Shaw Media has made its mark yet again in the northern Illinois radio market in May 2024 by acquiring a group of Sauk Valley radio stations. The addition of radio stations has grown the company’s already standing group of radio stations in the Illinois Valley to two markets. The combination of print, radio, and digital offerings allows us to better serve our markets in unique ways. Our goal is to forge deep ties in our communities as we strive to help make them better places to live.

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 daily and weekly print and digital publications 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 in print and online every month. We partner with thousands of small businesses, community non-profits, and municipalities to make our communities better places to live.