By SUZANNE DOWNING
June 17, 2026 – The Anchorage Press, once Anchorage’s scrappy alternative weekly newspaper, is preparing for a comeback under new ownership, with plans to relaunch both online and in print later this year.
The revival was announced by Anchorage nonprofit executive Veri di Suvero and veteran journalist Nathaniel Herz, who said they have acquired the assets of the dormant publication and intend to restore it as a voice for Anchorage arts, culture, politics, government, and environmental reporting.
A placeholder website has already been launched at anchoragepress.com, with the new owners planning to begin publishing this summer using Herz’s existing Northern Journal platform before rolling out a dedicated Anchorage Press website and a print edition this fall.
The announcement marks the latest attempt to reshape Alaska’s media landscape at a time when traditional newspapers continue to struggle and most news consumption has shifted online.
But the decision to revive a print newspaper is a decidedly contrarian bet in 2026. For more than two decades, the newspaper industry has been shrinking as readers migrated online and advertisers followed them. Hundreds of local newspapers have closed, thousands of journalism jobs have disappeared, and even iconic alternative weeklies have either folded or abandoned print editions altogether.
Against that backdrop, launching a new print publication may strike some observers as a nostalgic throwback, a return to ink, paper, and news racks in an era dominated by smartphones, newsletters, podcasts, and social media feeds.
While a handful of niche and community-focused publications have found success by blending print with memberships, events, donations, and digital subscriptions, the economics remain challenging. The new Anchorage Press will have to convince readers and advertisers that a physical newspaper still provides something worth paying for at a time when most media companies are moving in the opposite direction.
The Anchorage Press was founded in 1992. The publication developed a loyal following as Anchorage’s leftist alternative weekly, focusing on arts, entertainment, politics, and countercultural commentary. It took a hard stance against Gov. Mike Dunleavy and favored his recall during the failed attempt to recall him in 2019.
But its fortunes had peaked during the early 2000s, when advertising revenue reportedly climbed into seven figures. But like many print publications nationwide, the paper faced mounting challenges from the digital revolution. After a series of ownership changes, print publication ceased in 2022 and staff were laid off.
The new ownership team appears determined to bring back not only the brand but also the traditional alt-weekly model.
Di Suvero, who will serve as publisher and CEO, previously led the Alaska Public Interest Research Group from 2018 to 2025. During that period, AKPIRG expanded significantly and advocated for a variety of progressive policy causes involving utilities, Native language access, and consumer protection issues, Herz wrote.
The news release refers to di Suvero using the pronoun “they.” That may tell readers everything they need to know.
Herz, who will become executive editor, is well known in Alaska journalism circles after reporting for the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media before launching Northern Journal in 2022. Northern Journal has built a niche audience around environmental and public policy coverage and reports more than 4,000 subscribers.
The political leanings of the new ownership are likely to be no mystery to longtime Alaska media observers.
AKPIRG has generally operated from the political left, advocating for progressive policy approved of by the Democratic Party, while Northern Journal’s coverage has often focused on environmental, energy, and climate-related issues. The relaunch announcement also emphasizes government, politics, environmental reporting, opinion writing, and investigative journalism, all areas where Alaska already has several established left-of-center or center-left media organizations competing for readers.
That raises another question: Is there enough market demand for another progressive-leaning publication?
Anchorage readers already have access to the left-of-center Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Public Media, Alaska Beacon, and other blogs, national media outlets, and an expanding universe of digital newsletters and independent publications. The challenge for the revived Press may not be finding stories to cover but finding a unique audience niche that isn’t already being served.
Supporting the relaunch is Seattle-based media company Noisy Creek, which owns alternative weeklies in Seattle, Portland, and Chicago and will take a minority ownership stake in the venture. The company will also help provide business infrastructure and resources.
The new organization plans to operate using a hybrid structure consisting of a for-profit publication alongside an affiliated nonprofit entity capable of accepting tax-deductible contributions. This trend of news organizations pretending to be nonprofits is now widespread. It’s how they can avoid paying taxes, while advocating for higher taxes for others.
Anchorage Press founder Nick Coltman welcomed the revival and plans to assist with advertising sales.
“Alaska has never needed an alt weekly as bad as it does right now,” Coltman said in the announcement. “I’m thrilled to help bring back this status-quo-questioning, BS-calling, future-looking institution.”
Whether Anchorage’s reading public agrees may become clear soon enough.
7 thoughts on “The undead: Anchorage Press reviving under new ownership”
I’m available as a guest opinion writer, for a reasonable fee. No one reads my little blog except for 40 or 50 hard left mentally-ill Democrats. Donations are running out. My liquor cabinet is dry.
I can’t live like this anymore.
Derm The Mutt
Still Reporting and Farting Big Time
From Alaska.
Derm Mutt sits on his journalistic high horse without being able to properly read statutes and properly interpret complex legal rulings. His opinions and interpretations are always skewed to the far, far left because that’s where Derm Mutt’s brain is hard wired. No doubt, a product of a poor childhood, mixed-up teen years, and later, obedience and worship to his left-wing educators. That’s why he is always farting much baloney and propaganda to the masses. I wish him well, though, in his declining years. Suzanne could have taught him much about real writing, but that’s a foregone conclusion.
Those Chinese owners of newsBreak not paying you enough, Derm? They’re using your demented rantings and ravings
Both of his brothers learned that in the end silence is golden. Unfortunately, Derm Mutt is still snorting and farting, hoping to be validated with at least one last lecture before the end. Or, before his liquor cabinet is empty.
Right on the heels of the death of The Frontiersman. Interesting………….
More lining for the birdcage until it, too, fails. These people call themselves “journalists” but they’re just people who think a lot of themselves and who wrongly think they are smarter than everyone else.
Have you ever gone to the Northern Journal and read any of the articles? I think you may be surprised. The most recent article actually features SD. The Repsol article is informative and well written. His piece on starting the Anchorage Press addresses the issues he faces and does not come across as someone who thinks a lot of him self. Herz is a quality journalist and I wish him the best in this endeavor.