Newsmakers

Nadia Barron has joined the Wharton Journal-Spectator as a retail advertising representative. She formerly worked for a local employment agency and as human resource director for a local manufacturer.

Rachel Benavidez is the new editor of The Brownsville Herald. She came from the San Antonio Express-News where she was assistant state editor.

Janice Boil is the new advertising manager for the Sweetwater Reporter. She brings a strong background in advertising sales to the job.

Bill Crist returned to Texas to become associate publisher of the Brownwood Bulletin. He left four years ago for a newspaper job in the Brewton, Ala. and later lived in Pensacola, Fla.

Don Cooper, editor of the Hereford Brand, has released a new book “Worth the Trip,” which recounts the lives of Vietnam-era soldiers who didn’t go to Southeast Asia. Cooper was a German linguist with the U.S. Army Security Agency in Berlin during the Cold War. To purchase a copy, contact PublishAmerica at 301-695-1707 or by e-mail at www.publishamerica.com.

Bob Davis left his position as op-ed/Sunday editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to become editorial page editor at The Aniston (Ala.) Star. He spent 11 years as a staff writer at the Star-Telegram including the last seven writing the column OpEdge for the opinion page.

Mike Elswick was named managing editor of the Marshall News Messenger. He has been associated with the Longview News Journal for 20 years including the last six as business editor. He also owned weekly newspapers in Waskom and Hallsville.

Donna Fielder won a Dallas Bar Association Philbin Award for excellence in legal reporting in the suburban newspaper feature category. She is a crime and courts reporter for the Denton Record-Chronicle and won for a story on the scheduled execution of a  convicted capital murderer and its effect on the families of the victims.

Leon Geiger was named 2004 Carrier of the Year in the senior category by the Newspaper Association of America. He has been with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 13 years and serves 700 subscribers. He won the newspaper’s carrier of the year award and the Texas Circulation Managers Association carrier of the year. The national competition has three categories: youth to age 18; adult ages 19-54; and senior age 55 and older.

Barbara Beckwith Green, a member of The Bowie News staff since 1983, has been named general manager in charge of operations. Connie Winter, widow of owner/publisher Jim Winter who died Sept. 5, made the announcement. Winter has assumed duties as owner/publisher. Three years after joining the staff in 1983 Green moved up to editor. In 1989 she moved to Ardmore, Okla. to become a reporter, desk editor and feature writer for The Daily Ardmoreite for one year before returning to Bowie to resume work at the News.

Gilmer Mirror co-publisher William Russell “Russ” Greene is home and recovering from a collapsed lung, broken pelvis, broken collar bone, cracked ribs and a damaged right hand he suffered Nov. 8 after being hit by a vehicle. Greene, who turned 45 on Nov. 14, was walking on West Buffalo Street in Gilmer about 2 p.m. when he was struck by a Chevrolet Suburban. According to witnesses, he was knocked about 14 feet in the air. He was transferred by helicopter to East Texas Medical Center at Tyler and spent 23 days there. His mother, Mirror publisher and TPA past president Sarah Greene, said he never lost consciousness after he was hit. Gilmer Police Capt. Becky Pope identified the driver of the Suburban as Karen Taylor of Rockwall, who was visiting relatives in Gilmer. Capt. Pope said the investigation indicated that Taylor had been distracted by her two small children before striking Greene. “She looked back at her children, who were in the back seat,” said Capt. Pope. She said the driver swerved off the roadway and struck Greene. Greene also provides color commentary for Gilmer Cable TV coverage of Buckeye football games on Friday nights.

Cedric Iglehart is the new sports editor for the Copperas Cove Leader-Press. He took over for Terry Beekman who moved over to the news side. Iglehart joined the staff in January and has worked for the Waco Tribune-Herald and Clifton Record.

The Jacksonville Daily Progress has announced several changes in the newsroom. Larry Krantz has been promoted to managing editor. He replaced Lori Mellinger-Thomason. Krantz is a former news editor at the Progress and has worked at The Paris News and Tyler Morning Telegraph and two New Mexico newspapers. Jennifer Gruber was promoted to news editor. She previously served as features and lifestyles editor. She will share duties with Jim Brown, who was hired for the newly created position of regional editor. Samantha Swindler is a new reporter. She recently moved to Texas from Boston where she received a public relations degree from Boston College. Von Dawson was promoted to sports editor. He was sports writer and joined the staff in September.

Lilia Castillo Jones joined the San Antonio Express-News as display advertising director. She came from The Oklahoman where she was classified advertising manager.

Thomas Lee is the new editor of the Canyon Lake Times Guardian. He came from the sports editor job at the Mustang (Okla.) News and has 18 years of experience at daily and weekly newspapers. 

Skip Leon has been named sports editor of the Hereford Brand. Leon has served as sports editor at papers in New York and Kansas and as a sports writer for the Laredo Morning Times. He most recently was a free-lance news writer for two Web sites in Pennsylvania.

The Midland Reporter-Telegram announced two staff changes. Stewart Doreen has been named managing editor. Doreen, who had been sports editor, succeeds Gary Ott, who was recently named editor. Doreen has been with the newspaper since 1995, after graduating from Texas A&M University. Randy Rosetta has been named sports editor, succeeding Doreen. Before joining the Reporter-Telegram as assistant sports editor, Rosetta was sports editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, the Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News and the Farmington (N.M.) Daily Times.

Milton Morin, publisher of the Daily Court Review in Houston, was elected to the American Court and Commercial Newspapers’ board of directors for 2003-04. ACCN is the professional organization of court, legal and commercial newspapers.

Hanaba Munn Noack joined The Childress Index as a new reporter. She has been manager of Quanah Historical Preservation since March 2002 and will continue part time. She previously was a reporter at the Vernon Daily Record in the late 1970s and the Wichita Falls Times Record News from 1996-2002.

Matthew J. Riley has joined The Wylie News as education writer. He earned a bachelor of science in journalism and political science from Texas A&M University-Commerce. He previously worked at the Ellis County Press.

Brian Roland joined The Paris News as staff writer covering law enforcement and regional news. He came from a group of radio stations in Wyoming where he was news director and assistant sports director.

Amanda Rogers and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Class Arts section were recognized for outstanding youth-oriented content by the Newspaper Association of America.

Bob Rossi is the new circulation director for the Abilene Reporter-News. He came from sister E.W. Scripps newspapers in Florida where he was circulation manager. He replaced Chris Boarman who left in September to become circulation director for the Tallahassee Democrat.

Shanna Sissom is the new city editor for the Midland Reporter-Telegram. She joined the staff in January 2002 as reporter and briefly left earlier this year for another job but returned to Midland.

Glenn Stifflemire was named regional publisher of the Port Arthur News and Orange Leader. He started his 36-year newspaper career at The Brazosport Facts. He served as publisher for 10 other newspapers around the country before returning to Southeast Texas where he was born and raised. Both the News and Leader are owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.

Dolph Tillotson, president and publisher of The Galveston County Daily News, has been named president-elect of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. The association serves more than 420 daily newspapers primarily in the South and Southeast. James M. Moroney, publisher and chief executive officer of The Dallas Morning News, was elected to a three-year term as an at-large director.