"Four local newspapers in Maine are merging to form the Midcoast Villager, a new publication that will launch in September and cover Midcoast Maine with more staff.
"The outlet will unite Belfast’s The Republican Journal, Rockland’s The Courier-Gazette, and Camden-based newspapers The Free Press and The Camden Herald.
"It plans to combine local coverage of the region with solutions-oriented articles and local events, plus experiment with other sources of revenue such as book publishing, retreats at a company-owned inn, and a new coffee shop in Camden that will open next year under parent company Islandport Media.
"The effort comes at a time when media outlets across the country, particularly on the local level, have suffered from declining audiences and revenue. And it’s the latest move by Reade Brower, the owner of the papers, who last year sold other publications, including The Portland Press Herald and The Lewiston Sun-Journal, to the nonprofit National Trust for Local News.
" “We really believe that we just have to save local news, and this is an effort to to do that,” said Kathleen Fleury Capetta, co-publisher of Islandport Media.
"In its announcement, the new publication said it would produce a series of in-depth stories centered on the region’s most pressing issues as well as more arts and culture reporting, in addition to continuing local coverage of Camden, Rockland, Belfast, and other local towns. The outlet will print a weekly newspaper and plans to launch digital newsletters tailored to local towns.
"Membership will be a main source of revenue for the publication", said Capetta, who added that the Villager will eventually implement a paywall. But Islandport also plans to open a coffee shop, Villager Café, in Camden, which will offer breakfast, lunch, and coffee and also serve as an events venue for the publication.
“We are leaning into humanity and betting on a future that believes that kindness and respect for each other is at the root of our community,” Brower said in the company’s news release. “We want people of differing viewpoints to honor each other and exert energy toward meeting each other in the middle with safe discussions, over food and drink, with invited guests from our community and around the world who inspire us to be better citizens and better neighbors.”
"While many mergers often include job layoffs, Islandport and the Villager are collectively planning to add at least six employees to the company and there are no layoffs tied to the consolidation", Capetta said. The Villager has tapped Willy Blackmore, a freelance journalist, as its editor-in-chief. Roughly 15 people currently work in editorial across the four newspapers that are merging.
“I am of the firm belief that the old subscription and advertising revenue model is failed and outdated,” Capetta said. “We need to be a brand that is essential and engage in our community. And in order to do that, it has to go beyond reading articles on a website.”
Aidan Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@globe.com. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.
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