Nonprofit to Buy Over 20 Maine Newspapers Including Portland Press Herald

Newspapers and magazines are seen at a convenience store in Washington, on Aug. 6, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images)

The nonprofit National Trust for Local News is set to purchase a string of daily and weekly newspapers in Maine, including the Portland Press Herald, officials confirmed on July 10.

The deal is set to be finalized in late July, and will also include all of the other assets of Masthead Maine, which also owns the Sun Journal in Lewiston, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, the Times Record in Brunswick and other publications.

Overall, around 22 daily and weekly newspapers in Maine will be covered by the agreement, which is in collaboration with the Maine Journalism Foundation, Bangor Daily News reported.

Reade Brower, owner of Masthead Maine, and Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of the trust, confirmed the news in a statement to the Portland Press Herald.

However, both stopped short of providing further details regarding the deal, including the price.

“This is the most independent route I think I could have taken that maintains both the independence of the press and continuity for staff and readers,” Brower said. “I believe they want to continue to run this as a sustainable business, which I like, and I don’t believe they will try and drain resources, which I like.”

Local News ‘Critical’ to Communities

The publications will continue to be managed by Masthead Maine CEO Lisa DeSisto and her staff for the time being.

“Our overall framework and set of values is that local news is really critical to communities being able to hang together and function well,” Ms. Shapiro said.

“We have an overall set of principles and strategies for sustainability and for enhancing the quality of local service, but all the details of what that means for the papers is really something we’re going to be working closely with Lisa on and working with community members on,” Ms. Shapiro added.

Brower purchased MaineToday Media, the parent company of the Press Herald, in 2015. In March, he revealed he was weighing up selling his media holdings, including potentially converting the business to a nonprofit.

“The truth is I am beginning the search for what’s next, whether that be a new steward or perhaps partners willing to join me in carrying the torch,” he said at the time. “We are watching new ownership models emerge across the country from B-corporations to nonprofit efforts.”

Media Job Cuts

According to its website, the National Trust for Local News was established in 2021 and is “dedicated to keeping local news in local hands” and previously launched a pilot acquisition of a chain of 24 community newspapers in Colorado in April of that same year.

“We work with communities to catalyze the capital, new ownership structures, and business model transformations needed for established local and community news organizations to thrive and remain deeply grounded in their communities,” the website states.

The announcement comes amid widespread turmoil in the media industry that has led many publications to initiate layoffs.

In June, ESPN announced job cuts for some of its on-air personalities in an effort to slash costs. That same month, National Geographic, which is predominantly owned by Disney, laid off multiple staff writers and replaced them with freelancers.

A string of other publications, including Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, CNN, Gannett, Insider Inc., NPR, The Washington Post, Fox, CNN, and Vice, which in May filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, have also initiated layoffs as part of cost-cutting efforts.

According to the Pew Research Center, the estimated advertising revenue for the newspaper industry dropped 25 percent from 2019 to 2020 to $9.6 billion. Meanwhile, more than 360 newspapers in the United States went out of business from late 2019 to mid-2022, according to a 2022 study (pdf) from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.