| Industry | Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | 1013 Communications |
| Parent | Hearst Corporation |
ASP Westward, L.P. , or "Westward," [1] was a local newspaper company, headquartered in Greenspoint, Houston. [2] [3] It is owned by 1013 Communications of Reno, Nevada. [4]
| Industry | Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | 1013 Communications |
| Parent | Hearst Corporation |
ASP Westward, L.P. , or "Westward," [1] was a local newspaper company, headquartered in Greenspoint, Houston. [2] [3] It is owned by 1013 Communications of Reno, Nevada. [4]
In Greater Houston ASP Westward did business as Houston Community Newspapers (HCN), [5] operating a chain of 28 local newspapers. [4] This division was headquartered in Greenspoint, Houston. [6] In 2016 the Hearst Corporation, the parent company of the Houston Chronicle , acquired HCN. [7]
HCN operated several newspapers based out of different offices. Its Southwest Office-Central had the operations of the West U Examiner, River Oaks Examiner, Bellaire Examiner, Memorial Examiner, The Rancher of Katy, and the Sugar Land Sun. Its South Office-Clear Lake has the Bay Area Citizen, Deer Park Broadcaster, Friendswood Journal, Pasadena Citizen, and Pearland Journal. Its Northeast Office - Humble had the operations of the Atascocita Observer, the East Montgomery County Observer, the Humble Observer, the Kingwood Observer, and the Lake Houston Observer. The North Office - The Woodlands had operations of the Spring Observer and The Woodlands Observer. The operations of The Courier were based out of the North Office-Conroe. The Northeast Office-Cleveland housed the operations of the Cleveland Advocate , the Dayton News, and the Easttex Advocate. The Northwest Office - Tomball housed the operations of the Cypress Creek Mirror, the Magnolia Potpourri, and the Tomball Potpourri. The Mirror had Cypress/Cy-Fair and Champions/Klein divisions. [8]
In April 2006, prior to the purchase of the Examiner Newspaper Group, another local newspaper company, HCN had 31 newspapers. [9] In 2006 George Boehme sold the Examiner Newspaper Group to ASP Westward, [10] for $2.1 million. [5] At the time, the purchase price was not disclosed. [9]
HCN hired Boehme as a regional publisher and he held this job for one year. In May 2007, Boehme stopped working for the company. He started InstantNewsNetwork.com Inc. weeks after he left HCN. [5] Boehme announced on January 7, 2008, that it would purchase FortBendNow.com Inc. from Bob Dunn. Later that month HCN announced that it was suing Boehme for violating non-soliciation and non-competition provisions of the purchase agreement. [10]
In 2006 the Houston Press ranked the Fort Bend/Southwest Sun the "Best Community Newspaper Houston 2006". [11]
In 2010 the Houston Press ranked the Examiner Newspaper Group division of the HCN the "Best Community Newspaper Houston 2010". [12]
1013 Communications, a Reno, Nevada company, acquired the company including the HCN group in 2012. [4] In 2016 the Hearst Corporation, the parent company of the Houston Chronicle , acquired HCN. [7] As part of the deal the Examiner papers became a part of the Hearst Corporation. [13]
Ray Biggerstaff was the publisher of The Woodlands Villager and The Courier from 2011 to 2013. [14]
In portions of East Texas ASP Westward did business as East Texas Community Newspapers (ETCN). This division was headquartered in Longview, [15] and before that, in Carthage. [16]
As of 2014, the ETCN newspapers included: [15]
In June 2012 Texas Community Media LLC announced that it had agreed to purchase multiple newspapers from ASP Westward. These papers included the daily Longview News-Journal , the Marshall News Messenger , and twelve weekly newspapers. The weeklies included, the Atlanta Citizens Journal, The Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal, the Bowie County Citizens Tribune, the Cass County Sun, The Daingerfield Bee, The Gladewater Mirror, The Grand Saline Sun , the Lindale News & Times, the Mineola Monitor , the Panola Watchman, The Pittsburg Gazette, and the Wood County Democrat . The weekly and daily newspapers had a combined circulation of almost 300,000, with the News-Journal having an over 23,000 daily paid circulation. [17]
Colorado Community Newspapers was headquartered in Castle Rock and included: Castle Rock News-Press, Centennial Citizen, Douglas County News-Press, Elbert County News, Gleneagle/Black Forest, Highlands Ranch Herald, Littleton Independent, Lone Tree Voice, Parker Chronicle, Pikes Peak Courier View, Teller County Extra, The Tribune/Monument, and Tri-Lakes Tribune/Tri-Lakes. [18]