.webp){kind=logo} MaineToday Media logo in red | |
| Industry | Newspapers |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Fate | Acquired in 2023, merged into Maine Trust for Local News |
| Headquarters | 295 Gannett Drive,South Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Products | § Newspapers |
MaineToday Media, Inc. (abbreviated asMTM) was a privately ownednews publisher ofdaily andweekly newspapers in theU.S. state ofMaine, based inSouth Portland, in the state's largest metropolitan area. It included thePortland Press Herald, the state's largest newspaper. In 2023, the group was sold to thenonprofitNational Trust for Local News, which formally consolidated the company with Alliance Media Group and Sun Media Group to form theMaine Trust for Local News.[1]
The trust owns five of Maine's six daily newspapers, the exception being theBangor Daily News. They own the flagshipPortland Press Herald and its Sunday edition theMaine Sunday Telegram, theMorning Sentinel ofWaterville, theKennebec Journal ofAugusta, theSun Journal ofLewiston, and theTimes Record ofBrunswick.[1]
In 2018, the trust bought theJournal Tribune ofBiddeford, which was founded in 1884, and closed it the following year.[2] Also, theEvening Express of Portland was published byGuy Gannett until it was phased out in favor of thePress Herald.
The trust ownsThe Forecasters, a group of four weeklies aimed at communities in southern Maine; as well as theAmerican Journal ofWestbrook,Gorham, andBuxton; and theLakes Region Weekly for theLakes Region.[1][3]
They also publish the "Southern Maine Weeklies" through Mainely Media:[4] theBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier (Biddeford Courier),Scarborough Leader,South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry (South Portland Sentry), and theKennebunk Post, for the communities ofBiddeford–Saco–Old Orchard Beach,Scarborough,South Portland–Cape Elizabeth, andKennebunk, respectively.[a]
The "Western Maine Weeklies"[3] include theAdvertiser Democrat of the Oxford Hills,The Bethel Citizen ofBethel,The Franklin Journal ofFranklin County, theLivermore Falls Advertiser ofLivermore Falls, theRangeley Highlander ofRangeley, and theRumford Falls Times of theRiver Valley.[1][5]
It previously publishedThe Community Leader, a weekly alifestyle, entertainment, and arts magazine inFalmouth (part of the Central Maine Newspapers market),[6][7] which was later moved to Portland and renamedThe Maine Switch.[8] In 2008,The Bollard, a monthly magazine published in Portland, described theSwitch as a "free pile of cheap wrapping paper" good for "following fads, exploring yoga and toiling away at an endless list of home improvement projects between marathon bouts of Art Walking and pandering to potential advertisers."[9] In August 2009, theSwitch ceased publication.[10]
The trust operates three websites: CentralMaine.com, PressHerald.com, and SunJournal.com.[1] The former websites of MaineToday and Masthead Maine redirect to the Maine Trust's website.[b]
CentralMaine.com hosts theCentral Maine Sunday, theMorning Sentinel, and theKennebec Journal.[1] PressHerald.com, on top of thePress Herald itself, hosts theTimes Record and theForecasters,American Journal,Lakes Region Weekly, and the Mainely Media papers. SunJournal.com hosts theSun Journal as well as the Western Maine Weeklies.
Masthead Maine's newspaper properties were, for most of the 20th century, the core ofGuy Gannett Communications, a local family-owned business not related to the largerGannett chain. The company was founded in 1921 by its namesake, Guy P. Gannett, and managed by a family trust from 1954 until 1998, when the trust left the media business. It sold its television stations toSinclair Broadcasting, and the newspapers toThe Seattle Times Company,[11] for a price later reported at around $213 million.[12]
Company officials said they sold to the Times Company because of shared values: both companies were fourth-generation family-owned news organizations. "Of all the companies in the newspaper business, The Seattle Times is one most like our company in the sense of independence, of family ownership, and commitment to the community," said Guy Gannett spokesman Tim O'Meara.[13]
The Times Company, then headed by CEOFrank Blethen, set up asubsidiary named Blethen Maine Newspapers to run its Maine operations. Frank Blethen is a descendant ofAlden J. Blethen, who was born in Maine in 1845,[14] and later boughtThe Seattle Times and founded the Times Company in 1896.[15][16]
Blethen Maine Newspapers operated a subsidiary, Maine Community Publications, which operatedThe Community Leader/Maine Switch,[7] andThe Coastal Journal,[17] a paper which was later merged intoThe Forecaster network. In the summer of 2006,The Bollard criticized Maine Community Publications for starting a new publication, theOld Port Times, which was apparently "selling editorial coverage to advertisers", and whichTheBollard marked as a move that "trade[d] credibility for cash".[18]
On 17 March 2008, the Times Company announced that it was looking to sell Blethen Maine Newspapers.[19] On 15 June 2009, MaineToday Media was formed with the sale finalization of the Blethen papers; the new company was headed by Maine native Richard L. Connor, publisher of theTimes Leader inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[20] As part of the sale, members of the Portland Newspaper Guild took a 10 percent pay cut in exchange for 15 percent ownership in the company.[21] Their buildings at 385 and 390 Congress Street (part of thePress Herald Building complex) were sold in 2009,[22][23] and the company established a headquarters atOne City Center in downtown Portland in 2010.[24] The former building at 390 became a hotel.[25]
Financial details of the sale were not released, though aSeattle Times report estimated them at less than half the $213 million paid in 1998. At the time of the sale, a spokesman for The Seattle Times Company said the Maine newspapers "provided a very good return during our 10-year tenure. We were very reluctant to sell and are very sad about it. If it were not for the severe recession, we would not have done so."[12]
MaineToday promised that it could put its newspapers on a sound financial footing, but over the next two and a half years it cut more than 160 jobs at thePortlandPress Herald, the company was sued for failing to pay a paper bill, and the local guild president said his members "feel their investment in Rich Connor was squandered and they're angry about it."[26]
Connor stepped down as publisher of the newspapers for undisclosed reasons in October 2011. In April 2013, Connor was accused of misappropriated about $530,000 of the newspapers' funds for personal expenses and unauthorized salary increases for himself. In a memo to company employees, MaineToday publisher Lisa DeSisto wrote the newspapers were paid $537,988.68 under the company’s employee theft insurance policy, to recoup money that she wrote "Connor took for unauthorized personal use."[27]
In January 2012, Massachusetts businessman Aaron Kusher, who had unsuccessfully bid $200 million to buyThe Boston Globe, led a group that bought a controlling interest in MaineToday Media for an undisclosed price.[28] In March of the same year,S. Donald Sussman paid $3.3 million for a controlling stake of 75%.[29] Concerns were raised as to a conflict of interest, as Sussman was married toU.S. RepresentativeChellie Pingree, who represented Maine's 1st congressional district.[30] After his stake purchase, he invested another $13 million in the group.[31]
In 2015, Sussman sold MaineToday Media toReade Brower, a Maine printer and newspaper owner[32] who owned newspapers inRockland andBelfast, Maine.[33] Brower purchased the company through an acquisition company under his control, MTM Acquisition.[34][35] Sussman had operated MaineToday via his Maine Values company.[36]
MaineToday Media moved their staff from 1 City Center in Portland to their location in South Portland in early 2016. The company had been operating from 1 City Center since 2009.[37]
Brower also purchased the Sun Media Group, parent of theSun Journal inLewiston, in 2017.[38] In Spring 2018,[2][39] MaineToday purchased the BiddefordJournal Tribune and the Brunswick'sThe Times Record,[40] which became parts of the Alliance Press media group.[41] Included in the purchase were the weeklies of Mainely Media.[42] In late 2018, Alliance's operations were merged into MaineToday's.[43]
In January 2019,[44] Brower consolidated the MaineToday, Sun, and Alliance media groups into Masthead Maine, aiming to unify advertising across Maine newspapers.[45] In 2020, Masthead announced it would stop printing Monday editions for four out of five of its daily newspapers, opting instead for digital-only Monday editions, a change affecting thePortland Press Herald,Morning Sentinel,Kennebec Journal, andSun Journal newspapers.[46] TheTimes Record was excluded.[47]
 Logo of the Maine Trust for Local News | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of nonprofitNational Trust for Local News |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023; 3 years ago (2023) |
| Website | www |
In March 2023, Brower, then 66, announced he was looking to sell Masthead Maine, though "without urgency or desperation."[48][49] The Maine Journalism Foundation expressed interest.[50][51]
But in July, Brower sold the company to theNational Trust for Local News, a nonprofit headquartered inDenver that owned about two dozen newspapers in Colorado.[52][53][54] The deal transferred 17 weekly newspapers and five dailies[55][56]—every daily paper in Maine except theBangor Daily News.[57][58] The National Trust set up a subsidiary, the Maine Trust for Local News, to run the Maine newspapers.[59][60]
This trust received criticism for its backing byDemocratic politicians, raising concerns of bias.[61][62] Despite the criticism, the News Guild of Maine greeted the changes with relief,[63] stating that they were grateful Brower chose to sell to a nonprofit.[64]
Also relieved were the leaders of the Maine Journalism Foundation. Their president, Bill Neimitz, stated: "Our goal going into this was for thePress Herald and all the other Masthead Maine properties to convert to nonprofit ownership," and as the deal was completed with a not-for-profit entity, Neimitz was satisfied, stating on behalf of the foundation that they were "absolutely thrilled" with the outcome.[65][66] The Foundation dissolved and transferred its remaining $171,000 to the Maine Trust.[67] Masthead Maine CEO Lisa DeSisto became CEO of the Maine Trust;[68] she said the sale was "the best possible outcome".[69]
After the takeover, Masthead Maine continued to offer some services under the former name, including Masthead Maine Press, a commercial printer.[70]
In December 2024, DeSisto stepped down as CEO.[71][72] In July 2025, the Maine Trust announced several cost-cutting efforts. The organization laid off 49 employees—36 full-time and 13 part-time—at various newspapers in print production, circulation and advertising. It also reduced the print frequency of various daily and weekly newspapers.[73][74]
The MaineToday editorial board announced in an August 2014 editorial that they would no longer endorse candidates for political office, citing a desire to avoid appearing partisan and telling readers how to vote. They stated they would continue to take positions on referendums, people's veto, and bond questions.[75]
The company operates an office from 295 Gannett Drive inSouth Portland. In 2016, the building was sold for cash flow,[76] but it continues to be leased and operated by the trust.[52] This address is listed on the contact page of thePress Herald.[77]