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 Front page of theAustin American-Statesman, May 30, 2024 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Hearst Communications |
| Founded | 1871; 154 years ago (1871) (as theDemocratic Statesman) |
| Headquarters | 8000 Metropolis Drive Building A. STE. 100 Austin, Texas 78744 |
| Circulation |
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| ISSN | 1553-8451 |
| Website | www |
TheAustin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper forAustin, the capital city of theU.S. state ofTexas. It is owned byHearst Communications. The distribution of the followingThe New York Times,The Washington Post,Associated Press, andUSA TODAY international and national news, but also incorporatesCentral Texas coverage, especially in political reporting. The paper covers the area'smusic scene, especially the annualSouth by Southwest Music Festival, and co-sponsors Austin events such as the Capital 10K, one of the largest10K runs in the U.S., and the Season for Caring charity campaign. In the Austin market, theStatesman competes with theAustin Chronicle, analternative weekly.
In 2009, theAustin American-Statesman ranked 60th in circulation among daily newspapers, according to theAudit Bureau of Circulations.[2] Figures from Scarborough Research show theStatesman — in print and online – reaches 68% of Central Texans in an average week.[3]
Following a national trend among daily newspapers, theStatesman has seen drastic circulation declines in recent years. Austin is one of America's most internet-connected cities, though not ranked in the 25 largest "connected" cities, and in a related trend, theStatesman's daily circulation ranks among those cities seeing drops of 5% or more in recent reports.[4] As compared to a U.S. national decline of 2.1%, theStatesman's daily circulation in the most recent six-month reporting period fell 5.6% to 173,527. Its Sunday circulation fell 5.5% to 215,984. Austin is the 11th-largest city (and the35th-largestmetropolitan area) in the U.S.
The Statesman endorsedGeorge W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections,[5] and Republican governorRick Perry along with every other Republican incumbent in 2006.[citation needed] In the 2008 presidential election, however, the paper endorsedBarack Obama.[5] TheStatesman also provides coverage ofLibertarian Party andGreen Party matters.
Founded as the triweekly[6]Democratic Statesman in 1871, the newspaper was originally allied with thestate Democratic party duringReconstruction. It began daily publication as a morning paper in 1873. After absorbing theAustin Tribune in 1914, it published as the afternoonAustin Statesman and Tribune, then became an evening paper and changed its name to theAustin Evening Statesman in 1916.[7]
A rival paper, the morningAustin American, began in 1914. Waco-based newspapermen Charles E. Marsh and E.S. Fentress bought theAmerican in 1919 and theEvening Statesman in 1924. Merged under one company, the morning and evening papers published separately during the week and combined for a SundayAustin American Statesman edition. The company continued separate titles until 1973, when all products became theAmerican-Statesman, with four editions daily.[7]
Cox Enterprises acquired theStatesman when it bought the Waco newspaper company in 1976. In 1987, theStatesman moved to morning-only publication.[7] In 2008, Cox put theStatesman up for sale with most of its other newspaper holdings to pay down debt.[8] A year later, the company pulled the paper off the market, citing a lack of suitable offers.[9]
The newspaper was part of the subsidiaryCox Media Group, which joined the corporation's television, radio, and newspaper assets under one umbrella in 2008.[10]
TheStatesman was named Texas Associated Press Managing Editors' Newspaper of the Year in 2013, 2014, and 2016,[11] besting Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas.[12][13][14]
In 2015,¡Ahora Sí! was named the best Spanish-language newspaper in the country for its circulation size by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers.[15]
On March 6, 2018, the sale of theStatesman toGateHouse Media from Cox Media Group was announced.[16] Upon taking over in April, GateHouse said theStatesman would be the "flagship" of the expanding chain, noting its existing 240-employee design and editing hub in Austin.[17]
In August 2019, New Media Investment Group, the parent entity of GateHouse Media, announced it had agreed to buyGannett (the longtime parent company ofUSA Today, theArizona Republic, theDetroit Free Press, and several other newspapers),[18][19] and operations would continue under the Gannett rather than GateHouse name, at the Gannett headquarters outside Washington, DC, but under New Media's CEO. The acquisition of Gannett by New Media Investment Group was completed on November 19, 2019.[20] Gannett sold theAustin American-Statesman in February 2025 toHearst Communications.[21]
TheAustin American-Statesman publishes these community weeklies:[22]
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