ATLANTA — The National Trust for Local News, a nonprofit publisher that operates dozens of community newspapers, has resumed acquisitions and added two daily papers in Georgia as part of a broader effort to stabilize local news operations nationwide, the organization's new chief executive told a national media outlet.
New leadership, renewed buying
Tom Wiley, who became CEO in May 2025, said the Trust completed its latest purchases in July, bringing the nonprofit’s total portfolio to more than 50 outlets. Wiley, a veteran newspaper publisher and former executive in corporate chains, said bringing experienced operational managers onto the nonprofit’s team has helped steady the organization after an earlier period of restructuring.
“I would say we are healthy,” Wiley told the Free Press Initiative in an interview. He emphasized that the Trust now has a “much longer financial runway” and is not scrambling to meet short-term payroll obligations.
“I don’t think it’s ever fixed,” Wiley said of the news business. “Righted might be correct, but I don’t think it’s ever done.”
Why Georgia matters
While the Trust did not disclose the names of the two Georgia dailies in the interview, the acquisitions draw attention in a state where local papers play a significant role in covering county governments, schools and community issues. The Trust’s strategy — buying and operating community newspapers under a nonprofit model — aims to preserve newsroom functions that have been pared back at many for-profit chains.
Wiley stressed a key distinction between the Trust and many for-profit owners: the nonprofit model does not carry the same pressure to pay dividends or service debt. That, he contended, gives the organization a better chance to sustain local journalism if it is run with experienced operational leadership.
Lessons from corporate restructurings
Wiley’s background includes stints at large newspaper chains, most recently as publisher of The Buffalo News, where he navigated newsroom reductions after acquisition by Lee Enterprises. He told the Free Press Initiative that while the journalism business has repeatedly faced contraction, it remains possible to operate successfully with different financial incentives and management approaches.
“After 30 years in the business, I can’t point to one time I ever felt like my department or my paper or my division was really fixed,” Wiley said. “It’s such a challenging space, but it’s also why I love it.”
What the Trust says it can offer
The Trust’s current posture, according to Wiley, is one of cautious optimism: the organization is no longer fighting immediate cash crises and is in acquisition discussions with other outlets. The approach combines nonprofit funding structures with operational talent to run local newsrooms in a more sustainable way, he said.
- July — Trust acquires two daily newspapers in Georgia.
- May 2025 — Tom Wiley hired as CEO.
- Current — Trust operates more than 50 outlets nationwide.
Wiley argued that the narrative portraying large newspaper chains as inevitable failures overlooks the possibility of profitability when freed from heavy debt loads and shareholder demands. For the Trust, that difference underpins the case for a nonprofit model to preserve local reporting capacity.
Implications for Georgia communities
For readers across Georgia, new owners can mean changes in editorial direction, staffing and the depth of local coverage. Community leaders and readers will be watching how the Trust manages newsrooms it acquires: whether it rehires or restores reporting capacity, invests in digital platforms, or alters subscription and distribution strategies.
The Trust’s moves also underscore broader questions about the sustainability of local news across the state — from urban centers to rural counties — and whether nonprofit ownership models can replace the role once played by family-owned or regional chain newspapers.
Representatives for the National Trust for Local News did not provide additional details about the Georgia acquisitions in the interview, and the organization’s future purchases and operational plans remain subject to change as it seeks a balance between financial stability and robust local coverage.
This evolving approach could shape how communities in Georgia continue to access verification of public records, accountability reporting, school board coverage and other local journalism functions that residents rely on to stay informed.
