Press Release
After two years of providing a weekly print newspaper, The Lancaster Patriot owned by Maple Leaf Media, a Mountville-based media company, is transitioning its delivery of news and commentary to an online-only format.
Jen Stoltzfus, owner and publisher of The Lancaster Patriot, said the move was a strategic decision focused on extending the company’s reach and influence.
“We are not going away,” Stoltzfus said. “The current market interest in a weekly print newspaper does not justify that business strategy at this moment, but we are more committed than ever to being the county’s leading source for conservative news and independent commentary. We think this change will help us continue to grow our brand and potentially reach even more people.”
The first print edition of The Lancaster Patriot was published on March 24, 2021, but the company was founded by Stoltzfus in 2020 amid national tensions over government lockdowns and election security.
The weekly print newspaper started with 24 pages of content, but grew to 28 pages, featuring local, state, national, and world news. Sections for faith and perspective pieces often featured content from local writers including the Berks County-based Beth Bingaman and Lancaster County-based John Oliver. The paper focused on original local content written by local writers, with selected syndicated material supplementing that coverage.
In 2022, both managing editor Chris Hume and investigative journalist Michael Yoder joined the publication. Yoder’s reporting included coverage of the national story about Amos Miller, a local farmer who ran afoul of the government for selling natural, organic food through his private buyer’s club.
Stoltzfus said the media company would consider returning to print if the demand increased.
“Print newspapers are shutting down at increasing rates across the nation,” she said. “We knew from the beginning it would be a challenge to buck that trend with a print paper only printing once a week. But I’m glad we tried it. The interest in our product has continued to grow, but many people are more interested in a digital media source. While I understand that many will be disappointed that The Lancaster Patriot will no longer offer a print option, we will continue to bring you the news in a different format.”
The company plans to offer the majority of the news and commentary at no cost on their website, a move they hope will allow to them to grow their brand both in the county and beyond. Readers can sign-up for a free e-mail newsletter to stay up-to-date.
The last print edition of 2023 will be delivered during the week of April 24. All subscribers with issues remaining beyond that date are being offered pro-rated refunds.
This is very disappointing. Also…how are we getting the digital copy? Do we need to sign up? We really enjoyed your paper but the way this is being handled is confusing.
Annie, I apologize for any confusion. The online news content will be available for no cost. (There may be select resources that cost a small amount; but overall the news and commentary will be free.) Thank you for reading The Lancaster Patriot. The best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our email newsletter: https://www.thelancasterpatriot.com/emails/ (I have updated the press release to hopefully make this clearer.)