According to an article posted beneath the top story on its website homepage, the sale includes the newspaper as well as Medium Giant, DallasNews Corp.’s “integrated creative marketing agency.”
“The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors from both companies and is expected to close in September or October,” the article states.
Once the deal is final, Hearst will own four of the five largest newspapers in Texas among its collection of nearly 30 newspapers. Heart acquired the Austin American-Statesman in February, and also owns the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. Also in Texas, Hearst owns the Beaumont Enterprise, Midland Reporter-Telegram and Laredo Morning Times. That is a whole lot of daily Texas news going out under one company's banner.
— Everton Bailey Jr. (@EvertonBailey) July 10, 2025
“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 shared with the Morning News. “This move aligns squarely with our strategy of backing trusted, high-impact local media brands in growth markets.”
The Morning News wrote that DallasNews shareholders “will get $14.00 per share, which is 319% more than the July 9 closing price of $4.39. That puts the value of the company, Texas’ oldest continually operating company, at $74.9 million.”
The major news apparently surprised at least some of the local paper’s staffers, prompting social media responses from some of the outlet’s reporters.
Public safety reporter Maggie Prosser posted her reaction to X on Thursday morning, writing, “great week to wake up and find out — from a story in your own newspaper — that your newsroom got bought by hearst. big crash out incoming.”
We reached out to a couple of newsroom staffers to ask whether they were aware of the sale before this morning’s article was published, but didn’t receive immediate responses. Another notable DMN writer, City Hall reporter Everton Bailey, tweeted the announcement article with a single-word caption: “Wow.”
A statement from the paper's union, the Dallas News Guild, confirmed that the deal was not expected.
"The Dallas News Guild was surprised to learn this morning about the sale of our company to global media giant Hearst. We learned at the same time as the public," the statement posted to social media read. "As a group of journalists, it’s not surprising that we have a lot of questions for both The News’ and Hearst executives. The experiences of our colleagues at other Hearst newspapers have left us with concerns that we look forward to discussing with Hearst leadership. We are talking with our peers at unionized Hearst papers nationwide."
