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February 2018 Newsmakers

Staff changes, promotions at TPA member newspapers.

JASON HENNINGTON
Taylor Daily Press
TAYLOR –  Taylor Press publisher Richard Stone announced that Jason Hennington has been promoted to managing editor of the paper.
“Jason has grown and matured as a newspaper guy these last few years,” said Stone. “This promotion won’t really confer many more responsibilities. Instead, it’s intended to recognize the fact he is already performing the responsibility of managing the bulk of our news product.”
Hennington began his tenure at the Press in March 2013 as a reporter. In early 2014, he was promoted to news editor. 
In that time, Hennington has helped the paper broaden its digital presence and added video reporting to its arsenal. In 2013, he launched the Taylor Press 3-on-3 charity basketball tournament, which has grown stronger each year. He was also part of the reporting team that brought several major statewide press awards to Taylor.
The Taylor native is a 1999 graduate of Taylor High School. While residing in Alpine for 11 years, he graduated from Sul Ross University with a bachelor of communications degree and a master’s degree in liberal arts. Following graduation he worked for the university for four and a half years as a news reporter and photographer before moving his family back to Taylor.
“I’m blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to work at the newspaper I grew up reading,” said Hennington.

LAUREN GUSTUS
TOM JOHANNINGMEIER
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH – Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editor Lauren Gustus is being promoted to regional editor for McClatchy’s California and Idaho newsrooms, the Star-Telegram announced Jan. 13.
Tom Johanningmeier, 52, an 18-year veteran of the Star-Telegram who is now managing editor for sports and projects, was named the interim executive editor.
“Tom brings a wealth of experience, a keen and determined news sense, and a dedication to the multimedia reinvention of the Star-Telegram newsroom that will ensure continuity and continued progress,” said Sean Burke, Star-Telegram president and publisher.
Gustus, 37, will oversee five newsrooms in California and one in Boise, Idaho, owned by McClatchy, the Star-Telegram’s parent company. She will move to Sacramento and begin her new job in February.
Her promotion was among a number of changes announced Friday by McClatchy, which is based in Sacramento and has more than 30 newsrooms across the country, including The Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and the Charlotte Observer.
The company also announced that Robyn Tomlin, managing editor at The Dallas Morning News, will become regional editor for its Carolina newsrooms.
McClatchy is moving to an editorial leadership structure that the company said will allow it to innovate more quickly, collaborate more effectively and serve its readers better.
In the past six months, the Star-Telegram has launched a successful Texas true crime podcast, challenged secrecy in the local court system and shined a light on the neglected Las Vegas Trail area, which spurred revitalization efforts there.
Additionally, in November, the Star-Telegram won three Lone Star Emmys for its groundbreaking video work on Titletown, TX.
“I’m eager to engage readers on all platforms with meaningful journalism that holds our leaders and institutions accountable,” Johanningmeier said.

Vince Leibowitz
Colorado County Citizen
COLUMBUS – Vince Leibowitz, a longtime journalist and native of Mineola, has joined the staff of the Colorado County Citizen as a reporter and staff writer. 
Leibowitz’s previous credits include political coverage for the San Antonio Current from 2006 to 2011, the Fort Worth Weekly, and the American Encyclopedia of Environmental Leaders. 
As editor of the Van Zandt News, Canton Herald, Van Banner and Wills Point Chronicle from 2001 until 2003, he led the newspapers to win to multiple North and East Texas Press Association awards and Texas Press Association awards. He led the Banner to an NETPA Sweepstakes award for the year 2002. Prior to that, he was an assistant news and copy editor for the Tyler Morning Telegraph. 
In 2003, Leibowitz won the Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award for excellence in open government reporting in the weekly division. The award was presented by the Texas Press Association and Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. 
After leaving the newspaper business in 2003, Leibowitz and a partner founded The Dawn Group, a political and communications consulting firm. After consulting for 10 years, Leibowitz founded a real estate company in Dallas, specializing in the sale and purchase of historic homes. 
He is a graduate of Mineola High School and Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he served as editor of the university’s student publications, The East Texan and The Special, the university’s student magazine.

Brendan Miniter
Dallas Morning News
DALLAS – Brendan Miniter, an alumnus of the Wall Street Journal and the George W. Bush Presidential Center, has been named The Dallas Morning News’ new editor of editorials.
The 43-year-old native of New York state takes over Feb. 5 for longtime editorial page editor Keven Ann Willey, who last year announced plans to retire.
Like Willey, Miniter will be a vice president of The News.
Following a national search “with dozens of interesting candidates and a smaller group of very serious applicants  … Miniter emerged as the strongest candidate and the best fit for this institution,” said Mike Wilson, editor of The News.
From 2000 to 2010, Miniter was an assistant editorial page editor at the Wall Street Journal, which included writing a column and crafting political analysis for its “Political Diary” newsletter. He also collaborated with Republican strategist Karl Rove on two books, and with Republican Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana, on another.
Miniter moved to North Texas in 2011 and worked for three years with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, where he was director of scholarship and editorial content. There, he led a team of more than 50 that created a 14,000-square-foot permanent exhibit about the Bush presidency, including 35 films and interactive exhibits and four audio tours.
News officials say Miniter’s selection does not represent a shift to the right.
“The paper is center right now,” Miniter said. “The traditional voice of the paper will stay in that column. The paper’s never shied away from taking heat when it needs to … and that certainly wouldn’t change.”
Wilson said Miniter’s new title also “de-emphasizes the word ‘page,’ with its purely print implications.” The News has embraced a digital-first strategy, which focuses on delivering content beyond the print newspaper pages.
Miniter noted that his career has stretched from small-town journalism to life in “the policy world” to business school. He earned an MBA at the University of Virginia in 2016 and has a bachelor’s degree in history from George Mason University.
In 2014, he left the Bush Center to launch Idea Management, a consulting firm focused on innovation and promoting community engagement.

MICHAEL RODROGUEZ
McAllen Monitor
McALLEN — The Monitor has promoted a Rio Grande Valley journalist and seasoned newsroom leader who, together with the newspaper’s publisher, will oversee its editorial coverage.
Effective immediately, Michael Rodriguez has been tasked with helming the newsroom as deputy editor.
Rodriguez, 36, is a native of San Benito who previously served in a dual capacity as metro editor for The Monitor and editor of its sister paper, the Mid-Valley Town Crier. The 14-year veteran journalist, who has also served as managing editor for community newspapers in San Benito and Port Isabel, will continue leading MVTC’s editorial arm.
In addition, staff members learned Tuesday that Stephan Wingert — regional vice president for AIM Media Texas, which owns The Monitor — will be serving as both publisher and editor.
According to Wingert, these moves are part of a departmental restructuring designed to bolster newspaper operations. Taking such an approach meant eliminating The Monitor’s executive editor position, which Carlos Sanchez held for nearly five years.
“We wish Carlos well in his future endeavors and appreciate his service to our readers and community,” Wingert said. “This is a strategic decision to streamline our news operation. Our readers can continue to expect quality local journalism. We remain committed to being the most trusted source of local news.”

DICEY SCHAUER
Wharton Journal-Spectator
WHARTON – Dicey Schauer has joined the Wharton Journal-Spectator and East Bernard Express staff as a reporter and photographer. 
Schauer returns to Wharton County after graduating from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in December with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and language. 
She is a 2013 graduate of East Bernard High School, where she was on the school’s journalism staff and wrote for the school newspaper, The Brahma Beat. She was also the newspaper’s feature editor. Her family has lived in East Bernard since 2005. 
In addition to covering news and feature stories for the Journal-Spectator and Express, Schauer will also be coordinating the lifestyle and living coverage for the two newspapers.