Why This Site Exists

Sharpstown is a news desert.

"Really?" you might be thinking. "Don't we have the Houston Chronicle, KHOU, ABC-13, Houston Public Media, and more?"

Sure. But those are all Houston-wide sources. In a metro area of 7.3 million people, Houston-wide news is not truly local.

Just look at the coverage of our neighborhood in the "local" news. Those media sites and stations rarely run stories about Sharpstown (except to mention the latest murder or robbery).

There's more to Sharpstown. I know because I've lived here since August 2019. Plenty of important things happen here but don't get covered in the news. Not just bad things--good things too.

My original hometown--population 964--still has its own weekly print newspaper. Sharpstown, with a population of over 78,000, does not.

In fact, until recently, Sharpstown lacked any consistent source of rigorous, community-focused journalism. The closest we had was SCAN, but it only appears bi-monthly, only gets sent to residents of houses (not apartments), and doesn't publish many investigations or in-depth stories. Local families, schools, churches, and businesses suffer under a journalistic blackout.

That’s where the Sharpener comes in.

Launched on June 2, 2023, this website provides free news to the people of Sharpstown, running stories about local education, culture, government, religion, social issues, and more. We plan to publish a variety of news forms, such as obituaries, investigations, profiles of local pastors and school board members, and other stories.

We'll stick to covering Sharpstown and the surrounding area (Gulfton, Braeburn, Westwood, Alief, Westchase, Mid-West). If it happens right in Sharpstown, it gets priority. If it happens nearby and it's really important, we'll try to cover it too.

If you think there's something in the community that needs to be covered, send an email to sharpstownsharpener@gmail.com or give me a call at 346-626-8355.

Think your kids' teacher is great and doesn't get enough credit?

Think that school policies are hurting your kids' education?

Worried about the rising cost of housing in the area?

Worried about prostitution on the Bissonet Track?

Want to know how to help your homeless neighbors?

Have a tip about something we should investigate?

Tell us. We want to cover what the community wants to know. The list above contains just a few examples, but we're open to all kinds of suggestions.

You'll get 1-2 email newsletters each week with the latest Sharpstown news.
You won't need to worry about missing our articles, because they'll come straight to your inbox!
You'll gain the ability to comment on articles and share your thoughts with our community of local subscribers.
Did I mention it's free?

I look forward to hearing from you!

~Tyess Korsmo, editor-in-chief

Subscribe for Free