Meet Our Founder and President
Why Newspapers?
Carrie Pitzer is the owner and publisher of Pitzer Digital Newspapers, an independent, family-owned media company headquartered in Neligh, Nebraska.
Founded in August 2013, the company entered the media industry on Jan. 1, 2014, and purchased its first newspaper in February 2016. Pitzer Digital Newspapers has since grown to encompass 14 historic newspaper titles consolidated into eight weekly publications serving communities across northeastern, central and western Nebraska.
Pitzer serves as vice president of the Nebraska Press Association OnePress and is a member of the National Newspaper Association Board of Directors, representing and advocating for community newspapers at both the state and national levels. She was also named the 2026 Nebraska Coaches Association Media Person of the Year.
After spending the first 15 years of her journalism career at the Norfolk Daily News, Pitzer developed a publishing model that combines traditional newspaper values with modern technology, digital publishing and social media. Her approach emphasizes accurate, timely and hyperlocal reporting while preserving the essential role newspapers play in documenting community history, celebrating local achievements and holding government accountable.
Her philosophy is simple: Old-fashioned journalism values combined with modern technology and innovative strategies.
Pitzer has expanded the company's reach through the acquisition, preservation and consolidation of historic community newspapers. Several acquisitions involved publications facing uncertain futures, with the goal of ensuring rural communities would not lose their primary source of local news.
The company's flagship publication, the Antelope County News, began as a digital-only news outlet before expanding into print with the acquisition of The Orchard News in 2016. Subsequent acquisitions of the Neligh News & Leader and Clearwater Record-Ewing News in 2019 brought three historic newspapers together under the Antelope County News name.
Read: Pitzer uses journalism, editing skills to revolutionize rural media — Editing Matters
The Knox County News followed a similar path, launching digitally in 2014 before expanding into print through the acquisitions of the Bloomfield Monitor in 2017, Creighton News in 2019 and Wausa Gazette in 2024.
Pitzer Digital also preserved the Stanton Register when the newspaper faced closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision attracted national attention from the Poynter Institute, which featured Pitzer in its reporting on the journalists and publishers working to sustain local news during the pandemic.
Read: This local publisher saved a nearby newspaper from closing — Poynter Institute
In 2022, the company established the Cedar Valley News by bringing together the Spalding Enterprise, Cedar Rapids Press and Greeley Citizen, creating a regional publication serving multiple rural communities.
Read: Newspapers: The Good, The Bad … and Not Just the Ugly — OnePress
Read: Small-town Nebraska newspaper hammered by loss of revenue finds new life with new owners — Omaha World-Herald
The company's expansion accelerated in late 2025 and continued throughout 2026. Following the acquisition of the Madison Star-Mail in December 2025, Pitzer Digital added the Tilden Citizen/Meadow Grove News in May and the Battle Creek Enterprise in June, bringing three Madison County newspapers under the company's ownership.
In August 2026, Pitzer Digital expanded into western Nebraska with the Grant County News in Hyannis. The acquisition followed the unexpected death of the newspaper's longtime owner and reflected Pitzer's commitment to preserving local journalism, even in communities far beyond the company's established coverage area.
Today, the company's eight weekly publications — the Antelope County News, Knox County News, Stanton Register, Cedar Valley News, Madison Star-Mail, Tilden Citizen/Meadow Grove News, Battle Creek Enterprise and Grant County News — serve communities across a broad region of Nebraska. Each maintains a commitment to local reporting, community involvement and preserving the history of the towns it covers.
Journalism Awards and Recognition
Pitzer Digital's newspapers have earned numerous state and national honors, including a remarkable run of 10 consecutive Nebraska Press Association Sweepstakes Awards recognizing the state's top weekly newspaper. The Antelope County News earned the honor six straight years, from 2017 through 2022, followed by the Stanton Register from 2023 through 2025 and the Knox County News in 2026.
Pitzer has also earned national and statewide recognition for her own reporting. In 2024, she received the National Newspaper Association Foundation's Michael Kramer Best Public Notice Journalism Award. Two years later, she earned the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism for her reporting on courthouse security, open meetings and legal accountability in Knox County.
Pitzer is believed to be the only journalist to have earned all five of the Nebraska Press Association's individual "Best Of" honors, recognizing excellence across writing, photography and advertising design. Her awards include Ad of the Year in 2019 and 2025, Editorial of the Year in 2021, News Photo of the Year in 2021, Feature Photo of the Year in 2025 and Sports Photo of the Year in 2026.
Read: 2024 Michael Kramer Best Public Notice Journalism Awards honor works by Carrie Pitzer and Alyssa Meier — National Newspaper Association
Read: A-Mark Prizes for Investigative Journalism — A-Mark Foundation
Pitzer's innovative advertising and marketing strategies have attracted national attention as well. In 2023, the National Newspaper Association featured her approach to helping small-town businesses succeed through local newspaper advertising and digital marketing.
Read: Remember, YOU are the custom ad agency for the merchants in your market! Just ask Carrie Pitzer — National Newspaper Association
Leadership and Community Journalism
Despite the company's growth, Pitzer remains actively involved in daily newspaper operations, including reporting, photography, editing, production and business management. Her publishing model uses shared resources, technology and local reporting to help sustain newspapers in communities where operating a standalone publication has become increasingly difficult.
She is equally committed to developing young journalists and creating opportunities for students and community members to participate in local news coverage. In 2026, she was selected as the keynote speaker for the Nebraska High School Press Association and serves on the Nebraska School Activities Association Media Council.
For Pitzer, owning newspapers is about more than maintaining a business. She believes newspapers are essential community institutions that preserve local history, connect neighbors, celebrate accomplishments and provide independent oversight of local government.
At a time when rural newspapers continue to close, Pitzer remains committed to investing in their future. Her work is grounded in the belief that small communities deserve independent journalism that holds public officials accountable, celebrates local achievements and preserves the stories that might otherwise be lost.
Follow Carrie's journalism adventures on Facebook.
Founded in August 2013, the company entered the media industry on Jan. 1, 2014, and purchased its first newspaper in February 2016. Pitzer Digital Newspapers has since grown to encompass 14 historic newspaper titles consolidated into eight weekly publications serving communities across northeastern, central and western Nebraska.
Pitzer serves as vice president of the Nebraska Press Association OnePress and is a member of the National Newspaper Association Board of Directors, representing and advocating for community newspapers at both the state and national levels. She was also named the 2026 Nebraska Coaches Association Media Person of the Year.
After spending the first 15 years of her journalism career at the Norfolk Daily News, Pitzer developed a publishing model that combines traditional newspaper values with modern technology, digital publishing and social media. Her approach emphasizes accurate, timely and hyperlocal reporting while preserving the essential role newspapers play in documenting community history, celebrating local achievements and holding government accountable.
Her philosophy is simple: Old-fashioned journalism values combined with modern technology and innovative strategies.
Pitzer has expanded the company's reach through the acquisition, preservation and consolidation of historic community newspapers. Several acquisitions involved publications facing uncertain futures, with the goal of ensuring rural communities would not lose their primary source of local news.
The company's flagship publication, the Antelope County News, began as a digital-only news outlet before expanding into print with the acquisition of The Orchard News in 2016. Subsequent acquisitions of the Neligh News & Leader and Clearwater Record-Ewing News in 2019 brought three historic newspapers together under the Antelope County News name.
Read: Pitzer uses journalism, editing skills to revolutionize rural media — Editing Matters
The Knox County News followed a similar path, launching digitally in 2014 before expanding into print through the acquisitions of the Bloomfield Monitor in 2017, Creighton News in 2019 and Wausa Gazette in 2024.
Pitzer Digital also preserved the Stanton Register when the newspaper faced closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision attracted national attention from the Poynter Institute, which featured Pitzer in its reporting on the journalists and publishers working to sustain local news during the pandemic.
Read: This local publisher saved a nearby newspaper from closing — Poynter Institute
In 2022, the company established the Cedar Valley News by bringing together the Spalding Enterprise, Cedar Rapids Press and Greeley Citizen, creating a regional publication serving multiple rural communities.
Read: Newspapers: The Good, The Bad … and Not Just the Ugly — OnePress
Read: Small-town Nebraska newspaper hammered by loss of revenue finds new life with new owners — Omaha World-Herald
The company's expansion accelerated in late 2025 and continued throughout 2026. Following the acquisition of the Madison Star-Mail in December 2025, Pitzer Digital added the Tilden Citizen/Meadow Grove News in May and the Battle Creek Enterprise in June, bringing three Madison County newspapers under the company's ownership.
In August 2026, Pitzer Digital expanded into western Nebraska with the Grant County News in Hyannis. The acquisition followed the unexpected death of the newspaper's longtime owner and reflected Pitzer's commitment to preserving local journalism, even in communities far beyond the company's established coverage area.
Today, the company's eight weekly publications — the Antelope County News, Knox County News, Stanton Register, Cedar Valley News, Madison Star-Mail, Tilden Citizen/Meadow Grove News, Battle Creek Enterprise and Grant County News — serve communities across a broad region of Nebraska. Each maintains a commitment to local reporting, community involvement and preserving the history of the towns it covers.
Journalism Awards and Recognition
Pitzer Digital's newspapers have earned numerous state and national honors, including a remarkable run of 10 consecutive Nebraska Press Association Sweepstakes Awards recognizing the state's top weekly newspaper. The Antelope County News earned the honor six straight years, from 2017 through 2022, followed by the Stanton Register from 2023 through 2025 and the Knox County News in 2026.
Pitzer has also earned national and statewide recognition for her own reporting. In 2024, she received the National Newspaper Association Foundation's Michael Kramer Best Public Notice Journalism Award. Two years later, she earned the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism for her reporting on courthouse security, open meetings and legal accountability in Knox County.
Pitzer is believed to be the only journalist to have earned all five of the Nebraska Press Association's individual "Best Of" honors, recognizing excellence across writing, photography and advertising design. Her awards include Ad of the Year in 2019 and 2025, Editorial of the Year in 2021, News Photo of the Year in 2021, Feature Photo of the Year in 2025 and Sports Photo of the Year in 2026.
Read: 2024 Michael Kramer Best Public Notice Journalism Awards honor works by Carrie Pitzer and Alyssa Meier — National Newspaper Association
Read: A-Mark Prizes for Investigative Journalism — A-Mark Foundation
Pitzer's innovative advertising and marketing strategies have attracted national attention as well. In 2023, the National Newspaper Association featured her approach to helping small-town businesses succeed through local newspaper advertising and digital marketing.
Read: Remember, YOU are the custom ad agency for the merchants in your market! Just ask Carrie Pitzer — National Newspaper Association
Leadership and Community Journalism
Despite the company's growth, Pitzer remains actively involved in daily newspaper operations, including reporting, photography, editing, production and business management. Her publishing model uses shared resources, technology and local reporting to help sustain newspapers in communities where operating a standalone publication has become increasingly difficult.
She is equally committed to developing young journalists and creating opportunities for students and community members to participate in local news coverage. In 2026, she was selected as the keynote speaker for the Nebraska High School Press Association and serves on the Nebraska School Activities Association Media Council.
For Pitzer, owning newspapers is about more than maintaining a business. She believes newspapers are essential community institutions that preserve local history, connect neighbors, celebrate accomplishments and provide independent oversight of local government.
At a time when rural newspapers continue to close, Pitzer remains committed to investing in their future. Her work is grounded in the belief that small communities deserve independent journalism that holds public officials accountable, celebrates local achievements and preserves the stories that might otherwise be lost.
Follow Carrie's journalism adventures on Facebook.
Our Mission:
We are committed to enhancing our clients’ business process by applying up-to-date technology
with practical experience to create effective marketing solutions and strategies.
with practical experience to create effective marketing solutions and strategies.