Mat-Su Sentinel acquires Frontiersman, bringing legacy paper under local nonprofit

The Mat-Su Sentinel has acquired the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman from Arizona-based Wick Communications, marking a major shift in ownership for the nearly 80-year-old newspaper and bringing the publication under locally based nonprofit ownership.

The transition takes effect June 1, Wick and Mat-Su Sentinel announced Friday. As part of the change, the Frontiersman will end its print edition and become part of the digital-only Mat-Su Sentinel newsroom operation.

In a message announcing the transition, Wick Communications described the sale as a return of the publication’s future “to local Alaskan hands.” “We could not have found a better successor,” Wick CEO Josh O’Conner said in a statement. “The Mat-Su Sentinel is the perfect local owner.” Wick, which has owned the Frontiersman since 1996, will continue operating its Wasilla printing facility.

The change is a chance to strengthen and grow community news coverage in Mat-Su, Sentinel founder and Executive Editor Amy Bushatz said. Through the acquisition, the Sentinel will expand its reach across the region and invest in expanded coverage of local sports and community life.

“For the last two years, readers have welcomed the Mat-Su Sentinel as a trusted voice for connect-the-dots local reporting in the region,” Bushatz said in a statement. “We’re excited for the opportunity to carry the Frontiersman’s legacy forward into a new era of local journalism.”

The Frontiersman has served the Mat-Su region since 1947 and has long been one of the borough’s primary local news sources. 

Mat-Su Sentinel is free to access and primarily supported by reader donations, community sponsorships, and advertisements from local businesses. Grants from journalism foundations help grow the Sentinel, including through this latest acquisition. 

“I am so grateful to the hundreds of local donors and sponsors who make our journalism possible every day, and to the foundations around the country investing in our vision for the future,” Bushatz added.

Bushatz said the Sentinel will continue operating under its existing nonprofit, nonpartisan model, focused on what she described as trusted, “connect-the-dots” reporting for Mat-Su residents.

“Our mission remains the same,” she said in a message to supporters announcing the acquisition. “Independent, fact-based community journalism for, from, and by the Mat-Su.”

The Sentinel does not print editorials or commentary. The organization also said it will remain digital-only, citing the financial challenges of operating a print newspaper.

Bushatz described the acquisition as both an opportunity and a responsibility.

“We are now stewards of not just a newsroom, but an important piece of this community’s history,” she said.

The Frontiersman’s archive will continue to be available online, and is now free to read. The Sentinel plans to donate a large historic newspaper and photo archive to an area museum or library.

Also included in the acquisition are the archives and brand assets of the Anchorage Press, a storied news organization that discontinued publication in late 2022. Bushatz and the Sentinel will work to place the Anchorage Press in the hands of another local news entrepreneur interested in reviving what was the state’s only alt-weekly newspaper.

Mat-Su residents are invited to visit the Mat-Su Sentinel office at 545 S. Alaska St. between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. June 13 during Palmer’s annual Colony Days celebration to learn more about the Sentinel and meet Bushatz.