Hays Free Press

Name

Hays Free Press

Legal name

Hays Free Press

Website

https://haysfreepress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1903

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hays Free Press is a privately held community newspaper operating under Barton Publications that delivers hyperlocal news, advertising, classifieds, and public notices to residents and businesses across Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs, and Wimberley in Hays County, Texas via print, web, and mobile channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news coverage
• Classified advertising
• Public notice publishing
• Newspaper subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyle

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. Subscription Revenue: Print and digital subscription services for local newspaper coverage
2. Advertising: Display and classified advertising to local businesses and readers
3. Classifieds and Public Notices: Paid classified listings and public notice publications

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch is a community newspaper publication that provides local news coverage, sports reporting, obituaries, classifieds, public notices, and community event listings for Hays County, Texas (Buda, Kyle, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and surrounding areas). The publication operates in print via physical newspaper racks and subscription delivery, and digitally through a website, e-Editions platform, and mobile apps. It also offers advertising and classified listing services to local businesses and government entities.

Product overview

Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch operates as a unified local news platform offering digital news coverage, classifieds, special editions, and community services for Hays County, Texas. The core product is the main news website (Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch), supported by specialized modules for classifieds, special editions (both publications), e-Editions for digital replicas of print issues, a community calendar for event submissions, and weather forecasting. The classifieds and special editions are offered separately for each publication brand (Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch), while the e-Editions serve as a cross-brand digital archive of printed issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• News-Dispatch: A related local newspaper publication operating under the Hays Free Press banner, serving Hays County, Texas.

Products and services

• Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch Newspaper

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered parent company, core and minor.

• Barton Publicationsparent companyOthersBarton Publications is the parent company operating Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch as community newspapers serving Hays County, Texas.
• 4media.comcoreTechnology or Integration4media.com provides the content management system (CMS) powering the haysfreepress.com website, including the website design, article management, and digital publishing infrastructure.
• etype.servicescoreTechnology or Integrationetype.services provides the e-Editions digital publishing platform, classifieds submission system, and special editions publishing infrastructure for both Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch.
• Greater Buda Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates with Buda Economic Development Corporation and city of Buda on events like the Buda Early Entrepreneurs (BEE) Market to support local community engagement.
• Buda Economic Development CorporationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartners with Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce and city of Buda to host community events supporting local entrepreneurship and economic development.
• City of BudaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates with Buda Economic Development Corporation and Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce on community events such as the Buda Early Entrepreneurs Market.

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adams Publishing Group: Privately held newspaper publisher with a portfolio of community newspapers, shoppers, and specialty publications. Comparable as a multi-title local newspaper operator with subscription and advertising revenue mix.
• Paxton Media Group: Family-owned media company operating daily and weekly community newspapers in the South and Midwest. Closely comparable as a regional/community newspaper operator with similar mix of print, digital, and advertising revenue.
• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned newspaper chain operating community and small-market newspapers across multiple states. Highly comparable business model: local news, subscriptions, advertising, and public notice revenue focused on smaller markets.
• CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.): Operates community newspapers and related digital media products in small and mid-sized U.S. markets. Comparable product offering (local news, public notices, classifieds) and similar target market profile.
• Emmalyn News Media: Texas-based community newspaper publisher operating local titles across the state. Particularly comparable due to geographic overlap (Texas community papers) and similar local news, classified, and public notice business model.

Broad incumbents

• Tribune Publishing: Mid-to-large scale newspaper publisher operating regional and local titles with digital editions. Comparable core business (local news, advertising, subscriptions) but at a larger, multi-market scale.
• Hearst Media (Newspaper Division): Diversified media company with a newspaper division that publishes local and regional news. Comparable in core local news production and public notice revenue, though operating as part of a broader media portfolio.
• Gannett (USA Today Network): Largest U.S. newspaper publisher, operating hundreds of local publications including community newspapers. Comparable in core offering (local news, classifieds, public notices) but at national scale across print and digital.
• Lee Enterprises: Public newspaper chain operating local daily and weekly papers across the U.S. Comparable to Hays Free Press in core business model (local newspaper publishing, subscription + advertising revenues), but operates at much larger scale with a multi-title portfolio.

Emerging players

• Texas Public Notices (texaspublicnotices.com): The state-level public notice aggregation platform that Hays Free Press already feeds into. Comparable as a public notice distribution channel and potential competitive intermediary for the mandate-protected revenue stream.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/haysfreepress
• Facebookfacebook.com/haysfreepress
• Instagraminstagram.com/haysfreepress/?hl=en

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Hays Free Press