Austin daily tops charts in Web sites

AUSTIN — The Austin American-Statesman family of Web sites, which includes statesman.com and austin360.com, have been ranked the number one newspaper Web sites in the United States in percentage of local adults visiting the sites in an average month.

This comes from a report from the Newspaper Association of America. The NAA’s source for the report, for all 100 markets surveyed, was Scarborough Research. The American-Statesman family of Web sites reaches 31 percent of the Austin metro area adults in a typical 30-day period.

Today Newspapers gets new owners

DESOTO — Today Newspapers Inc., has changed ownership, creating another milestone in the history of newspapers in the Best Southwest area.

Managing editor Robin Gooch and advertising director Kim Petty have purchased four of the Today newspapers from Richard H. Collins. The newspapers changed hands May 1.

Earlier, Collins closed a deal that moved ownership of Today Printing Co. and Midlothian Today to Waxahachie Newspapers Inc., part of Jeremy Halbreich’s American Consolidated Media, which also owns the Midlothian Mirror. The Midlothian Today operation has been merged into the Midlothian Mirror and will operate under the Midlothian Mirror flag.

The four other newspapers — Cedar Hill Today, DeSoto Today, Duncanville Today and Lancaster Today — will remain under the control of Gooch and Petty.

Both the women have worked for the Today family of newspapers for more than 14 years. Gooch has been in the newspaper business for 29 years; Petty has 22 years experience in the business.

Today Newspapers Inc., formerly Suburban Publishing, was established in 1960. The first issue of the Duncanville Suburban was published on Aug. 5, 1960. The company began expansion of its newspapers in 1968. The original owners, Royce and Lillian Brown, sold the company to Bluebonnet Media in 1985, who sold the papers to Sutherland Media in 1987. After a difficult year in 1988, Sutherland filed for federal protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act. The company was operated by the Dallas Times Herald until it was sold to Collins in December 1991. The Today identity was launched in January 1992.

Crosby County returns to 1-newspaper area

RALLS — Crosby County returned to a one-newspaper county this month.

John Valentine, owner of the Crosby County Reporter Examiner, purchased the Crosbyton Review and combined both papers into the new Crosby County News. The first issue of the combined newspaper was slated June 7.

The new newspaper will be published out of Valentine’s Ralls office.

The Review was owned and published by Charles Schovajsa and attorney Don Richards.

Former Sealy publisher buys Wallis weekly

WALLIS — The Wallis News Review has new owners. Joanie and Johnny Griffin purchased the newspaper from Maridel Dungen Anderson and published their first issue May 4.

The Griffins previously worked at The Sealy News where Joanie Griffin was publisher from 2002-06. Joanie Griffin began her career in newspapers in 1987 working in sales for the Columbus Banner Press (in the Sealy office) and for The Sealy News from 1991 through 1999. From 2000-02 she was publisher of the Colorado County Citizen in Columbus.

Ray and Maridel Dungen started the News-Review Nov. 18, 1974. She became publisher and sole owner when her husband Ray died in 2002. She still retains ownership of the New Ulm Enterprise.