News Briefs

Moser buys 2 in Panhandle

MULESHOE — Moser Community Media LLC, has purchased the Muleshoe Journal and Olton Enterprise from CJB Publications Inc.

The weekly publications serve Bailey and Lamb counties in the Panhandle.

Jim Moser, president of Moser Community Media LLC, of Edna, announced that a limited partnership formed by Debbie Aylesworth of Canyon, Glenn Rea of Cuero and himself had purchased the Journal and Enterprise from CJB owned by Chris and Joye Bradford, who still own the Castro County News.

“These markets are rich in local history, and both of these papers have served an important role in their communities for many years,” said Moser.

The Journal was established in 1919 and the Enterprise in 1926.

Moser Community Media also manages The Canyon News and the Jackson County Herald-Tribune, Cuero Record and Yorktown News-View in South-Central Texas.

The transaction was brokered by Rollie Hyde of W.B. Grimes & Co.

Cooper gets new owners

COOPER — Tim Gregory, publisher of The Cooper Review, announced the sale of the Review to Jim and Sally Butler of Sulphur Springs.

“If anyone can make a go of this, I am sure Jim and Roger can do it,” Gregory said.

The Butlers, who have 46 years of combined experience in the newspaper industry, are excited about the purchase of the Review.

“We are going to make this the best little newspaper in Texas,” they said.

The Butlers also announced that Roger and Kimberly Palmer will serve as the new publishers of the Review.  The Palmers have more than 30 years of experience.

Wellington changes hands after long family ownership

WELLINGTON — Henry Wells, publisher of The Wellington Leader, announced the sale of the family-owned newspaper to Jeff and Angela Blackmon of Cameron on Aug. 10.

Wells was assisted in the sale by Rollie Hyde of W. B. Grimes & Co.

Blackmon has been in the newspaper industry since 1999, most recently as editor and publisher for The Cameron Herald, The Rosebud News and The Thorndale Champion, owned by Granite Publications.

Wells’ father, H. Deskins “Deck” Wells, who was president of Texas Press Association in 1938-39, entered the newspaper business in the 1920s with his cousin J. Claude Wells, publishing both The Leader and The Memphis Democrat. They later divided their interests and Deskins Wells published The Leader for half a century until his death in 1976.

Henry Wells and his sister, Diane Wells McDowell, then published the newspaper for several years.

Group adds Mart

MART — The Mart Messenger has new owners in Larry Hauk and David Tuma after John Sellman  retired and sold the newspaper.

Hauk and Tuma also are partners in the Copperas Cove Leader-Press and Belton Journal.

New general manager Sonya Packer comes to Mart from The Jewett Messenger. Changes will come slowly at first, but readers can expect a complete new look in a matter of weeks, said Hauk.

Bandera lands on Leno

BANDERA — From the pages of the Bandera Bulletin to the mouth of Jay Leno, the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office is paying some of its most embarrassing dues yet.

The Bulletin broke the story of several local law enforcement personnel who were fired by the sheriff’s office for engaging in conduct unbecoming of officers.

Fark.com, an online clearinghouse for bizarre and humorous news stories, picked up the Bulletin coverage of the scandalous acts and posted it online, driving more than 41,000 visitors in one day to the Bulletin’s Web site.

The following week the newspaper reported receiving several phone calls from readers who said that Leno, a late-night TV host, had cracked a joke about the incident, naming Bandera, during a monologue.

Victoria cuts stock pages

VICTORIA — On Aug. 27, the Victoria Advocate followed the trend of many daily newspapers and ceased publishing full pages of stocks, mutual funds and other commodities.

The newspaper will instead focus on stocks of importance to the local economy and on analytical, explanatory and forward-looking financial data. The two pages of individual listings that ran daily will publish only on Sundays, with end-of-week closings.

The newspaper encouraged readers to look up stocks on the Advocate’s Web site, VictoriaAdvocate.com, where users can create a portfolio.