The Dallas Morning News is the latest Texas purchase for New York-based media conglomerate Hearst Corp. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Shaggylawn65
Hearst Corp., the owner of the San Antonio Express-News, on Thursday unveiled plans to buy the Dallas Morning News in a transaction that would give the New York-based media conglomerate control of the daily newspapers in Texas’ four biggest metros.

The deal received unanimous approval from both companies’ boards and is expected to close this fall, company officials said. The buyout also includes Morning News owner DallasNews’ Medium Giant marketing agency, which Hearst plans to integrate with its other agency operations.

Hearst’s newspaper arm publishes 28 dailies and 50 weeklies across the U.S. In addition to the Express-News and the Morning News, its Texas holdings include the Houston Chronicle, the Laredo Morning Times, the Beaumont Enterprise, the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Austin-American Statesman, which the company bought earlier this year.

“Hearst Newspapers is committed to supporting the Dallas Morning News’ continued success through smart investments in their digital strategy, compelling journalism and expanded audience reach,” Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst Newspapers, said in a statement.

As other ownership groups have shed operations in the shrinking newspaper business, Hearst has moved fast to expand its Texas market share. Along the way, the conglomerate has streamlined operations in the state and cut its number of newsroom employees and bureaus by centralizing printing, layout work and some types of news reporting.

Some industry observers argue consolidation is needed to avoid additional closures of locally owned news outlets. However, critics maintain the mergers and their resulting job cuts have have harmed the quality of news by replacing local coverage with wire content and national stories.

“Even in urban centers with multiple news outlets, there’s a dearth of local news coverage,” Craig Aaron, co-CEO of media reform group Free Press told the Nation in late 2023. “There have been so many cuts to newsrooms. There are so few journalists working to provide local coverage, to provide a local perspective, that the national conversation is overwhelming the local conversation.”

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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...