MINERAL WELLS, Texas (AP) — The Mineral Wells Index has published its last edition and is merging with a sister newspaper.
The 120-year-old newspaper said in a May 23 online post that it was publishing its last edition and merging this week with The Weatherford Democrat nearby, which will cover both cities.
“The coronavirus pandemic has burdened businesses with steep losses in revenue. The Mineral Wells Index is no exception,” the Index said in the post.
Mineral Wells is a city of 15,000 residents about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Fort Worth. Weatherford is situated between Mineral Wells and Fort Worth.
Even before the the coronavirus, newspapers were in trouble with advertising revenue steadily declining as readers increasingly got news online.
In the past 15 years, at least 2,100 cities and towns have lost a paper, most of them weeklies, and newsroom employment has shrunk by half since 2004.
The Index’s website says it was established in 1900 and is owned and operated by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which also owns The Weatherford Democrat.
