Mat-Su Sentinel acquires Frontiersman newspaper from Wick Communications

Wasilla, Alaska — The Mat-Su Sentinel has acquired the Frontiersman newspaper from Arizona-based Wick Communications, according to John Cribb of Cribb & Associates, who represented the Sentinel in the acquisition. This marks a major shift in ownership for the nearly 80-year-old Frontiersman and brings the publication under locally based nonprofit ownership.

The transition takes effect June 1, Wick and Mat-Su Sentinel announced. As part of the change, the Frontiersman will become part of the digital-only Mat-Su Sentinel newsroom operations and end its print edition. Mat-Su Sentinel is free to access and supported by reader donations and community partnerships.

Wick Communications, which has owned the Frontiersman since 1996, will continue operating the company’s Wasilla printing facility. The acquisition was made possible through national journalism funders, Sentinel founder and Executive Editor Amy Bushatz said.

“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 on the Frontiersman’s legacy of community-focused journalism as we continue serving Mat-Su residents.”

The Frontiersman has served the Mat-Su region since 1947 and has long been one of the borough’s primary local news sources. Sentinel launched in June 2024 with funding from local readers. 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 Communications representative Josh O’Connor said in a statement. “The Mat-Su Sentinel is the perfect local owner.”

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

“The Sentinel as readers know it will continue,” she said in a message to supporters announcing the acquisition. “Our mission remains the same:  independent, fact-based local journalism focused on accountability and public interest reporting for the Mat-Su.”

Sentinel leadership said the organization plans to expand coverage in areas historically associated with the Frontiersman, including local sports and broader community reporting.

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 journalism history,” she said. 

Bushatz and the Mat-Su Sentinel were represented by John Cribb of Cribb & Associates. Cribb & Associates is a leading merger and acquisition firm specializing in assisting media in all forms thrive.