It’s a headline that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

Alaska Dispatch, a six-year-old born-on-the-web news site, has reached an agreement to purchase from The McClatchy Co. the Alaska Anchorage Daily News, which produces the state’s largest newspaper and most-read news site. Alaska Dispatch is no slouch, editor Tony Hopfinger reported on the site profile on Michele's List that the Dispatch runs second on web traffic among news sites in the state and probably has the largest social media footprint. 

Hopfinger reported that Alaska Dispatch's readership and revenue have doubled or more every year since its launch in 2008. The Dispatch derives most of its revenue from advertising with smaller amounts from events and syndication.

"Our journalism has had a demonstrable impact on Alaska politics, energy, Arctic and rural issues, has has been awarded with dozens of state and national journalism prizes," the profile said.

The $43 million sale, expected to be completed in May, brings the Daily News back to local ownership. It has been a property of The McClatchy Co. since 1979.

It’s another indication of the dynamic, shifting nature of emerging local news ecosystems. They increasingly includes partnerships between legacy organizations and new actors. Witness the recent mergers of nonprofit news start ups in St. Louis and Denver with public media organizations; impactful content partnerships between young organizations such as Pro Publica and the Center for Investigative Reporting and legacy news outlets such as CNN and The New York Times.