Evolution of a newspaper. (Austin Business Journal)(Focus: 10th Anniversary Issue)

When the Austin Business Journal made its debut in February 1981, the Austin economy was taking aim at a succession of boon years.

The pages of the fledgling monthly tabloid were plastered with positive news. It was good public relations.

Business was upbeat and stories focused on the favorable Austin housing market and the flurry of construction of high-rise offices. It was a time when banks were healthy and new concrete and glass monuments to the banking industry were being erected all over town.

Barton Creek Square was going up, and the old Armadillo World Headquarters was tumbling down, signaling a new era for the city.

A new kind of bird, the building crane, became a popular sight around down.

The Austin Business Journal initially sold for $1 each, the same price as today's weekly editions. Many of the early articles were written by professionals in the investment, real estate, insurance and …