Selling a News & Journalism Business

Most small publishers sell on a multiple of cash flow, Most small publishers sell on a multiple of cash flow, usually based on SDE or EBITDA, but media-specific factors move the multiple., but media-specific factors move the multiple. Buyers pay more when sponsor renewals are consistent, the subscriber base is stable, and distribution is owned through email and memberships rather than dependent on search or social. They also discount concentration in a few large sponsors and heavy founder-byline dependence. Print can add steady cash flow in some towns, but paper, postage, and vendor risk often compress value. Use Rejigg’s free valuation calculator to benchmark, then validate it against renewal and audience proof.

No. A broker can help, but many owners can run a clean process themselves if they can present credible proof and manage buyer access. For news deals, buyers want verifiable audience exports, sponsor renewal history, rights and archive documentation, and a transition plan that protects trust. Rejigg covers the pieces that are hard to do ad hoc: pre-vetted buyers with digital NDAs, a secure data room for financials and metrics, direct messaging to set calls, and tools to compare offers side by side. It’s free to sellers because buyers pay.

Many deals reach a signed LOI in 60–120 days once you’re ready to market, then take another 30–60 days for diligence and closing. Timelines stretch when content rights need cleanup, print vendors require approvals, or critical accounts like domains and email platforms are hard to transfer. Buyers also tend to slow down on audience verification and sponsor concentration. Rejigg helps by letting you preload a diligence-ready data room and release it after NDAs are signed, which cuts repeat questions and speeds up serious offers.

Sometimes. SBA lenders usually want revenue that looks repeatable, so packaged sponsorships and trackable subscription or membership revenue are easier than one-off campaigns driven by personal relationships. Lenders also expect clean books, well-supported add-backs, and evidence that key accounts can transfer. Model affordability with Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator, then prepare lender-ready exhibits like stream-level revenue, renewal history, and a written transition plan.

Most buyers start with 24–36 months of financials, preferably monthly, plus a revenue breakdown by stream like sponsors, subscriptions, print, events, and services. Expect requests for a sponsor list with renewal history and concentration, GA4 exports, and ESP reports showing subscriber growth and engagement. They’ll also ask for an org chart, contractor roster, key vendor contracts, and freelancer or content-rights agreements. Rejigg’s data room is built for this set of files, so you can control access, avoid emailing sensitive documents, and keep versions organized.

Most buyers want more than screenshots. They’ll ask for exports from your email service provider showing list growth, opens, and clicks over time, bounce rates, and spam complaint trends, and some platforms can also show deliverability signals. They’ll also look for list hygiene practices like suppressing hard bounces, removing invalid addresses, and managing inactive subscribers. Giveaway-driven acquisition can inflate counts but weaken engagement, so buyers often ask about how the list was built. A practical approach is to upload monthly ESP exports into Rejigg’s data room so trends are easy to verify.

Most buyers expect election-driven volatility, but they price down swings they can’t explain. Political years can lift traffic and sponsorship demand, and they can also increase moderation, legal exposure, and staffing needs. Most of the time, the cleanest approach is to show 2–3 years of monthly performance and annotate the drivers, such as an election guide sponsor, a platform algorithm change, or a print cost spike. In Rejigg, you can attach a short “unusual years” memo alongside your financials so buyers can normalize results like publishers do.

Print adds extra diligence because the operation has more moving parts. Buyers usually review the production calendar, printer performance history, paper and postage exposure, distribution agreements, and how you handle make-goods when delivery slips. Some buyers want vendor introductions before closing, and print billing cycles can change the working-capital conversation. In many communities, print is a real habit and can stabilize revenue, but it depends on having documented workflows and backup coverage for layout and production. Put printer and distribution contracts, plus the close-to-delivery calendar, into Rejigg early to avoid late surprises.

Many publishers collect cash upfront for annual sponsorships or memberships and deliver impressions, issues, or benefits over time. Buyers usually treat the undelivered portion as deferred revenue and may ask for a working-capital peg or a purchase price adjustment so they are not funding obligations you already collected for. Ad receivables also matter, especially with local advertisers who pay slowly, so AR aging often comes up early. Rejigg’s deal tracking and Rejigg’s deal tracking and offer-comparison view help you see which offers are stricter on working capital and what that does to your net proceeds. (or: Rejigg’s deal tracking and offer comparison tools help…) help you see which offers are stricter on working capital and what that does to your net proceeds.

Earnouts show up when buyers worry revenue could drop after the handoff, especially in sponsor-heavy businesses where the founder owns relationships or in subscription businesses with churn risk. If you consider an earnout, it’s worth pushing for metrics that are easy to audit, such as recognized sponsorship revenue by sponsor or paid subscriber count net of refunds. You’ll also want a clear reporting cadence and reasonable control rights. Rejigg’s offer comparison dashboard helps you model the tradeoff between more cash at close and more upside tied to post-close performance.

Asset sales are common in smaller news deals, with stock sales appearing more often in larger or more complex businesses. Many deals include seller financing, and buyers often carve out older liabilities like past disputes. You should expect representations around content rights and ownership of critical accounts such as domains, subscriber lists, and payment processors. Transition services are frequent because the founder may be tied to editorial voice and sponsor relationships. Rejigg helps you track structure, escrows, financing terms, and transition expectations across multiple offers so you can compare the full package.

These clauses can be sensitive in journalism because communities overlap and reporting is a livelihood. Buyers usually ask for a narrow non-compete that prevents you from launching a directly competing outlet in the same geography or niche for a set period. Non-solicits are more common and typically cover sponsors, staff, and key freelancers. Most of the time, the goal is protecting audience and revenue during the transition, not blocking you from working in media entirely. Rejigg’s process guidance in the deal negotiation guide can help you sanity-check scope.

Tax outcomes depend on your entity type, whether the deal is an asset sale or equity sale, and how the purchase price gets allocated across goodwill, contracts, and any equipment or software. Many news businesses have limited hard assets, so allocations often lean toward goodwill and IP, which can change the capital gains picture. Deferred revenue from prepaid sponsorships or memberships can also affect timing and taxable income. Organize prior tax returns, payroll filings, and a draft allocation proposal in Rejigg’s data room so your CPA and the buyer’s team can move faster.

Confidentiality tends to be higher-stakes in news because rumors can become coverage, and staff churn can quickly hit cadence and credibility. Many sellers use staged disclosure: a teaser first, NDAs before naming the outlet, then deeper access only for serious buyers. Save the most sensitive items, like sponsor lists, staff rosters, and dispute history, for later diligence. Rejigg supports this flow with pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, and granular data-room permissions so you can control exactly who sees what and when.

Often yes, but disclosure needs to be clean and timely. Buyers commonly ask about material disputes, corrections practices, photo licensing problems, and whether you carry media liability insurance. What they want to see is risk management: written standards, a documented corrections and takedown workflow, and a clear history of significant incidents and outcomes. A straightforward disclosure package usually reduces buyer anxiety because it limits surprises in diligence. Rejigg’s data room is a good place to share an incident log and supporting documents in a controlled way.

It can raise value if those lines produce real profit and don’t depend entirely on the founder’s time. Buyers will look for repeatable workflows, sponsor packages, and vendor contracts, and they’ll also evaluate whether the add-ons fit your credibility model. Events can be great in some markets and a headache in others, especially if they create pay-to-play perceptions. Separate the economics and labor by product so buyers can see what each line contributes. In Rejigg, you can present each line with its own metrics, contracts, and responsibilities.

Many buyers want 30–90 days for operational handoff, including accounts, vendors, and the production calendar. If the founder’s voice is central or sponsor relationships are personal, transitions often run 3–12 months. Common asks include joint sponsor meetings, training on ad ops and fulfillment, and a defined editorial role for key bylines. A written, time-boxed plan helps prevent “a little help” from turning into an open-ended job. Rejigg’s transition planning guide helps you spell out timing, responsibilities, and success criteria.

The best offer in news is usually the one you can actually collect while protecting trust and keeping revenue stable through the handoff. Compare cash at close, seller note terms, earnout definitions and reporting, working-capital and deferred-revenue treatment, and what the buyer expects from you after closing. It’s also worth asking how the buyer views editorial independence since credibility drives both subscriptions and sponsorship performance. Rejigg’s deal tracking and offer comparison view put terms side by side so you can evaluate certainty, risk, and fit along with price.