Azle News, Springtown Epigraph resume publication as separate newspapers

Previously set for closure, the Tri-County Reporter is not only staying open thanks to new owners, but has returned to its roots.

The announcement came in the Feb. 27 edition of the Reporter, which had been slated to be its last. Bryson and Ashley Burtnett of Springtown purchased the Tri-County Reporter and announced plans to transition the publication back to the original publications that served the communities of Springtown and Azle, the Azle News and Springtown Epigraph. The Tri-County Reporter was formed in June 2023 with the merger of the two newspapers.

In addition to the new owners, staff members for the Springtown Epigraph and Azle News include publisher Kim Ware, marketing director Lora Paschal, Azle reporter Zach Freeman, Springtown reporter Jolee Skinner, copy editor Carla Noah Stutsman, graphic designer Jennifer Harrison and operations director Sara Dygert.

In early March, the newspaper regained its position as the official newspaper for the City of Azle. When the closure of the Tri-County Reporter was announced, the city had selected the Commercial Recorder in Fort Worth to publish its legal notices, according to the newspaper.

A concerned citizen had already approached the city about selecting another nearby newspaper, the Weatherford Democrat, to serve as its official newspaper. When word was received that the Tri-County Reporter would continue publishing with no missed editions, the city council reversed its earlier decision and voted to retain the Tri-County Reporter as its official newspaper.

The cities of Springtown and Reno have since indicated that they will also keep the Tri-County Reporter/Springtown Epigraph as their newspaper of record.

Beginning March 19 and 20, the Azle News and the Springtown Epigraph resumed publication as separate newspapers. The Azle News appears on newsstands and is published online each Wednesday while the Springtown Epigraph is appears on newsstands and is published online on Thursdays. Print subscribers will receive their copies in the mail on Friday and Saturday.

Social media accounts for both newspapers have also resumed.

First editions of the renewed Azle News and Springtown Epigraph featured a column by Bob Buckel, who published the newspapers from 1987 to 2011.

“Business works better with an advertising medium that is affordable and widely read by the people in the community,” he wrote. 

“Government works better in the open, as its constituents see, understand, and play a role in the things it does. Nonprofits work better when people know the needs and know how to get involved in addressing them.

“Communities work better when they are served by a newspaper that cares as much about the community as the people who live there. The Epigraph and the News are proud to play that role.

“I hope you’ll support them with your advertising and your readership.”