The Waco Tribune-Herald has been a presence in Central Texas since 1892. The Tribune-Herald's family tree includes five newspapers:
• Waco Evening Telephone (founded 1892)
• Waco Morning Times
• Waco Herald
• Waco Morning News
• Waco Tribune

Through the years, ownership of the various newspapers changed hands until 1927, when E.S. Fentress and Charles Marsh, owners of the Waco News-Tribune, bought the Waco Times-Herald. Those two papers were the beginning of the chain known as Newspapers Inc., a group that grew to include 13 daily newspapers with Waco as the headquarters.

Harlon Fentress, son of E.S. Fentress, ran Newspapers Inc. until late 1975, when he decided to sell the chain to Cox Enterprises Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. Cox bought Newspapers Inc. in January 1976.

The Tribune-Herald building was remodeled inside and out in the mid-1980s. The owners made a commitment to stay at 900 Franklin, the heart of downtown Waco. Since the early 1990s, the downtown has made a comeback from an area of vacant, rundown shops to a treasure for shoppers, diners, museum-goers and those seeking parks in which to relax.

As newspaper circulations declined nationwide in the 21st century and a deep recession impacted the corporation's bottom line, Cox decided to sell most of its newspaper holdings. The Trib was sold to Waco businessman Clifton Robinson in the summer of 2009, returning the hometown company to local ownership for the first time in over 30 years.

The newspaper has been cited for its dedication to quality and journalistic excellence. One of its biggest contributions to literacy is A Storybook Christmas. Despite the project's name, the Trib welcomes donations of new books or funds with which to buy books from January through December.

Since it began in 1991, Storybook Christmas has placed more than 125,000 new books in the hands of children ages 3 to 8 who did not have books of their own before. Donations are tax-deductible and may be mailed to: