County Progress

What Pickens County Progress does

Pickens County Progress, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned weekly community newspaper founded more than 100 years ago and operated continuously by the Edge and Pool families, headquartered at 94 N. Main Street in Jasper, Georgia, adjacent to the Pickens County Courthouse. The publication serves Pickens County (population approximately 33,000 in 2021) and surrounding communities including Talking Rock, Ball Ground, Hinton, Ludville, Marble Hill, Tate, Big Canoe, and Bent Tree. It is the oldest family-owned business in Pickens County and one of the few remaining independently owned newspapers in Georgia, covering local government, schools, obituaries, editorials, classifieds, legal notices, community events, and special sections such as an annual Business Directory, Graduation Edition, Fall Festival Guide, Jeepfest Guide, Health and Wellness Guide, Dine & Shop Guide, and an AmericaAt250 commemorative edition.

The company's product surface consists of a core weekly print newspaper distributed each Wednesday (retail placement plus USPS mail delivery to subscribers) and a digital E-Edition platform, supplemented by classified advertising, legal notice advertising, display advertising (print and digital), and recurring special sections. The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: aMember Pro membership software handles subscription signup, login, and renewal, while NewsintheCloud.com provides website development and hosting for PickensProgress.com, which carries news articles, archives, classifieds, legal notice submissions, and subscription management. The news archive spans 528 pages of content dating to at least 2011, with obituary and editorial archives each spanning roughly 160 pages.

The business model is direct-to-consumer across three distribution channels — physical retail placement, USPS mail subscription, and self-serve digital E-Edition access — combined with local advertising sales to small and mid-sized businesses in Pickens County. Revenue is generated through annual subscription fees tiered by geography (Local Print+E-Edition $52.50, Georgia Print+E-Edition $64.50, Out-of-State Print+E-Edition $75.50, E-Edition only $45, Print-only $45–$68), short-term digital trials ($1.75 for 3 days, $6 for 1 month), display advertising (print and website sidebar/banner/link placements with color and specialty rates), classified advertising priced by category and week, and legal notice advertising submitted via email or online form. Most subscription tiers auto-renew, creating a recurring revenue base, while special sections provide cyclical advertising inventory tied to local events and seasonal commerce.

Name

Pickens County Progress

Legal name

Pickens County Progress, Inc.

Website

https://pickensprogress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1887

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pickens County Progress is a family-owned weekly community newspaper serving Pickens County, Georgia, publishing local news, obituaries, editorials, classifieds, legal notices, and special sections across print and digital E-Edition formats for residents and local businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news coverage
• Print newspaper subscription
• Digital news edition
• Classified legal advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Jasper

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Annual newspaper subscriptions available in print, digital (E-Edition), or combined print+digital formats. Subscriptions are paid annually in advance and auto-renew for print-only and certain combo tiers.
2. Classified Advertising: Revenue from classified ads across multiple categories including For Sale, Vehicles, Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services, and more. Pricing based on category and number of weeks.
3. Legal Notices: Legal advertisements submitted for publication, with contact via email at [email protected] or through a submission form.
4. Display Advertising: Display ads sold in various sizes and rates, with options for print-only, website-only (links, sidebar, banner ads), or combined campaigns. Color and specialty rates available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pickens County Progress is a weekly community newspaper serving Pickens County, Georgia. It publishes local news, obituaries, editorials, classified advertisements, legal notices, and special sections in print and digital formats. The company offers annual subscription plans in print-only, digital-only (E-Edition), or combined print+digital tiers, and sells advertising space to local businesses across classified, display, and legal notice categories.

Product overview

Pickens County Progress is a weekly community newspaper with a multi-platform offering consisting of a print edition distributed every Wednesday and a digital E-Edition accessible online. The publication also offers classified advertising, legal notice services, and display advertising for local businesses. Subscription options include print-only, digital-only (E-Edition), and combined print-plus-digital plans. Special sections such as the annual Business Directory and Graduation Edition provide targeted local content. The newspaper is distributed throughout Pickens County, Georgia, serving communities including Jasper, Talking Rock, Ball Ground, and surrounding areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pickens Progress Weekly Newspaper A weekly printed newspaper serving Pickens County, Georgia, delivered to stores each Wednesday morning and mailed to subscribers, covering local news, obituaries, editorials, and community content.
• E-Edition

Quantifiable outcome

• News for Pickens County, GA

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Edge and Pool FamiliescoreOthersThe newspaper has been owned and operated by the Edge and Pool families for more than 100 years, making it the oldest family-owned business in Pickens County.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Calhoun Times: Weekly community newspaper serving Calhoun and Gordon County, GA in northwest Georgia. Highly comparable in scale, weekly print cadence, multi-platform subscription model, and rural north Georgia market position to the Pickens Progress.
• Rome News-Tribune: Regional newspaper serving Rome and Floyd County, GA in northwest Georgia. Larger but directly comparable in business model: weekly/daily print, digital edition, classifieds, legal notices, display advertising, and special section publications.
• Forsyth County News: Weekly community newspaper serving Forsyth County, GA in north metro Atlanta. Comparable weekly publication cadence, local advertising + subscription business model, and north Georgia readership to the Pickens Progress.
• Dawson County News: Weekly community newspaper serving Dawsonville and Dawson County, GA, adjacent to Pickens County. Comparable in rural north Georgia market, small-town scale, weekly print publication, and local advertising-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Appen Media Group: Multi-title community newspaper publisher operating several local papers across north Georgia. Comparable at portfolio scale: print + digital subscriptions, local advertising, special sections, and digital editions across adjacent north Georgia markets.
• Gannett Co. Largest U.S. newspaper publisher (USA TODAY NETWORK), owning hundreds of local papers including in Georgia. Overlaps in print + digital subscription, advertising, classifieds, and legal notice publication but operates at vastly larger scale and is a major competitive force in regional advertising markets.
• Lee Enterprises: Public community newspaper chain operating daily and weekly publications across the U.S. Comparable subscription, display, and classified advertising business model at portfolio scale; competes in the same community newspaper category with similar go-to-market.
• Tribune Publishing: Major U.S. newspaper publisher with daily and weekly publications. Overlaps in print + digital subscription, display advertising, and legal notice publication but operates primarily at metropolitan/regional scale rather than single-county community level.

Emerging players

• Patch: Hyperlocal digital news platform operating across thousands of U.S. communities. Competes for local advertising spend and reader attention in Pickens County-area markets but lacks the print subscription, legal notice mandate, and 100-year heritage of an established community newspaper.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pickensprogress
• Facebookfacebook.com/PickensProgress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pickens-county-progress

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 Pickens County Progress