Industry News

News about Texas newspapers as reported in the March 2025 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

Iowa Park Journal marks first year

IOWA PARK– The Iowa Park Journal celebrated its first anniversary Feb. 1, completing 52 weeks of publication.

“We are proud to be a member of Iowa Park,” owner Daniel Walker said. “Thank you to our subscribers, newspaper dealers and  advertisers for embracing us, supporting democracy in action and letting us tell your stories and showcase why this is a great town to live and raise a family. This newspaper would not exist if the community had not first asked us to be here, and second, supported us with open arms.”

Starting with rack sales only, the newspaper staff has worked with the U.S. Postal Service to obtain a postal permit to provide home delivery. With its postal permit in hand and its first anniversary in business, the newspaper became qualified to publish legal notices.

Tri-County Reporter closed

GRANBURY – The Tri-County Reporter in Azle closed Feb. 27.

Sam Houston, Hyde Media Group CEO, announced the closure in a statement published Feb. 13.

Houston noted the Tri-County Reporter and its predecessor papers, The Azle News and The Springtown Epigraph, have a long history of reporting the news. The newspaper covered the seven cities and four school districts in its area, along with the arts, community organizations, infrastructure, recreation, and feature stories about the people in the Springtown, Azle, and most recently, Lake Worth areas.

Unfortunately, Houston said, business issues facing newspapers nationwide have also affected the Tri-County Reporter. Changes in readership habits, rising costs and stiff competition for advertising dollars no longer allow the paper to operate in a profitable manner, he added.

Houston thanked readers for their support and “for allowing Hyde Media Group to be a part of your community for the last four years.”

Baytown Sun building up for sale

BAYTOWN – While the Baytown Sun building is up for sale, the newspaper remains committed to the Baytown area, Editor and Publisher Carol Skewes announced.

“The truth is, our current facility is too big,” Skewes said. “Today’s newspapers are nimble when it comes to staff and production needs, and we simply don’t need the footprint newspaper buildings once had.”

The Sun has outsourced its printing for a number of years, leaving a massive warehouse that once housed the press and mailroom operation. “We have leased out the back of the building in four suites, repurposing every inch on the property not currently used by our staff,” Skewes said.

Employees were notified of the coming change and the building sale listing went live the last week in January.

“We are committed to positioning this newspaper for long-term success,” Skewes said. “We plan to serve this community for decades to come, either from Memorial Drive in Baytown or from another location convenient for our customers.”

The Baytown Sun was founded by Frank Boyer in 1919 as The Goose Creek Gasser. It has had a series of names, evolving into The Daily Sun before the Tri-Cities consolidated, and The Baytown Sun in 1949 after the City of Baytown was chartered in 1948. The Baytown Sun became the sole daily newspaper in the former Tri-Cities area.

Southern Newspapers Inc. owns The Baytown Sun as well other community newspapers, 10 in Texas and one in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Daily Sentinel sells building

NACOGDOCHES – The Daily Sentinel has sold its building on Colonial Drive to relocate in more efficient and accessible quarters, Publisher Rick Craig announced.

The sale of the building to Zadoc Holdings, LLC of Nacogdoches was finalized Feb. 13. The Daily Sentinel will be moving into a more suitably sized location on North Street in early March, Craig said.

“We do not need the amount of space in the current location, and it will be good for someone to fully utilize the nearly 8,000 square feet of office space,” Craig said. “A lot of thought and planning went into designing and constructing our current facility to meet the needs of a newspaper 40-plus years ago. At that time, a newspaper was much more labor intensive than it is today.”

The new location will be more convenient for customers, Craig said, and more suitable for current staff.

Pilot Point launches new website

PILOT POINT – The Post Signal has launched a new website offering keyword searches in the paper’s digital archives, subscriber logins and an interactive e-Edition.

Editor and Publisher Abigail Allen noted the new website includes many features she has wanted to make available to subscribers, especially the new searchable archives.

“One of the features I am most excited to offer is the access to the searchable archives,” Allen said. “This will allow our readers to have easy access to almost 10 years of Post-Signal issues from the comfort of their own homes or even on the go via cellphone.”

Access to the paper’s physical archives is still available at the Post-Signal office.

Another feature provides subscribers multiple ways to access the newspaper, an interactive digital version in flip book format or a PDF available by download.

“We want to grow with the area and to ensure that the residents in our communities stay informed about the decisions and events that affect them and their families,” Allen said.

Headliners Club sets April event

The Headliners Club of Austin will host An Evening with Verne Lundquist and Archie Manning Thursday, April 17.

The event benefits the Headliners Foundation’s Verne Lundquist Sports Media Institute. Austin Radio personality Ed Clements, a member of the Verne Lundquist Sports Media Institute, will emcee the event.

Verne Lundquist, a longtime Headliners Club member, has been at the center of covering major sporting events for more than 50 years. He began his career at KTBC-TV in Austin, then owned by Lady Bird and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was also the longtime voice of the Dallas Cowboys.

Lundquist joined CBS Sports in 1982 and broadcast more than 20 sports for the network, including national and international coverage of football, basketball, Olympic figure skating, and golf. He retired from covering SEC football in 2016 and continues to cover the Masters and other golf tournaments for the network.

Archie Manning is a former Saints star quarterback who was enshrined in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1988. Drafted in 1971, Manning played 10 seasons for New Orleans. He played in 134 games with 129 starts, accumulating career totals of 1,849 of 3,335 passes for 21,734 yards and 115 touchdowns. He finished his career with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings before retiring following the 1984 season.

Following his retirement from football, Manning settled in New Orleans. He has served as an analyst with Saints’ television and radio broadcasts, and has worked as a commentator for CBS Sports’ college football broadcasts.

Due to renovations at the Headliners Club, this year’s fundraiser will be held at The Line Hotel in Downtown Austin, 111 Cesar Chavez,

Austin, TX 78701. For more information, contact Alison Unger at aunger@headlinersfoundation.org.

Coppell HS newspaper cited

COPPELL – The Sidekick, Coppell High School’s student newspaper, has been named a Crown Award Finalist by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

A Crown Award finalist includes a student-run publication that was selected for its excellence in design, writing, photography and overall coverage. The award is given to student publications in news, magazines, yearbooks and online formats.

Under the leadership of Adviser Chase Wofford, the staff of The Sidekick and coppellstudentmedia.com will receive either a gold or silver

Crown Award during a presentation at Columbia University in New York City on March 21.

According to a Coppell ISD Facebook post, “This prestigious honor is a true ‘headline’ moment for the team, recognizing their dedication to journalistic excellence.”