Industry News

News about Texas newspapers published in the October 2025 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

South Texas News acquires Brenham Banner-Press

BRENHAM — South Texas News, Inc., a Texas-based media company owned by Albert Reynolds, in early September acquired The Banner-Press in Brenham from a partnership led by Fred Hartman.

Founded in 1866 as the Southern Banner by John Gilbert Rankin, the newspaper became The Brenham Banner-Press in 1926 and made history in 1917 as the first daily newspaper in Texas to hire a female editor. The Banner-Press continues its commitment to community coverage, local traditions and serving as a trusted news source for Washington County.

South Texas News, based in Beeville, was founded by Reynolds, who began his career with a 20-year tenure at the Beeville Bee-Picayune, a newspaper with a rich heritage dating back to 1886. Reynolds purchased that newspaper and other county titles in 2023 and has continued expanding the company’s portfolio, which now includes 10 Texas community newspapers.

“It has been an honor to work with Mr. Hartman throughout this process, and we are committed to carrying forward his family’s proud legacy,” said Reynolds. “We remain dedicated to ensuring that The Banner-Press not only upholds its 159-year tradition of excellence, but also continues to grow and adapt to serve the evolving needs of our readers. “A strong local newspaper is the heartbeat of a community, and our mission is to keep that heart beating strong for generations to come.”

“It’s been a pleasure for my family to be involved with The Banner-Press going back to the mid 1960s, with Bob Gilmore coming in as publisher and then Charles Moser taking over for 40 great years after that,” said Hartman. “It was important for us to leave The Banner-Press in good hands, and we feel like we’re doing that with Albert. He and his company are committed to quality journalism and being good stewards of the newspapers they publish.”

Lockhart Post-Register introduces new tourism magazine

Being the Barbecue Capital of Texas,  Lockhart is host to hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. 

Only a 25 minute drive from Austin, the many towns in Caldwell County have so much to offer. 

When new Post-Register Publisher Leesa Teale came on board in November of 2024,  she noticed there wasn’t a tourist/visitor’s guide to allow people to become familiar with events, businesses and highlights in a collaborated format. 

When new Editor Anthony Collins joined the staff, the idea was discussed again and soon they brought the idea to fruition. Launching their first, full color, 40 page, quarterly magazine in April, ‘The Caldwell Compass’ now is a staple for the readers of the Post-Register as well as those visiting. 

The magazine offers stories on events, people, places and all things great about Caldwell County. The magazine is free and can be found at chambers of commerce, visitors centers, advertisers and other highly trafficked locations. The excitement behind such a piece allowed the next publication in July to grow to 48 pages. 

The stories paired with the advertising of local businesses welcoming the visitors to stop in has made the piece one that people can’t wait for the next issue to come out in October. To see the July 2025 edition visit: bit.ly/4onV1bN.

Copperas Cove Leader-Press closes office; staff works remotely

COPPERAS COVE - After 15 years at its present location, the offices of the Copperas Cove Leader-Press have closed their doors — but the Leader-Press still covers the local news, Associate Publisher Lynette Sowell wrote in announcement published Sept. 19.

Sowell said the present full-time staff will work remotely while providing news coverage for the community and marketing opportunities for local businesses.

“The decision to close the brick-and-mortar office wasn’t made easily,” said publisher David Morris, adding that “COVID changed the way people do business, how they want news delivered and like most things – contactless. Our news staff has worked remote since 2017 and we transitioned into a storage of decades of archives being the primary use of our office space post COVID.” 

Morris noted that contacts have been updated on the newspaper’s digital footprint to reflect the transition. All mail can be sent to P.O. Box 370, Copperas Cove, TX 76522. 

The Leader-Press’ decades of local archives, hardbound and microfilm, are kept in climate-controlled storage where circulation staff work weekly to prepare the printed publication for distribution.

Stringer reporters as well as the editor continue to cover events and local government meetings, ribbon cuttings and other news. 

Currently, the Leader-Press is on a waiting list to digitize its bound books along with decades of microfilms. The goal ultimately is to preserve those documents which reflect the history, business, government and community of Copperas Cove and be searchable.

The website remains www.coveleaderpress.com and phone is (254) 630-2188.

All Paragraph Ranch newspapers publish on Fridays now

SPUR - All Paragraph Ranch LLC newspapers are now Friday publications.

Publisher Kay Ellington announced Sept. 4 that the Texas Spur, the Caprock Courier in Silverton and the Floyd County Hesperian Beacon in Floydada were switching to Friday publications.

The decision wasn’t made lightly, and it ultimately wasn’t up to us,” Ellington wrote. “It’s a ripple effect for newspapers across the Texas South Plains that have depended for years on the giant presses at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal for their weekly printing.”

She added that the “Paragraph Ranch LLC newspaper group, with its five weeklies serving ten contiguous counties east of Lubbock, quickly secured slots on another press that we expect to continue, and even improve on, our high standards of printing and mail preparation.”

She noted local staff at the company’s Spur central office is responsible for outbound delivery to post offices and newsstands across a 100-mile radius.