Media News

Fort Worth Star-Telegram puts Fort Worth back in the name

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Photo courtesy of VishwaGujarat.com

The newspaper formerly known as the Star-Telegram has put the "Fort Worth" back in its name, as a symbol of its dedication to local news.

The name change to Fort Worth Star-Telegram took place on March 10. According to a statement from the paper, the return of the city in the name comes after an absence of nearly 20 years.

"That move made sense two decades ago," the statement read. "Fort Worth was expanding, and, as that happened, Arlington and Northeast Tarrant County tried to decide whether they aligned more with Fort Worth or Dallas. At the same time, local media companies battled to expand their footprints with readers and businesses across all of those fast-growing communities."

"Almost two decades later, we are bringing 'Fort Worth' back to the Star-Telegram to signal our commitment to the citizens of Fort Worth and our intention to produce local journalism that is essential to this community. And the best place to start is with the name, a brand that traces its roots back to 1906."

Although "Fort Worth" is now part of the name, the newspaper intends to continue covering all of Tarrant County, stating, "Nowadays, we stand for what Fort Worth is all about. And we know that city pride is shared across many neighboring communities, from Arlington, to Burleson, to White Settlement, to Saginaw, to Haltom City and beyond."

Other changes in the works include:

an increase in local Fort Worth editorial coverage
the hiring of four new reporters in areas such as breaking news and investigations, as well as a new local news editor
two pages added to the Wednesday and Sunday print editions featuring a combination of local, national, and international news
a new Sunday column celebrating Fort Worth's history and heritage

Hiring four new reporters counteracts numerous layoffs in the past few years by McClatchy, the FWST's owner, who most recently offered buyouts in February to 10 percent of its workers at newspapers across the country. Among those at the FWST who took the buyout were veteran newsroom staffers Sandy Guerra-Cline, Max Faulkner, Robert Philpot, and Tom Uhler.

The newspaper's commitment to the digital reinvention of its newsroom earned it a major award in February, when the Star-Telegram was named the "Online Newspaper of the Year" at the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors convention.

It was one of 13 awards the newspaper won, in a division that includes the largest newspapers in Texas. It won awards for Editorial Writing, Video Longer Than Two Minutes, Specialty Reporting, Online Package, Star Investigative Report, Team Effort, Online Live Coverage, Breaking News Report, Celeste Williams Sportswriter of the Year, and Sports Feature.

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Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."