The Munising Beacon is under new ownership, bringing ownership of the publication back to the Upper Peninsula. The Munising Beacon has been acquired by the Munising Advisor, which is owned by Dustin and Jill Denkins. They completed the purchase agreement of the Beacon on Sunday, July 30 from CherryRoad Media, a New Jersey-based media company. Transition will continue through August.
“We are very excited to bring ownership of the Munising Beacon back to the community! We have long admired the local reporting, news and sports available only in the Munising Beacon, and are so happy to ensure it stays here where it belongs,” said co-owner Jill Denkins.
As graduates of Big Bay de Noc and Manistique High Schools and U.P. universities, the Denkins lead a staff of twelve employees, based in Manistique and Munising offices. With experience in print publications, digital layout, graphic design and digital marketing, the company is poised to make a successful publication in Alger County.
“We believe newspapers keep communities connected in a way you can’t get anywhere else. Jill and I are yoopers, grew up here, live here, and are raising our four children here. We thought it made sense to bring ownership of the Munising Beacon back here as well,” Dustin Denkins said. “When you buy a subscription to the Munising Beacon, your money stays right here. It employs your neighbors and it goes back to other local businesses and schools, to keep us all going through the winter.”
Brice Burge remains as editor of the Beacon. A co-founder of the publication, Burge brings over 13 years of journalism experience and is looking forward to continuing local reporting for the community.
“Since starting The Munising Beacon, over half of our editions have had some story about how Munising and Alger County is an outlier. It’s taken a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice by our friends and neighbors to overcome supply issues, seasonality and government regulations for our community to be successful. We’ve had those same problems getting a print product back to the area,” Burge said. “I’m thankful for the steps we took with both The Newberry News and CherryRoad Media to get to this point, and I’m excited about the steps we are about to take in the next few weeks. We’re only going to get better with our coverage now that these infrastructure systems are in place.”
With print agreements already in place, The Munising Beacon will roll off the presses later this month, with the first print edition on September 1.
Now that a print date is set, those that have already subscribed to The Munising Beacon will be charged for their subscriptions on Tuesday, September 5. This will include credit card and check payments. Subscribers have not been charged for any fees while assembling the Beacon subscriber list.
For any further questions, subscription purchases, advertising needs, or to sell The Munising Beacon in your place of business, please call 906-341-2424.
