| ASP Westward | |
| Industry: | Newspaper |
| Predecessors: | --> |
| Founders: | --> |
| Successors: | --> |
| Areas Served: | --> |
| 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]