Deed records indidcate that a newspaper was being published in Hopkins County as early as 1854. It was known as the "Texas Star" and was located in Tarrant, which then served as county seat. In 1855, the printing presses were purchased by William Wortham, who moved the equipment to Bright Star (later Sulphur Springs) and founded a paper he called the "Independent Frontier." In 1864, Wortham renamed it the "Sulphur Springs Gazette" and retained ownership until 1898. The "Echo" was founded by Ezra Tate in 1878 as a competitor to the "Gazette." During its 39-year ownership by the Tate family, the "Echo" acquired two other local publications, the "Evening News" and the "Morning Telegram." The Tate family merged these newspapers into the "Daily News-Telegram," while also maintaining the weekly "Echo." During 1917, the Bagwell Company gained ownership of the "Echo." The "News-Telegram," "Daily Gazette," and "Weekly Gazette" were later purchased and formed into one daily publication known as the "Daily News-Telegram." The "Echo" was maintained as a weekly. A central printing company, Echo Publishing Co., purchased the publications in 1951.