Midland Reporter-Telegram

What Midland Reporter-Telegram does

Midland Reporter-Telegram is a daily local newspaper founded in 1929 serving Midland and the broader West Texas region, with a particular concentration on Permian Basin energy-sector news. The publication operates print home-delivery, a digital news website (MRT.com), iOS and Android mobile applications, and an e-Edition digital replica platform, giving it a multi-channel reader footprint within its regional market. It is wholly owned and operated under Hearst Newspapers II, LLC through its Midland Publishing Company, LLC subsidiary, drawing on shared technology infrastructure, content syndication, and corporate functions from the broader Hearst Newspapers network alongside other Texas titles such as Beaumont Enterprise, Laredo Morning Times, and Plainview Daily Herald.

The product surface centers on news, sports (including high school athletics and Midland RockHounds minor-league baseball), business, an Oil & Energy section led by a dedicated Oil Editor, entertainment, lifestyle, and government coverage. Adjacent products include a Puzzmo Plus discount partnership offering digital puzzle games, email newsletters and breaking-news alerts, obituary listings via Legacy.com, public-notice and legal-notice publishing services, and special edition publications such as the Oil Report Special Edition, Basin Flavor Magazine, and Grand Home Magazine. The technology stack comprises a digital news platform with e-Edition viewing features, a newsletter delivery system, Puzzmo puzzle integration, and AI-supported functionality for content personalization, ad targeting, and customer-service chatbots.

Commercially, Midland Reporter-Telegram generates revenue through a hybrid subscription and advertising model. Continuous-service print and digital subscriptions with automatic renewal (including EZPay) form a recurring-reader revenue base, supplemented by retail and classified advertising, legal and public notices (a structurally protected stream under Texas publication requirements), obituary placements, sponsored content, display advertising on MRT.com, and special-publication advertising. The publication serves four primary customer segments: local Midland/West Texas residents consuming daily news; Permian Basin oil and energy professionals requiring industry intelligence; local government and legal entities requiring public-notice publication; and educational institutions such as Midland College, alongside a broad base of small and mid-sized local businesses purchasing retail advertising.

Name

Midland Reporter-Telegram

Legal name

Hearst Newspapers II, LLC

Website

https://mrt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Midland Reporter-Telegram is a daily newspaper serving Midland and West Texas, with print, digital, e-Edition, and mobile distribution and dedicated Permian Basin energy coverage, operated as a subsidiary of Hearst Newspapers II, LLC and monetized through subscriptions, advertising, and legal/public notices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC), Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Digital news platform
• Newspaper advertising
• Subscription journalism
• Community news media

Headquarters

HQ city

Midland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery of the print newspaper with continuous service subscription and automatic renewal. Premium days may incur additional fees up to $5.
2. Digital Subscriptions: Online access to MRT.com content, e-Edition, and digital-only subscriptions with tiered access levels and automatic renewal billing.
3. Retail Advertising: Advertising sales to local businesses including display ads, sponsored content, and digital advertising on MRT.com.
4. Classified Advertising: Employment ads, legal notices, public notices, and general classified advertising placed through the classified department.
5. Legal Notices: Publication of legal notices and public notices as required by law, with dedicated email and contact channels.
6. Obituaries/Death Notices: Obituary listings and death notices published in partnership with Legacy.com, with dedicated email and phone contact.
7. Article Gifting: Subscribers can gift up to 10 articles paywall-free every 30 days to non-subscribers, creating potential for subscription conversion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Midland Reporter-Telegram is a daily local newspaper serving Midland and West Texas, delivering local news, sports, business, and Oil & Energy coverage of the Permian Basin across print, website, mobile app, and e-Edition platforms. The publication generates revenue primarily through continuous print and digital subscriptions to individual readers, supplemented by retail, classified, and legal advertising sold to local businesses and government entities. It also publishes obituary listings, public notices, and special interest publications such as the Oil Report and Basin Flavor Magazine.

Product overview

Midland Reporter-Telegram is a local news publication operated by Hearst Newspapers II, LLC, serving Midland and West Texas communities. The company offers a multi-platform news operation comprising its core digital website and mobile application delivering news, sports, business, Oil & Energy, entertainment, and lifestyle content. Subscribers can access content through print subscriptions (home delivery), digital subscriptions (online access), and the E-Edition digital replica. Additional offerings include Puzzmo Plus (discounted puzzle games), newsletter and news alert subscriptions, obituary services via Legacy.com partnership, public notices publishing, and special publications such as Basin Flavor Magazine and Oil Report Special Edition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Midland Reporter-Telegram Digital News Platform The primary digital news platform delivering local news, sports, business, oil and energy coverage, entertainment, and lifestyle content for Midland and West Texas communities via website and mobile applications.
• Print Subscription Home delivery print subscription providing physical newspaper delivery with premium issue access and EZPay automatic recurring billing options, billed monthly.
• Digital Subscription Paid digital access to online content, including unlimited article access, exclusive subscriber features, and e-Edition access with continuous subscription enrollment.
• E-Edition Digital replica of the print newspaper accessible online, featuring the same quality content and familiar navigation tools including page view options, article clipping, printing, bookmarking, and archive access.
• Obituary Publishing Service Death notices and obituary listings managed in partnership with Legacy.com, available through the newspaper and a dedicated obituary platform for families and funeral homes.
• Public Notices Publishing Legal and public notice publishing service for government agencies, businesses, and individuals required to publish official announcements in the newspaper of record.
• Special Publications Special edition publications including Basin Flavor Magazine, Oil Report Special Edition, Readers' Choice Awards, and Grand Home Magazine featuring niche editorial content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Coverage area includes Midland, Martin County, and surrounding West Texas communities in the Permian Basin region

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Legacy.comminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for obituary and death notice services. The publication redirects obituary inquiries to Legacy.com while maintaining dedicated email ([email protected]) and phone ((432) 687-8888) contact channels for death notices.
• Hearst NewspaperscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperated by Midland Publishing Company, LLC under Hearst Newspapers II, LLC, part of the Hearst affiliated network of media companies. Benefits include shared technology infrastructure, content syndication within the Hearst network, and centralized corporate support functions.
• Hearst Community Media (Advertising)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdvertising services provided through Hearst Community Media, with local advertising sales representatives managing retail, classified, and digital advertising accounts.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Odessa American: Daily newspaper serving Odessa and the Permian Basin in West Texas. Directly comparable as a regional daily covering the same oil-and-gas-focused market with overlapping coverage of drilling permits, energy M&A, and local government in adjacent Midland-Odessa counties.
• Laredo Morning Times: Sister Hearst daily serving Laredo and the Texas-Mexico border region. Directly comparable as a Hearst-affiliated Texas daily with the same platform stack, subscription management, and corporate back-office.
• Plainview Daily Herald: Sister Hearst daily serving Plainview in the Texas Panhandle. Comparable as a smaller Hearst-affiliated Texas daily operating with the same subscription and advertising infrastructure as MRT.
• Beaumont Enterprise: Sister Hearst daily serving Southeast Texas. Directly comparable as a fellow Hearst Newspapers II title with identical subscription, e-Edition, and Hearst Community Media advertising infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Houston Chronicle: Flagship Hearst daily serving the Houston metro. Comparable as a Hearst-owned Texas daily with overlapping subscription and digital ad products, but operating at metropolitan scale well beyond MRT's regional footprint.
• Austin American-Statesman: Major Texas daily serving Austin and Central Texas. Comparable as a Hearst-affiliated Texas daily with similar subscription tiers, digital platforms, and advertising sales motion, though operating in a much larger metro market.
• Dallas Morning News: Major Texas metropolitan daily based in Dallas. Comparable as a large-scale Texas daily with subscription, e-Edition, and digital advertising offerings, but competing from a national-tier audience rather than a regional one.

Regional players

• San Angelo Standard-Times: Daily newspaper serving San Angelo and the Concho Valley in West Texas. Comparable as a Hearst-affiliated regional Texas daily with parallel print/digital subscription, classified, and legal notice revenue streams.
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Regional daily newspaper serving Lubbock and the South Plains of West Texas. Comparable as a fellow West Texas daily with a similar subscription-and-advertising model and Hearst-affiliated ownership history.
• Abilene Reporter-News: Daily newspaper serving Abilene and the Big Country region of West Texas. Comparable as a regional Texas daily operating the same print-plus-digital subscription, classified, and public-notice business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mwtnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/thereportertelegram

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midland Reporter-Telegram