Founded in 2005 by John and Jennifer Garrett, Community Impact serves more than 2.5 million residents across the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio metros with its monthly, full-color print newspapers and daily digital products. The company’s tagline, “News Everyone Gets,” highlights key points in CI’s overarching mission—to provide trusted news and local information using an explanatory format and a free delivery method accessible to all.
Since 2022, Community Impact has focused its expansion plans within the state of Texas, knowing there are still many communities underserved by hyperlocal news organizations. For example, last month CI announced additional growth in Dallas-Fort Worth with the launch of its Prosper and Celina market. In Central Texas, there is more room to grow as well.
Bastrop city officials first visited Community Impact headquarters several years ago, shortly after the company opened its new printing facility. They shared information about their booming community, their need for news coverage, and even listed preliminary advertiser support they had gained, knowing CI relies on this as opposed to traditional paid subscriptions. Fast-forward to 2023, and the expansion is set to be Community Impact’s 40th market.
The Bastrop expansion will be led by Community Impact’s Texas Group Publisher Traci Rodriguez, who has been with the company since 2006. Rodriguez launched the Northwest Austin edition as an account executive and since then has partnered with CI publishers across metros to launch printed products first and build digital from the ground up.
“For our Bastrop launch we decided to flip our expansion strategy on its head and test a digital-first model we are calling CI Light,” Rodriguez said. “We love a good double entendre—CI Light means we want to shine a light on the community with high-quality, local journalism while also making a lighter investment using digital platforms to build our brand and make connections in the community, while helping build the foundation for the CI printed edition to follow.”
Community Impact’s newsletter is delivered at 6 a.m. each weekday morning, featuring content written by the company’s team of journalists. Each edition features multiple local stories including school board and city council coverage, local business news, and metro and statewide content. More than 120,000 unique subscribers—and growing—receive the daily emails for their community.
“Our award-winning newsletters are loved by thousands of readers across Texas. From education and government to events and restaurant openings, the CI Morning Impact has everything locals need to know on a daily basis, presented in a fun and easy-to-read format,” Community Impact’s Digital Manager Morgan O’Neal said. “I’m thrilled Bastrop residents will soon be able to start their weekdays feeling informed on the issues that matter most to them, and have unlimited access to unbiased news at their fingertips.”
Residents can sign up now to receive the inaugural newsletter on Sept. 5, and local businesses can partner with Community Impact for their marketing needs by contacting Traci Rodriguez at [email protected].
Community Impact is the largest community-focused newsroom in the state and touts the largest print circulation in the country, covering local businesses, transportation and road projects, development, health care and government. For more information on the company, visit www.communityimpact.com/corporate-about/.
