Advance (Advance Publications) is one of the largest privately held media companies in the United States, controlled by the family of Donald Newhouse and the late S.I. Newhouse Jr., the sons of founder Samuel I. Newhouse Sr. Its holdings include Conde Nast (Vogue, The New Yorker, Wired), American City Business Journals, and Advance Local - the division that runs metro newspapers and their websites across the country, including The Star-Ledger and NJ.com, The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, The Oregonian, AL.com, MassLive, and MLive.
Beyond publishing, Advance has become a major financial holder in platforms that shape public discourse: it is the largest shareholder in Reddit (about 30 percent), holds roughly 13 percent of Charter Communications, and about 4 percent of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Reddit IPO in 2024 generated a windfall of roughly $2 billion for the family, and Advance moved to borrow against a $1.2 billion slice of its Reddit stake.
Advance Local has led the newspaper industry's retreat from print. In late 2024 the company announced it would end print editions of The Star-Ledger and several other New Jersey papers in February 2025 and close the Jersey Journal entirely, shifting to digital-only operations - a strategy that preserves the brands online while shrinking their physical footprint and, often, their newsrooms.
What they control
- Advance Local: metro newspapers and high-traffic local news sites (NJ.com, cleveland.com, AL.com, MassLive, MLive, OregonLive, and more)
- Conde Nast: Vogue, The New Yorker, Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, and other national magazine brands
- American City Business Journals: the largest U.S. chain of metro business journals
- About 30 percent of Reddit - the largest single stake in a major social platform
- Roughly 13 percent of Charter Communications and about 4 percent of Warner Bros. Discovery
Key institutions & holdings
Privately held; controlled by the Newhouse family.
Runs metro papers and their websites; led the 2024-2025 shift to digital-only.
National magazine publisher (Vogue, The New Yorker, Wired).
Family reaped roughly $2 billion from the 2024 IPO.
Key facts
- Advance is controlled by the Newhouse family and is one of the largest privately held U.S. media companies.
- It is Reddit's largest shareholder, with roughly a 30 percent stake, and holds about 13 percent of Charter Communications.
- The 2024 Reddit IPO produced a windfall of about $2 billion for the family.
- In late 2024 Advance Local announced print would end for The Star-Ledger and other New Jersey papers in February 2025, with the Jersey Journal closing.
- Advance Local's sites include NJ.com, cleveland.com, AL.com, MassLive, MLive, and OregonLive.
Timeline
- 1922Samuel I. Newhouse Sr. builds his newspaper empire from the Staten Island Advance.
- 2006Conde Nast acquires Reddit for about $10 million; it is later spun out.
- 2024-03Reddit's IPO yields roughly $2 billion for the Newhouse family.
- 2024-10Advance Local announces the end of print for The Star-Ledger and other NJ papers.
- 2025-02The Star-Ledger and sister papers print their final editions and go digital-only.
Controversies
Hollowing of local print · 2024-2025
Advance Local's digital-first strategy has ended print editions and thinned newsrooms at storied metro papers, part of a broader decline in local news capacity.
Concentration of platform power · ongoing
Through its dominant Reddit stake and large Charter and Warner Bros. Discovery holdings, a single private family holds quiet influence over major channels of public discourse.
Opacity of private control · ongoing
As a privately held company, Advance discloses little about its finances or decision-making despite its outsized media footprint.
Network
- Donald NewhouseCo-controlling ownerChairman of Advance Publications; among the wealthiest U.S. media owners.
- Steven NewhouseFamily principalAdvance.net chairman and a Reddit board member.
- S.I. Newhouse Jr.Co-builder of the modern empireLongtime Conde Nast chairman; died in 2017.
- RedditLargest holdingAdvance is the platform's biggest shareholder.
Why this matters
Local newspapers are a primary source of accountability journalism, and a single private family decides the fate of dozens of them - which keep printing, which go digital, and how many journalists remain. The same family's large stakes in Reddit and major cable and media companies concentrate influence over both local information and the national public square in hands that face little public disclosure.