Shaw Media is an agile, industry-leading media company. An exciting mix of strengths, we are employee oriented and – above all else – committed to our communities.

We are the proud owners of the third oldest, continuously owned and operated family newspaper in the nation. Our legacy of success dates back to our founding in 1851. We’re the number one source of independent local news and information in the communities we serve, and one of the nation’s largest newspaper publishers. That success is due to our talented group of employees who put their very best into Shaw Media’s award-winning print and digital publications and radio stations located in Illinois and Iowa. Our history of success continues today.

The pedigree of Shaw Media reads like a fascinating lesson in American history—involving documented Mayflower ancestry and a government office in the Plymouth colonies; a daring, orphaned 14-year-old Pony Express rider turned printer/newspaper editor; the founding of the early Republican party; a partnership with Abraham Lincoln; and a determined businesswoman blazing professional trails in the early 1900s. It’s a story characterized by tenacity, drive, and vision—the same qualities that still define Shaw Media today.

The communities we cover make up a population of over three million people, and over one million households. We reach over two and a half million readers and listeners in print, radio, and online every month. We partner with thousands of small businesses, community non-profits, and municipalities to make our communities better places to live.