Texan News Service, JTAC newspaper combine under one roof

The Texan News Service (TNS) at Tarleton State University has assumed management of The JTAC, according to faculty adviser Austin Lewter. 

Effective fall 2024, students will be served by one printed newspaper. 

“This change will benefit our readers and journalists greatly,” Lewter said. “A university having two student newspapers is fairly uncommon and has been confusing here at times.” 

Lewter said an agreement was reached earlier this spring whereby the 125-year-old JTAC will replace the print edition of the TNS. 

As such, The JTAC has been moved out of the Office of Student Media.

Being published by the TNS means The JTAC will be housed within the Department of Communication Studies, Lewter said. 

“This is ideal,” Lewter said. “We have an amazing faculty in Comms Studies and a great support staff for our students. We are thrilled to bring The JTAC staffers into the fold.” 

“The Grassburr” and “The Source” will stay with Student Media, Lewter said. 

“This means that Tarleton will now have one printed newspaper going forward,” Lewter said. “That printed newspaper will be ‘The JTAC- a publication of the Texan News Service.’ All the existing multi-media channels at the TNS will remain intact. In fact, we plan to expand our news and storytelling capabilities in months to come. We are eyeing email newsletters, more rack locations, growing our audio journalism and podcasts, expanding our publication schedule and a lot more. Stay tuned for more announcements.”

TexanTV will continue to serve the area with quality news broadcast. 

TexanNews.net will remain the organization’s online news platform.

“We are also merging social media platforms,” Lewter said. “The goal is not to contract news coverage. In fact, we are confident this merger will do the opposite— our students’ storytelling capabilities will expand.”  

Founded in 1919, The JTAC is the legacy, official newspaper of Tarleton State University. It has been student-run since day-one and boosts a rich history of award-winning journalism.

“We are humbled to embrace such a rich history and legacy,” Lewter said. “The longevity of The JTAC is not lost on us. We are excited about the next 125 years.” 

Founded in 2007, the Texan News Service was born out of the Department of Communications with the goal of offering a multi-media convergence lab for Tarleton students. 

“The goal of the TNS has always been to offer our students more than just a printed newspaper,” said Chris Gearhart, Department Head in Communication Studies. “Our television studio, podcast lab and news website are all cutting edge. We are thrilled to bring all of Tarleton’s student news in under one roof. The result will be a world class experience for our students.” 

Work is ongoing this summer merging the two staffs and streamlining the two newsrooms into one.

The newsroom is located in Room 396 of the OA Grant Humanities Building. 

All inquiries about The JTAC and/or Texan News Service can be directed to Lewter at [email protected].