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Industry news briefs

Quanah Tribune-Chief has new owners
New owners of the Quanah Tribune-Chief are Shane Lance, Townly Thomas, and Dennis Thomas. 
Lance and Townly Thomas serve as co-editors of the newspaper, published weekly on Friday. They both grew up in Quanah and Dennis Thomas has been a resident for 15 years. A former teacher and coach for the Quanah ISD, Lance currently works for 3 Rivers Foundation. The new owners said they look forward to focusing on community news as the newspaper returns to local ownership.

Courier publisher resigns to join county commissioner’s staff
Courier of Montgomery County Editor and Publisher Andrew DuBois resigned May 11 to accept a position on Precinct 3 County Commissioner James Noack’s staff.
DuBois will start as an Operator 3 and advance to a position that will be created by the departure of Chief of Staff Matt Beasley in January, according to Noack.
DuBois has been in journalism for more than 25 years, including 18 years with Houston Community Newspapers. He began his career at The Courier in 1999 as a night layout editor, earning promotions to city editor, managing editor and editor before becoming HCN executive editor in 2012 overseeing the company’s 24 newspapers, including the Daily Courier and The Woodlands Villager, as well as accompanying websites, with a staff or 50 employees spread out over seven offices in the greater Houston area.

THC, Georgetown honor Williamson County Sun
GEORGETOWN – The Williamson County Sun was among the Georgetown businesses recognized with Texas Treasure Business awards from the Texas Historical Commission.
The award cites businesses that have provided employment opportunities and support to the state’s economy for at least 50 years. The Sun has reported on events in Georgetown and across Williamson County since 1877. Linda Scarbrough and Clark Thurmond, owners and co-publishers of the newspaper, accepted the award presented by the Main Street Advisory Board at a recent Preservation Georgetown luncheon.

Call for entries: Spirit of FOI Award
The FOI Foundation of Texas has announced 2018 guidelines for the Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award contest. 
The contest is open to newspaper, broadcast and online media. The Spirit of FOI Award recognizes outstanding work in promoting open government and the public’s right to know. The deadline for submission of entries is Thursday, May 31. 
Nominations must be for work published or broadcast in calendar year 2017. A nomination can be a single news story or series; an editorial or series of editorials; columns; editorial cartoons; or a community FOI project. There is a limit of one entry per news organization. Entries will be judged in the following size classifications, and up to two entries will be recognized in each class (a winner and an honorable mention, if warranted):
A – News organizations located in markets with a population of 500,000 or less.
AA – News organizations located in markets with a population of 500,000 or more.
All entries must be submitted electronically and include the following:
• A letter containing the name of the person or organization nominated and the classification entered, explaining the effort being cited;
• Functioning online links or PDFs of pages containing the coverage being entered; and
• Additional support documents or letters as the entrant deems necessary.
Entries should be emailed to kelley.shannon@foift.org with the subject line FOI AWARD. Entries must be received by midnight Thursday, May 31.
Winners will be presented at the FOI Foundation of Texas state conference on Friday, Sept. 21, at the Hyatt Regency in Austin. For further contest questions, email kelley.shannon@foift.org or call 512-377-1575.