Watonga, OK Republican Sold

C. Tim Curtin, 46-year publisher of the Watonga Republican, has sold the Republican and its sister newspaper, The Hinton Record, to the Wesner family publishing group. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Curtin, whose father Gerald Timothy “Cowboy” Curtin was the fifth publisher of the Republican, said the transfer was effective Dec 1, effectively ending 69 years of Curtin family ownership. Brett Wesner, whose family publishes four Oklahoma weeklies, six Texas weeklies, and three Texas-based magazines, said the two newspapers being acquired fit perfectly in the publishing group’s community weekly strategy. Curtin was represented by Rollie Hyde of W. B. Grimes and Company.