Dalhart changes frequency

DALHART — The Dalhart Daily Texan has changed its publication schedule and name to become the state’s third tri-weekly.

The Dalhart Texan earlier this month began publishing on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The newspaper was publishing as an evening daily Tuesday-Friday and morning daily Sunday. The newspaper reported 2,371 paid circulation on its October 2004 Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation.

Publisher Susan Clay told the Associated Press that rising paper costs contributed to the switch. The newspaper had been daily since 1933.

The change brings Texas’ total number of paid dailies to 87. The state’s other two tri-weeklies are the Childress Index and Hood County News.

Throckmorton owners add Knox City weekly

KNOX CITY — Terry Armstrong and Jeff Jordan are the new owners of the Knox County News. They were introduced during an open house held during the local chamber of commerce’s Christmas In November.

On hand for the presentation were Billye Angle, who began the News in 1971; and Stacy Angle Thompson, the previous publisher and editor.

The new owners were scheduled to take over Jan. 3. Armstrong also owns the Throckmorton Tribune

San Angelo returns to free Web site access

SAN ANGELO — The San Angelo Standard-Times Web site re-launched as a free site Dec. 1 after eight months as a pay-only site.

The Standard-Times Web site had been available to paid subscribers since transferring in March to  ActivePaper, a Web program that turns the print edition in a digital replica. The newspaper reported that the software required longer download times for many dial-up Internet users.

Amarillo begins Web registration

AMARILLO — Visitors to amarillo.com now will be asked to register to access news and other information posted on the Internet site of the Amarillo Globe-News.

The required registration is designed to inform the Globe-News and its advertisers about who is visiting the site, online director Steve Metzinger said.

“It lets us know whose reading the site and what sections certain audiences are interested in and therefore tailor the content to them,” Metzinger said.

Registration will help keep amarillo.com a free site, officials said.

Rosenberg expands press with 2 new units

ROSENBERG — The Herald-Coaster added two new units to its printing press to increase page and color capacity.

The two Atlas units are manufactured by Web Press Corp. The press now includes 10 units and a special quadra-color unit for increased process color.

In addition to The Herald Coaster, the newspaper’s printing division, Coastal Newspapers, prints 45 newspapers and employs 13 people.

Pflugerville remodels office

PFLUGERVILLE — The Greater Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce held an open house and ribbon cutting at the Pflugerville Pflag Dec. 10. The event celebrated the complete remodeling of the Pflag office at 200 W. Main. The construction was done by Ron Sandford and Company.

Dallas MN to build another printing plant

DALLAS— The Dallas Morning News will build another plant to relieve pressure on its busy printing plant north of the city.

Belo, the newspaper’s parent company, announced a $120 million investment in a southern Dallas plant and improvements to its plant in Plano.

Construction will begin next year for the new plant, which will house a Sunday newspaper packaging center. The newspaper also will add a new press and a system for automatic storage and retrieval of preprinted newspaper inserts. Packaging, loading and distribution facilities will be upgraded at the 20-year-old Plano plant.

All the work is expected to be finished by 2009.

Houston buys La Voz

HOUSTON — Houston Chronicle publisher and president Jack Sweeney and La Voz de Houston publisher Olga Ordóñez announced that the weekly Spanish-language La Voz will now be a part of the Chronicle family.

The Chronicle and La Voz have had an extensive working relationship for the past 13 years, with the Chronicle

Olga Ordóñez will continue in her role as publisher and report directly to Sweeney. The 13-member staff also will remain.

The Chronicle also publishes La Vibra, a weekly entertainment tabloid.

La Voz, which covers news, sports, food and entertainment, has a circulation of 100,000. Of that, 35,000 are distributed on Wednesdays to Chronicle subscribers, 5,000 in Chronicle single-copy sales and 60,000 in free racks.

DFW group sold

American Community Newspapers, LLC was purchased by a group of investors led by Spire Capital Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners and senior management and changed its name to ACN Holding LLC effective Dec. 9.

The company includes Dallas-based Star Community Newspapers, publisher of the Plano Star Courier and 13 weekly and twice weekly newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 200,000 homes serving Collin and Denton counties.  

The company is led by Gene Carr chief executive officer and Dan Wilson chief financial officer. The other two groups are located in Minneapolis-St. Paul (Sun Newspapers) and Kansas City (Sun Publications).

Scott Wright, a veteran newspaper executive, joined the company as group publisher of the Dallas Group. Wright most recently served as vice president/general manager for the Oakland Press, owned by The Journal Register Co.