AUSTIN – The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Texas Public Information Act at the annual state conference Sept. 28 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center in Austin.
Whitesboro’s oldest business has a new owner, and it’s a family with deep roots in Western Grayson County.
The Lewter family purchased the Whitesboro News-Record from Scott Wood. The acquisition was effective June 1.
Austin Lewter is a former longtime publisher of the News-Record. He and his wife Jennifer will oversee daily operations. Jessica Edwards will stay on board as the managing editor.
“We are thrilled to have Jessica with us.” Lewter said. “She does wonderful work. We are excited about future growth and new ideas.”
By MARY ELIZABETH DAVIS
Lamesa Press-Reporter
During more than four decades as a Lamesa Press-Reporter journalist, Russel Skiles has told the stories of a Holocaust survivor and the community-wide effort that brought a state prison to town.
But those are just a couple of the many stories which Skiles recalled as he retired July 19 as the newspaper’s publisher.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Benjamin R. “Benjy” Hamm will become the new director of the The University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues on Aug. 16.
Hamm has held leadership positions for nearly 30 years in news-media organizations including Landmark Media Enterprises, the New York Times Co. and The Associated Press. For the last four years, he has taught journalism at Campbellsville University.
Hamm will be associate extension professor in UK’s School of Journalism and Media, part of the College of Communication and Information.
The national headline on stories about the latest poll on the news media and democracy were about its finding that half of Americans believe national news organizations deliberately “mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting,” as Associated Press media writer David Bauder put it. He added, “In one small consolation, Americans had more trust in local news.”
By Al Cross, Director, Institute for Rural Journalism, University of Kentucky
Fifty years ago, responding to public demand in an era of reform, Texas enacted a sweeping law ensuring the people’s right to know about their government.
The Texas Public Information Act – originally known as the Open Records Act when it passed in 1973 – was one of the strongest transparency laws in the nation. It allowed Texans to hold their state and local governments accountable by obtaining all sorts of public records.
By Kelley Shannon, Executive Director, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas
March 1 is the deadline to submit nominations for Texas Press Association awards to be presented at the 2023 Convention and Trade Show June 1-3 at the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock.
The honors include:
• Fred Hartman Award for Outstanding Sports Writing
This year, the award honoring the late Fred Hartman of Hartman Newspapers will be presented to a sports writer working at a Texas newspaper of less than 10,000 circulation. The award includes a cash prize.
The Dallas Morning News recently published an Opinion package on rebuilding trust in the news media.
Editors explained in their prelude:
"As part of our series on the American Middle, we recognize that polarization within the news media has contributed to divisions in our society and eroded trust in the news media. We have taken a closer look at the depth of this problem and considered potential causes.
Our Founding Fathers understood that nothing was more important to successful self-government than a robust free press.
Analysis by Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association
Transparency and accountability weren’t political buzzwords back then, but those who crafted the framework of our republic made it clear that an unfettered press was the best watchdog for holding government accountable to its citizens.
Publishers and printing company officials are reminded that the annual recycled newsprint survey form must be filed by Jan. 31.
Each year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) collects data on recycled newsprint. Texas law requires that newspaper publishers submit their report for 2022 to the TCEQ by Jan. 31. The current survey form is available online for publishers to fill out and return to the TCEQ.