''Community Impact'' is a chain of local monthly newspapers delivered for free to homes and businesses in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. John P. Garrett is the CEO and founder, along with his wife Jennifer Garrett. In May 2022, ''Community Impact'' had more than 40 print editions delivering to more than 2.7 million mailboxes in the Austin, Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth and San Antonio areas.

History

In September 2005, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' published by JG Media, Inc. launched its first edition in Round Rock and Pflugerville, Texas. There were six employees including the founder and publisher, John P. Garrett, and the company met in the game room in John's house. Garrett was a former Advertising Director of the ''Austin Business Journal'' before he started ''Community Impact Newspaper.'' In its first five years, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' added about 60 employees and launched 10 community newspapers, including its first in the Houston Metro area in September 2009. In 2010, in a period of heavy layoffs at newspapers and throughout the

legacy media In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

industry, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' experienced growth, and pushed the idea that "Print Ain't Dead." After expanding into the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area in March 2011, the media company was featured by Editor & Publisher, CISION and CultureMap Austin. In late 2012, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' announced plans to build a new $2.5 million headquarters in Pflugerville, TX, and the 16,000-square-foot building was completed in December 2013. John P. Garrett was featured in

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

shortly after the announcement. In June 2015, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' announced it would invest in a $10 million printing facility at its headquarters to begin printing all newspaper editions starting in 2016. Eight months after the company's 10-year anniversary in September 2015, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' launched its 21st local newspaper edition. Nine editions are in the Austin metro area, 10 editions in the Houston metro area and four editions the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area. The company employs about 200 "Impacters" in five offices throughout the state. ''Community Impact Newspaper'' has received 106 awards for writing and design from the

National Newspaper Association The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, FL based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. The organization has over 2,300 members, making it the largest newspaper trade association in the United States. The organiza ...

since 2007, including 16 Better Newspaper Contest awards in 2016. ''Community Impact Newspaper'' has also been named to Inc. Magazine's top 5000 fastest-growing companies for seven consecutive years, from 2011–2016. Additionally, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' in 2016 opened a 36,000-square-foot printing facility adjacent to its headquarters in Pflugerville. Community Impact Printing, a $10 million press operation, prints all of the newspaper editions produced by ''Community Impact Newspaper'' staff. While the company is intensely focused on its quality print product, efforts to competitively expand daily news coverage online accelerated in 2016 In 2018, ''Community Impact Newspaper'' announced its first launch outside of Texas into Phoenix, Arizona, debuting its first area edition in Gilbert.{{Cite news, url=https://communityimpact.com/corporate/press-release/news/2018/05/29/community-impact-newspaper-will-launch-in-phoenix-metro-area-finds-first-home-in-town-of-gilbert-in-september-2018/, title=Community Impact Newspaper will launch in Phoenix Metro area; finds first home in Town of Gilbert in September 2018 {{! Community Impact Newspaper, work=Community Impact Newspaper, access-date=2018-08-13, language=en-US

Markets

As of 2022 the following markets are being served with various individual editions: * Austin metro area including

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

, Williamson County,

Hays County Hays County is located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. Hays County is part of the Austin- Round Rock metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067. The county seat is San Marcos. H ...

and

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels. ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

metro area including

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...

, Harris County,

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

, Montgomery County and Galveston County * Dallas , Fort Worth Metroplex including

Tarrant County Tarrant County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, it had a population of 2,110,640. It is Texas' third-most populous county and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 2 ...

, Collin County,

Denton County Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establis ...

and

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

*San Antonio metro area The newspaper is mailed to all households and businesses in the given area assuring widespread circulation. It is a non-subscription based newspaper and comes free in the mail each month. However, subscriptions are available for those outside of the circulation area.

References

Newspapers published in Austin, Texas Monthly newspapers Hyperlocal media Local mass media in the United States Newspaper companies of the United States