Morris Workman, co-owner and founding editor of the Mesquite Local News, will stay on as editor and general manager.

"Stephens Media's acquisition of the Mesquite Local News ensures the long-term success of the newspaper, and provides the national sales muscle that a small, hometown newspaper just can't muster," Workman said.

Workman, Cindi Delaney and Sue Hurley founded the newspaper in 2006. It began as an online-only operation, but reader demand led to creation of a weekly print edition.

"When we started, some people didn't understand the concept of reading the newspaper online each day," Delaney said. "I'm excited to see the future of Mesquite Local News with the power of Stephens Media behind it."

Maintaining the paper's emphasis on local news will be a top priority for Stephens Media, as well as expanding the paper's online presence.

"By focusing first on the Web, the Mesquite Local News really was ahead of its time," said Geoff Schumacher, Stephens Media's director of community publications, who will oversee the operation. "The paper's Web-first philosophy will continue as we strive to best serve the readers of Mesquite."

Stephens Media LLC is a nationwide media company that publishes 11 daily newspapers from Hawaii to North Carolina. Its flagship newspaper is the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The company also publishes 50 weekly newspapers and eight magazines. Stephens Media is the largest newspaper publisher in Nevada. Its Nevada newspapers, in addition to the Review-Journal, include the Pahrump Valley Times, Tonopah Times-Bonanza, Ely Times and Eureka Sentinel.