Port Aransas South Jetty to change ownership

POST ARANSAS – The Port Aransas South Jetty will change ownership effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Longtime owners Mary and Murray Judson are selling the newspaper to general manager Kelli Hartig and editor Dan Parker.

It is only the second change in ownership in the Port Aransas newspaper’s 53 years of existence.

“In planning the transition of the South Jetty from our ownership, we had three criteria. One, that new leadership be committed to seeing to it that the South Jetty continues to thrive and grow; two, that the new leadership is a good fit with our staff; and three, that the new leadership is a good fit for the community,” Mary said.

“Kelli and Dan meet and exceed that criterion. They have taken on the leadership of the South Jetty over the last several years as Murray and I transitioned into semi-retirement. We are confident they will continue to maintain the high journalistic standards of the South Jetty and they will bring the newspaper to a new level to better serve our community.”

The South Jetty was launched in 1971 by 26-year-old Steve Frishman and a college student, Suzanna Reeder. Both lived in Port Aransas, and both would share the title of editor. Frishman bought out Reeder about a year later. In 1981, he sold the South Jetty to the Judsons, who at the time were running the Refugio County Press. The Judsons eventually bought, then sold the County Press. They moved to Port Aransas in 1983 to take over operation of the South Jetty.

The Judsons have been active in TPA, the South Texas Press Association and the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association. They plan to continue their involvement in all three associations, although Murray is no longer eligible to serve on the TPA board, having been appointed a year ago by past-president Jim Bardwell. Mary will continue to serve on the board of the Texas Newspaper Foundation. She is a past president of TPA, and both Mary and Murray are past presidents of STPA and TGCPA.