CherryRoad Media
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Newspaper publishing, Commercial printing |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Founder | Jeremy Gulban |
| Headquarters | New Jersey , United States |
Area served | United States (rural areas) |
Key people | Jeremy Gulban (CEO) |
| Products | Weekly newspapers, specialty periodicals, magazines, commercial printing services |
Number of employees | 500 (2024) |
CherryRoad Media is a U.S.-based commercial printer and newspaper publisher headquartered in New Jersey. Functioning as the communications branch of CherryRoad Technologies, it was established in 2020 by CEO Jeremy Gulban. The company specializes in weekly newspapers serving rural areas and has attracted nationwide attention for its swift acquisitions and launches of new publications during the ongoing decline of newspapers.
By May 2024, CherryRoad Media had acquired or initiated 85 newspapers across 18 states. The majority of these titles are weekly publications, with three printing five times per week and roughly twelve issuing papers two or three times weekly. The workforce numbers around 500 employees, and the company anticipates generating $30 million in revenue for 2024.
Expansion strategy
CherryRoad Media’s portfolio mainly consists of newspapers in rural parts of the United States, many of which were purchased from Gannett. Typical print runs range from several hundred to a few thousand copies. By 2022, the company was ranked eighth nationally based on the number of newspapers owned. Although CEO Jeremy Gulban has not revealed the exact purchase prices, he has indicated that small weekly newspapers can be acquired for $100,000 or less. His objective includes managing approximately ten publications within each state.
Some newspapers acquired have been merged with larger-circulation titles or combined to form new publications. On at least four occasions, CherryRoad launched fresh newspaper titles in markets where previous papers had recently shut down, often rehiring former employees.
Newsroom operations
Newsrooms typically operate with one or two editorial staff members. Smaller weeklies commonly have one full-time reporter and one part-time journalist, whereas larger papers employ between two and three editorial personnel. The company utilizes its proprietary web-based content management system and applies paywalls on its websites. Gulban stresses limiting regional and national news—except in daily editions—to maintain a strong focus on local reporting.
While CherryRoad aims to employ an advertising sales representative in each market, it does not have the budget for local ad designers or page layout staff. On the operational side, it relies on third-party solutions such as the Community Publishing System for advertisements sales and Column software to handle public notice management.
Revenue streams
Operating with slim profit margins, Gulban estimates a consistent 10% margin derived from subscriptions and advertising revenue, supplemented by higher-margin technology services like website development and hosting. The company provides “newspaper as a service” offerings including cloud-based storage and circulation management systems. It has sold at least five newspapers to employees, occasionally continuing to support them with software services. To cut costs, CherryRoad relocates newly acquired newspapers to more affordable office spaces once existing leases expire. As of May 2024, the company has yet to achieve profitability.
Printing operations
CherryRoad Media manages four newspaper printing facilities located in Hutchinson, Kansas; Eagle Print in Ohio; the commercial printing division of News-Press & Gazette Company in Missouri; and Page 1 Printers in Minnesota. These presses handle the printing of the company's newspapers, with a small portion—only 10 publications as of 2025—being produced by external vendors. In addition to newspapers, CherryRoad also creates specialty periodicals such as magazines tailored for school districts. Confronted with rising expenses and diminishing demand for print editions, the company is investigating digital printing methods for print runs below 1,000 copies.
Origins
DataStudy Inc., a technology firm based in New Jersey, was established by Michael Gulban in 1983. The company later rebranded as CherryRoad Technologies, named after its original street location. Initially, its core business involved deploying intricate software and financial reporting tools for municipal governments. Over time, it transitioned into offering shared web hosting and cloud computing services.
Michael’s son, Jeremy Gulban, who holds an economics degree from Drew University and spent ten years working in Chicago, assumed leadership in 2008. During the COVID-19 crisis, CherryRoad developed complimentary virtual meeting and remote education software aimed at schools and local government entities, although adoption remained limited. Following this, Jeremy redirected efforts toward using technology to rejuvenate community newspapers.
In November 2020, Jeremy founded CherryRoad Media by purchasing the Cook County News-Herald, a weekly publication serving Grand Marais, Minnesota, which had been under the ownership of Hal and Deidre Kettunen since 2008.
2021
In June 2021, CherryRoad expanded by acquiring four weekly newspapers in Arkansas: The Mountaineer Echo of Flippin, the Marshall Mountain Wave, the Clay County Courier based in Corning, and the Pocahontas Star Herald.
CherryRoad sought to buy the International Falls Journal from Alden Global Capital; however, Alden opted to cease publication in June. The paper had been operated by Minnesota’s Red Wing Publishing Co., which Alden had purchased in 2020. In response to the closure, CherryRoad launched a new publication titled the Rainy Lake Gazette three weeks later in July.
The company completed its seventh acquisition by purchasing Alabama’s The Clayton Record during August.
September saw CherryRoad acquire twenty newspapers from Gannett, including thirteen titles in Kansas such as the Hays Daily News, Garden City Telegram, and Leavenworth Times. The transaction also encompassed two Nebraska papers—the Nebraska City News-Press and the Syracuse Journal-Democrat; four Missouri publications—Independence Examiner, Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, Boonville Daily News, and Linn County Leader; along with Iowa’s Hamburg Reporter. This acquisition became effective on October 1.
In December, CherryRoad added four Colorado newspapers from Gannett to its portfolio: the La Junta Tribune-Democrat, Fowler Tribune, Bent County Democrat, and the Ag Journal. That same month, it also purchased seven rural Minnesota newspapers from Gannett, including titles such as the Crookston Times, Granite Falls Advocate Tribune, and the Montevideo American-News.
2022
In January, CherryRoad introduced its second startup publication, the Lake County Press, serving Lake County, Minnesota.
The following month, CherryRoad expanded its portfolio by acquiring numerous newspapers from Gannett across Texas and Oklahoma. Texas acquisitions included titles such as Sherman Herald Democrat, Waxahachie Daily Light, Stephenville Empire-Tribune, Brownwood Bulletin, Alice Echo-News Journal, Van Alstyne Leader, Anna-Melissa Tribune, Prosper Press, Grayson County Shopper, Midlothian Mirror, Runnels County Register, Glen Rose Reporter, Cross Timbers Trading Post, and Shop Local. In Oklahoma, the purchases encompassed the Daily Ardmoreite and the Shawnee News-Star.
March marked CherryRoad's purchase of nine newspapers from Rust Communications, comprising four Missouri papers—Marshall Democrat-News, Monett Times, Cassville Democrat, and South Missourian News—alongside five Arkansas weeklies: Carroll County News, Lovely County Citizen, The News (Salem), Villager Journal, and Clay County Times-Democrat.
In September, CherryRoad broadened its reach in Massachusetts by acquiring four weekly newspapers from Gannett: The Landmark (Holden), Leominster Champion, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and The Grafton News. This acquisition prevented the closure of The Landmark. Simultaneously, three Utah weeklies were obtained from Brehm Communications: The Richfield Reaper, The Vernal Express, and Uintah Basin Standard. Additionally, CherryRoad secured New York's The Chronicle-Express from Gannett, preserving it from shutdown.
November saw CherryRoad acquire Idaho’s The McCall Star-News from Central Idaho Publishing and Massachusetts’ The Clinton Item from Gannett.
By December, CherryRoad divested several titles originally acquired from Rust Communications. The free weekly tabloid Lovely County Citizen, shopper publication Ozark Mountain Trader, specialty outlets such as the Eureka Springs Visitor and Currents magazine, along with the Carroll County News, were sold to Carroll County Community Media LLC. Ownership of the Cassville Democrat transferred to Kyle and Jordan Troutman, while Lisa Craft took over the Monett Times and Connection Magazine.
2023
In February, CherryRoad integrated the acquired McPherson News Ledger into its existing publication, the McPherson Sentinel.
April saw the sale of The Mountain Echo to Robert Lyons Jr. and Peggy Mason.
During August, CherryRoad expanded its Kansas holdings by purchasing several newspapers from the family-run News-Press & Gazette Company, including the Miami County Republic, Atchison Globe, and the Hiawatha World. This transaction also encompassed two Missouri newspapers: the Courier-Tribune and the Gladstone Dispatch, along with a commercial printing facility located in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Also in August, CherryRoad acquired printing operations in Hutchinson, Kansas from Gannett—responsible for producing most of CherryRoad’s Kansas papers and other local titles. Moreover, eight community newspapers plus Eagle Print were purchased from Delphos Herald, Inc., including Ohio publications like the Delphos Herald and the Van Wert Times Bulletin, as well as Indiana’s Lawrenceburg-based The Register.
In September, CherryRoad consolidated the Cherokee Village-based Villager Journal and Salem’s Salem News into a single publication named Areawide News. The Pratt Tribune, along with the Kiowa County Signal and the St. John News, merged to form the new 'Tri-County Tribune. Ownership of the previously acquired (2021) Gannett title, The Fort Leavenworth Lamp, was transferred to Fort Leavenworth. The company discontinued the publication of the AG Journal. Following Gannett’s closure of The Pueblo Chieftain’s printing operations, the ‘’Fowler Tribune’’ was absorbed into the ‘’La Junta Tribune Democrat’’. Additionally, both the ‘’Anna-Melissa Tribune’’ and ‘’Van Alstyne Leader’’ were merged into ‘’The Herald Democrat’’.
October brought another acquisition with CherryRoad purchasing the ‘’Moberly Monitor-Index’’ from Westplex Media Group.
2024
January saw CherryRoad acquire Page 1 Printers—a commercial printing business based in Slayton, Minnesota—from Graphic Arts Advisors, LLC.
In April, after MediaNews Group shuttered both the ‘’Hutchinson Leader’’ and ‘’Litchfield Independent Review,’’ CherryRoad launched two fresh Minnesota newspapers: ‘’Hutchinson Station’’ and ‘’Litchfield Rail’’, which began circulation in May.
June brought an announcement regarding the closure of Kansas-based ‘’The Gardner News,’’ owned since 2022. The weekly paper had under 200 subscribers and was operating at a deficit; it was also recognized as the sole community newspaper in its county. July followed with cessation of publication for ‘’Leominster Champion.’’
September marked CherryRoad’s acquisition of ‘’The Savannah Reporter’’ located in Savannah, Missouri from the Rosenauer family.
In October, ownership of ‘’The Lindsborg News-Record’’ transferred to CherryRoad following purchase from Main Street Media.
December involved a significant expansion with eight Missouri newspapers acquired from Lakeway Publishers Inc., including titles such as ‘’Centralia Fireside Guard,’’ ‘’Elsberry Democrat,’’ along with others serving Monroe City and Pike County. That same month also saw CherryRoad join the ranks of members within the News Media Alliance.
2025
February witnessed CherryRoad closing down the ‘’Crookston Daily Times’’ due to staffing difficulties and loss of local legal notice contracts to competitors.
March featured further growth in Minnesota through acquisition of two publications: ‘’The Tower News’’ and ‘’Cook News-Herald.’’
By August, plans were unveiled for launching a new Missouri paper named ‘’The Trenton Telegraph,’’ operating under a community ownership framework supported by Grundy County Industrial Development Corporation; this title officially launched in September.
In November, CherryRoad licensed its proprietary content management system LocalRoad to Ogden Newspapers, enhancing their circulation management and distribution efficiency.
Publications
Garden City, Kansas || Garden City Telegram || Template:URL gctelegram.comHays, Kansas || Hays Daily News || Template:URL hdnews.netOttawa, Kansas || Ottawa Herald || Template:URL ottawaherald.comWellington, Kansas || Wellington Daily News || Template:URL wellingtondailynews.comClinton, Massachusetts || The Clinton Item || Template:URL clintonitem.comLeominster, Massachusetts || Leominster Champion || Template:URL leominsterchamp.comGrafton, Massachusetts || The Grafton News || Template:URL thegraftonnews.comMillbury, Massachusetts || Millbury-Sutton Chronicle || Template:URL millburysutton.comHolden, Massachusetts || The Landmark || Template:URL thelandmark.comStandish, Michigan || The Arenac County Independent || Template:URL arenacindependent.comWest Branch, Michigan || The Ogemaw County Herald || Template:URL ogemawherald.comMio, Michigan || The Oscoda County Herald || Template:URL oscodaherald.comHutchinson, Minnesota || Hutchinson Station || Template:URL hutchinsonstation.comLitchfield, Minnesota || Litchfield Rail || Template:URL litchfieldrail.comInternational Falls, Minnesota || Rainy Lake Gazette || Template:URL rainylakegazette.comSleepy Eye, Minnesota || Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch || Template:URL sleepyeyenews.comGrand Marais, Minnesota || Cook County News-Herald || Template:URL cookcountynews-herald.comRedwood Falls, Minnesota || Redwood Falls Gazette || Template:URL redwoodfallsgazette.comGranite Falls, Minnesota|| Granite Falls Advocate-Tribune||Template:URL granitefallsnews.comMontevideo, Minnesota|| Montevideo American News||Template:URL montenews.comTwo Harbors, Minnesota|| Lake County Press’’||Template:URL lakecountypress.news St. James, Minnesota|| ‘’St. James Plaindealer’’||Template:URL stjamesnews.comCottonwood, Minnesota|| ‘’Tri-County News’’||Template:URL tricountynewsmn.comCrookston, Minnesota|| ‘’Crookston Times’’||Template:URL crookstontimes.comMoberly, Missouri|| ‘’Moberly Monitor-Index’’||Template:URL moberlymonitor.comSt. Joseph, Missouri|| ‘’Green Acres Sells’’||Template:URL greenacressells.comLiberty, Missouri|| ‘’Gladstone Dispatch’’||Template:URL gladstonedispatch.comLiberty, Missouri|| ‘’Courier-Tribune’’||Template:URL mycouriertribune.comSavannah, Missouri || ‘’The Savannah Reporter’’||savrep.comSalem , Arkansas || ‘’South Missourian News’’||Template:URL southmissouriannews.comMarshall , Missouri || ‘’Marshall Democrat-News’’||Template:URL marshallnews.comIndependence , Missouri || ‘’The Examiner’’||Template:URL examiner.netChillicothe , Missouri || ‘’Constitution-Tribune’’||Template:URL chillicothenews.comBoonville , Missouri || ‘’Boonville Daily News’’||Template:URL boonvilledailynews.comMarceline , Missouri || ‘’Linn County Leader’’||Template:URL linncountyleader.comNebraska City , Nebraska || ‘’Nebraska City News Press’’||Template:URL ncnewspress.comSyracuse , Nebraska || ‘’Syracuse Journal-Democrat’’||Template:URL journaldemocrat.comNew York (state) Penn Yan , New York || ‘’The Chronicle Express’’||Template:URL chronicle-express.comShawnee , Oklahoma || ‘’Shawnee News Star’’||Template:URL news-star.comArdmore , Oklahoma || ‘’Daily Ardmoreite’’||Template:URL ardmoreite.comVan Wert , Ohio || ‘’Times Bulletin Media’’||Template:URL timesbulletin.comOttawa , Ohio || ‘’Ada Herald’’||Template:URL adaherald.comOttawa , Ohio || ‘’Putnam County Sentinel’’||Template:URL putnamsentinel.comPaulding , Ohio || ‘’Paulding Progress’’||Template:URL progressnewspaper.orgDelphos , Ohio || ‘’Delphos Herald’’||Template:URL delphosherald.comWoodsfield , Ohio || ‘’Monroe County Beacon’’||Template:URL mcbeacon.comMineral Wells , Texas || ‘’Palo Pinto Press’’||Template:URL palopintopress.comBrownwood , Texas || ‘’Brownwood Bulletin’’||Template:URL brownwoodtx.comGlen Rose , Texas| State | Coverage Area | Publication | Website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Clayton | The Clayton Record | claytonrecord | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | Piggott | Clay County Times-Democrat | cctimesdemocrat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salem | Areawide News | areawidenews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marshall | Marshall Mountain Wave | emountainwave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pocahontas | Pocahontas Star Herald | starheraldnews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Corning | Clay County Courier | claycountycourier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | La Junta | Bent County Democrat | bcdemocratonline | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trinidad | Chronicle News | thechronicle-news | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| La Junta | La Junte Tribune-Democrat | lajuntatribunedemocrat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | McCall | The McCall Star-News | mccallstarnews | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | Beardstown | Cass County Star-Gazette | beardstownnewspapers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | Lawrenceburg | 'Register Publications' |
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| Elwood, Indiana | Tipton County Tribune | tiptoncountytribune | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elwood, Indiana | The Call-Leader | elwoodcall-leader | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elwood, Indiana | The Alexandria Times-Tribune | alexandriatimes-tribune | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | Hamburg, Iowa | Hamburg Reporter | hamburgreporter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pratt, Kansas | Tri-County Tribune | tricountytribune | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paola, Kansas | Miami County Republic | republic-online | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hiawatha, Kansas | Hiawatha World | hiawathaworldonline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atchison, Kansas | Atchison Globe | atchisonglobenow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gardner, Kansas | Gardner News | gardnernews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| El Dorado, Kansas | Butler County Times-Gazette | butlercountytimesgazette | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| McPherson, Kansas | McPherson Sentinel | mcphersonsentinel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leavenworth, Kansas | The Leavenworth Times | leavenworthtimes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dodge City, Kansas | Dodge City Daily Globe | dodgeglobe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newton, Kansas | Newton Kansan | Template:URL thekansan.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Stephenville Empire-Tribune |
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[ [ Glen Rose , Texas ] ] |
'Glen Rose Reporter' |
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Ballinger , Texas |
Runnels County Register |
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Waxahachie , Texas |
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Waxahachie ', Texas |
Waxahachie Daily Light |
waxahachietx. com |
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Utah |
Vernal |
The Vernal Express |
vernalexpressnews. com |
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Roosevelt |
Uintah Basin Standard |
uintahbasinstandard. com |
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Richfield |
The Richfield Reaper |
richfieldreaper. com |