Two old friends reminiscing about the early days of their careers together and sharing stories from more than 60 years in journalism provided some of the most memorable moments of the 2019 Texas Press Association Convention and Trade Show.
Wise County Messenger President Roy Eaton, the 2019 Mayborn Award winner, and legendary broadcast journalist Bob Schieffer, retired CBS News anchor and chief Washington correspondent, sat down together on stage Saturday morning for the final program of the convention.
The Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership was presented to Roy Eaton, president of the Wise County Messenger, at the closing event of the Texas Press Association convention and trade show in Denton. TPA President Laurie Ezzell Brown made the presentation.
The award includes a $3,000 journalism scholarship to help a student at school of the recipient’s choice. Eaton said he was putting Texas Center for Community Journalism Director Dr. Tommy Thomason in charge of awarding the scholarship to a TCU student.
Stephen Collins, veteran sports editor of The Alvin Sun and The Alvin Advertiser, was awarded the Fred Hartman Award by the Texas Press Association.
Fred Hartman, grandson of the award’s namesake, made the presentation at the Texas Press Association Convention and Trade Show in Denton. He noted that Collins, a long-time employee of the Hartman Newspapers publication The Alvin Sun, was a two-time winner of the award. He was previously honored in 2014.
The 2019 Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame induction ceremonies celebrated generations of service to the newspaper industry and local communities.
Members of the 2019 class of inductees are Bill Cooke of Rockdale, Donnis Baggett of Bryan and the late Barney Hubbs of Pecos.
Turnover among key personnel makes for interesting times in any institution — whether it’s a powerhouse football team or the Texas Legislature.
A number of players will be new to the blood sport of Texas politics — or at least new to their position — when lawmakers convene Jan. 8.
Analysis by Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association
AUSTIN — Texas Newspaper Foundation announces the selection of three exemplary individuals — John William “Bill” Cooke, Donnis Baggett and Barney Hubbs — into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame for the year 2019.
The induction ceremony will take place during the Texas Press Association 2019 Convention and Trade Show at Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center on Jan. 25.
The Task Force report on the United States Postal System released this week by the U.S. Department of the Treasury does not recommend privatizing the postal service.
Jan. 10 is deadline for entries in the Texas Medical Association’s Anson Jones awards recognizing general interest journalists in 11 award categories tailored for print media by market size and story length, for online media, and for radio and television.
Those who covered health or medical stories this year, from issues in the state and national spotlights to homegrown news, are encouraged to enter their work. Up to four entries may be entered in one or more categories. Any work published in 2018 is eligible.
NEW BRAUNFELS – Neice Bell has returned as publisher of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
Bell will initially split time between New Braunfels and Kerrville, where she has been publisher of the Kerrville Daily Times for more than two years.
Southern Newspapers, Inc. President Dolph Tillotson announced the change.
BOERNE – Jeffrey Parra is the new publisher of the Boerne Star, succeeding Brian Cartwright, who concluded his 17-year tenure to become advertising director of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
A veteran newspaper publisher, Parra began his newspaper career in 1994 at the Joplin Globe in Joplin, Missouri. His path to Boerne includes stops at newspapers in St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Mt. Clemens, Michigan; Waxahachie, Texas; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and LaGrange, Georgia.