With acquisition of Vermont newspapers, the National Trust for Local News expands to a fourth state

The nonprofit National Trust for Local News is acquiring the Vermont Community Newspaper Group in a deal that will close this month, the Trust announced Thursday. The deal, which will add five weekly newspapers covering more than a dozen northern Vermont communities to the Trust’s portfolio, expands the nonprofit’s footprint to a fourth state, joining more than 50 newspaper titles the Trust owns across Colorado, Georgia, and Maine.

The Trust has been in discussions with the Vermont-based company about a possible acquisition for several months, according to Tom Wiley, the Trust’s CEO. Majority owner Bob Miller and minority owners Judy Kearns and Biddle Duke approached the Trust “looking for a way to ensure that VTCNG continued to serve its vital community role,” Wiley said.

“Establishing a sustainable future for our community newspapers has been our priority for several years,” the owners said in a statement. “By selling these publications to the National Trust, not only can they survive but there will be investment in expanding coverage to thrive in a climate where local news is so important and increasingly difficult to find.”

VTCNG currently operates “near breakeven,” according to Wiley, and “market forces have increasingly challenged the group’s financial performance.” The announcement states the Trust is paying a “nominal fee” to acquire the newspapers and it’d be accurate to describe the acquisition as “closer to a donation,” Wiley confirmed. The Trust plans to retain the entire VTCNG team, which includes 15 full-time and two part-time employees. Bill Stille, who has leadership experience at newspapers including The Buffalo News and The Columbus Dispatch, will serve as a transition and transformation adviser for the VTCNG team, where his remit will include identifying opportunities to strengthen partnerships and establish collaborations across the state.

The Trust relies on philanthropy but “more than 80% of revenue across the National Trust is earned through activities like subscriptions, advertising, commercial printing and events,” according to Wiley. None of the Trust’s state subsidiaries are yet profitable.

Some of the Trust’s acquisitions moved into the red under its ownership, as Corey Hutchins and Nieman Lab have previously reported. Last year, the Trust sold the majority of its Colorado newspapers to Arizona-based Times Media Group in a move its leaders said would allow it to double down on serving the seven communities where it still has a presence. At the time, chief growth officer Will Nelligan described the remaining communities the Trust serves in Colorado as “rural places and small cities where a for-profit operator wouldn’t go and where a traditional non-profit news model can’t work.”

In Vermont, the Trust will join a news ecosystem that includes the statewide nonprofit news pioneer VTDigger, which has faced turnover and financial losses of its own, as The Boston Globe reported this spring.

“Each state is unique, as is our role in them,” Wiley said. “We are eager to be part of what we view as a robust, collaborative news ecosystem in Vermont.”

In July, the Trust expanded its Georgia portfolio by acquiring two McClatchy newspapers, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and The Macon Telegraph (which shares a coverage area with the Trust’s startup, The Macon Melody).

Being approached by owners hoping to find a solid steward for their community newspapers — as the Trust was in Vermont — is not an uncommon phenomenon. The Trust regularly hears from newspaper owners and community leaders across the country, Wiley said.

“We will expand when we see a financially responsible way to serve our mission of driving the reach and impact of local journalism,” he said. “That includes instances when there will be a continued reduction in local news access or pending closure resulting in news deserts.”

Read more in the Trust’s announcement here.

Updated to attribute comments from the National Trust via a spokesperson to CEO Tom Wiley.