Ector County Newspapers

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1895, a man named William C. Griffin, better known around these parts as Uncle Billy Griffin, made his way from Midland to Odessa with something on his mind.

He was going to start a newspaper. And he did. Ector County's very first, the Odessa Weekly News.

Now, you might think that's the beginning of a long and celebrated run. And you would be wrong. The Weekly News lasted one year.

One. Gone. But here's the thing about West Texas and the newspaper business.

They kept trying. Six more short-lived weekly publications followed, one after another, each giving it a go, each folding up like a map in the wind. Then came August of 1927, and something started to stick.

The Odessa Times and the Odessa News both began production. Two papers, same town, going at it. That didn't last either, not separately anyway.

In October of 1928, the two weeklies were merged into the Odessa News-Times. Now we're getting somewhere. Out in the oil boom of the 1930s, the towns of Penwell and Goldsmith each briefly supported their own papers, the only Ector County newspapers ever published outside of Odessa.

Boom times bring big ambitions. Then 1936 brought Ector County's first daily newspaper, the Daily Bulletin. The News-Times followed right behind with its own daily in 1937.

Two dailies, one county, and it couldn't hold. On October 2, 1940, a man named R. Henderson Shuffler consolidated the Daily Bulletin and the News-Times into a single paper, the Odessa American.

He ran it until August 11, 1945, when he sold it. Ownership changed hands twice more after that, until August 13, 1948, when Raymond Cyrus Hoiles of Freedom Newspapers, Incorporated, purchased it. V.

L. DeBolt was appointed publisher and held that position for twenty-six years. The Odessa American has outlasted five competitors since its first publication, and has been published right at this very site since 1951.

Uncle Billy Griffin came to Odessa with a dream and a printing press, and the paper that finally took root is still standing where he planted the idea.

What the marker says

In 1895, William C. "Uncle Billy" griffin came to Odessa from Midland and began publishing Ector County's first Newspaper, the Odessa "weekly news'. The "weekly news" lasted only a year, and was followed by six other short-lived weekly publications until Agu. 1927, when production of Odessa "times" and Odessa "news" began. In Oct. 1928, the two weekly papers were merged as the Odessa "news-times". The towns of penwell and Goldsmith supported for a short time, during the oil boom of the 1930s, the only Ector County newspapers known to have been published outside of Odessa. The first daily newspaper, the "daily bulletin", began in 1936. The "news-times" followed with a daily in 1937. On Oct. 2, 1940, R. Henderson shuffler consolidated the "daily bulletin" and the "news-time" into the Odessa "Amerinca", which he sold on Aug. 11, 1945. Ownership of the newspaper changed twice before Aug. 13, 1948, when it was purchased by Raymond Cyrus Hoiles of freedom newspapers, Inc. V. L. Debolt was appointed publisher and has held that position for 26 years. The Odessa "American" has withstood brief competition from 5 newspapers since its first publication and has been published at this site since 1951.