Phillips Publishing, LLC acquires Robertson County News, Franklin Advocate

HEARNE – Phillips Publishing, LLC, Dennis and Teresa Phillips, acquired the Robertson County News and Franklin Advocate from Moser Community Media, LLC, on Dec. 1.
The sale was announced in a joint statement by Dennis Phillips and MCM President Jim Moser.
MCM purchased the 130-year-old Robertson County News in 2010. Dennis Phillips has been publisher and Teresa Phillips has been associate publisher in Robertson County since 2012.
The Phillips resurrected the Franklin Advocate and began publishing the weekly newspaper in 2014 to serve Franklin and Bremond. At the same time, they converted the Robertson County News from a county-wide newspaper to one serving Hearne an Calvert. Also during that time, operations moved from renting a building to purchasing the former Smith-Welch Library building from the City of Hearne, establishing the first-ever newspaper-owned building in Robertson County.
“It’s no doubt that our communities and the newspapers were not immune to the effects of the pandemic. We began discussing the sale back in December of 2019, and I’m certain it would have been sooner if not for COVID-19,” Dennis Phillips said. “However with the help of Jim, and the communities at large, we are still here. We are going to remain here and look forward to many, many more years of serving Robertson County.”
Moser praised Dennis and Teresa Phillips as “a cornerstone in the success of the Robertson County News and Franklin Advocate for years. I couldn’t be happier for them.”
While changes are taking place in business operations, Dennis Phillips noted readers “will see the same newspapers they always have with the same community stories, sports and news that matters to Robertson County and their communities.”
Both newspapers are published on Thursday and each newspaper has a website, robconews.com and franklin-advocate.com.