By Sierra Martin, Terra Rivers, and Melissa Jewett
San Marcos Corridor News has been reporting on the incredible communities in the Hays County area for eight years now. It’s been a whirlwind that our staff has taken great pride in. While our team has sacrificed time with loved ones, sleep and weekends, we’ve come to see each other and the community we serve as family.
But today, we must inform our readers that the presses will soon stop. Our website will always be live and will remain accessible to our readers in the years to come. All (21,508) of the articles we’ve published in the last eight years will be archived and remain available to read.
Corridor News has been with Hays County through the excessive and unpredictable growth, the Memorial Day and Halloween floods of 2015, changes in local leadership, a pandemic, the snowstorm of 2021, and countless milestones in the region. Throughout it all, we have been committed to providing accessible news that directly affects the lives of our readers. Our status as a small independent hard news media outlet allowed us the flexibility to investigate stories that other media outlets might have found polarizing.
At Corridor, we’ve always believed that news affecting the lives of the community should not come at a financial cost to our readers. And we continue to maintain that belief. The publication has committed itself to the community by avoiding extensive ad networks like Google Ads in favor of advertisements for small, local businesses.
“We have always believed that the news that affects your life should not come at a financial cost to you,” said Melissa Jewett, Publisher of San Marcos Corridor News. “We made a promise to our readers when we went live to stay free…without subscription costs. The only way we have been able to stay in business for eight years is through our advertisers, to whom we are truly grateful. They have allowed us to continue to bring you local and regional news at zero cost.”
As publisher, Melissa has been tremendously dedicated to Corridor News. The publication’s success would not have been possible without her innovative vision, diligence, sacrifice, ethics, and leadership. She would like to thank her husband and daughter, who have always supported her decisions and focus on the paper. And she wants our readers to know that she will not be disappearing from San Marcos or Hays County.
While Corridor’s doors may be closing, she hopes to continue serving the community in other ways in the future. Corridor Media, an affiliate company of Corridor News, will remain open and continue to provide web services for its current clients and any potential future ones.
Terra Rivers, our previous Managing Editor of five years, was a Texas State University Alumni and built a beautiful website for Corridor News. In her years with Corridor, she helped expand the paper to what it is today, and we miss her greatly. Terra continues to help maintain the website as a member of Corridor Media, and we are fortunate to have such a talented individual as a member of the Corridor family.
“I fell in love with the idea of giving a voice to the community by sharing their stories and providing information on the topics and issues that mattered to them,” Terra said. “I am so grateful to Corridor News, Melissa, and the region for the opportunity and years that I was able to follow that passion. I miss serving the community the way I did with Corridor News, and I am grateful for the lessons and opportunities I’ve had.”
Terra said that the 18 hours a day, 7 days a week that were required were worth it. She will always see many of Corridor News’ partners and staff as family.
Our current Managing Editor, Sierra Martin, is also a Texas State University Alumni and has shown her dedication to reporting on news significant in the region throughout her time with us over the past year and a half. She also looked at new ways to engage with readers by producing the Corridor Weekly News Recaps, videos covering the biggest stories in Hays County every week.
“I am incredibly grateful I have had the opportunity to be the Managing Editor of San Marcos Corridor News, and it is an experience I will never forget,” said Sierra. “Hays County is truly full of remarkable people, and it has been a privilege to report on issues of importance to the community. Melissa Jewett is inspiring in her dedication to Corridor News, and I am very thankful for her guidance and mentorship during my time with the paper.”
We want to thank the many Texas State University interns we have had over the years, including Amira Van Leeuwen, Kevin Baxter, Jirah Simpson, Christopher Green, Ireland Sargent, Megan Kim, and Aaliyah Rosario. We appreciate the contributions they made to Corridor News and are grateful to have had such talented young professionals help us expand our coverage of the community.
Most importantly, we’d like to thank our advertisers who have supported us through our journey. La Cima SMTX, Sommers Marketing, Premier Cuts, Texas Roadhouse, The Damron Group, Priority Personnel, ColorMix Graphics, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, and Morris & Bermudez Attorneys at Law, to name a few. These last eight years are entirely thanks to you.
We also appreciate the St. David’s Foundation‘s thoughtful donation that came as such a surprise to Corridor News.
It has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Hays County, and we are grateful to our readers who have supported us. There were undoubtedly differing opinions and controversy with some of the articles we’ve written, whether it was the reason behind a bond or the financial records of a local political figure. But we want to thank you for your continued support through it all. The little notes of appreciation for our work profoundly impacted our staff and helped us through the hard days!
We’re sad to stop publishing but are tremendously proud of the work we have produced and the impact we’ve made on the community. We wish for bright and brilliant futures for our staff and interns. And we look forward to the ways each of us will continue to serve the Hays County Community.
Take a look back with us at some of the more popular stories we’ve shared with readers over the last eight years.
To contact San Marcos Corridor News, please email us at news@smcorridornews.com.
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A sad day :(
Nic...thank you for always backing my decisions and sharing your mom with Corridor!
Melissa,
I will truly miss knowing you and your staff are out beating the bushes. You are amazing and I am happy to call you my friend.
Linda,
Thank you for your kind words and I am proud to call you my friend as well.
You will be so missed. Thanks for all that you have done over the years to keep us informed.
Lila,
Thank you for all your kind words and for everything you have done for the history of Hays County. I have more respect for you than most people I know. Your advice and kindness have helped me guide Corridor and for that, I will always be grateful.
This is sad news. I am sorry to learn that you are closing. The community was in need of truthful, fact setting news and Corridor News was the answer. Best wishes to everyone. Naomi Narvaiz
Naomi,
Thank you! We have always put truth and ethics in front of political agendas. Thank you for always reading!
You have done a great job Melissa.
Thank you for your kind words. It was a hard decision but it came down to the fact that I'm tired of working 18 hour days, weekends and holidays. A big part of me believes I am letting down our community but it is time for me to start working on things I have let slide over the last eight years. Thank you for always reading and the attagirls you have thrown my way as it helped to keep me going.