Newsmakers

The Amarillo Globe-News announced two promotions. Dan Packard became regional editor. He began his career at the newspaper in 1968 in the sports department and later worked at The Daily Oklahoman and a weekly in Oklahoma before returning to the staff in 1991. Kevin Welch became weekend editor. He has served in many roles including county reporter.

Odilon “Odie” Arambula, editor of the Laredo Morning Times, is the Laredo Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame Sportsman of the Year. He has been on staff for 32 years and has covered many local sporting events.

Michael Barnes became the fifth editor of the Austin American-Statesman’s entertainment magazine XLent. The magazine, a weekly arts and entertainment supplement in the daily, is in its ninth year.

Jeff Blackmon, sports editor of the Hood County News, is moving to take a management position with the Llano News. He had been in Granbury for three years.

Don Chandler called it quits after 22 years with the Brenham Banner-Press. Chandler retired Dec. 26 from his 10-year part-time post in accounts receivable and collections. He spent 12 years as full-time assistant publisher and before that worked for the Galveston News and Texas City Sun.

Chris Crews was named editor of the Burnet Bulletin. He most recently was news editor of the Brownwood Bulletin. Crews is the former editor of The River Cities Tribune in nearby Marble Falls. He replaced John Hallowell who left to pursue other interests.

Two Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. dailies and one weekly announced a change of publisher. Amy Davis-Miller was named publisher of the Jacksonville Daily Progress. She was advertising director prior to the appointment and joined the staff in 2002. Davis-Miller replaced Bill Morgan who was named publisher of the Athens Daily Review and Cedar Creek Pilot in Gunbarrel City. Morgan had been in the top spot in Jacksonville for two years and has more than 20 years in newspapers, including publisher of the Sweetwater Reporter.

Brian Grant was named news editor of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. He has been on staff since 2001 and most recently was features editor. He replaced Brady Creel who resigned to pursue an advanced degree at Texas A&M.

Susan Harrison was promoted to associate publisher of Van Zandt Newspapers L.L.C., which publishes the Canton Herald, Van Zandt News, Wills Point Chronicle, Mabank Monitor and Van Banner. She will continue duties as general manager at the Monitor.

Macareba Hernandez was voted one of the top 10 mujeres (women) of the year in Latina magazine. She is a reporter at the San Antonio Express-News and the writer who first brought attention to plagiarism by former The New York Times reporter Jayson Blair after she read his bylined story that closely resembled one of her own. She also worked with Blair in the same minority-recruiting internship at the Times. Hernandez also interned at The Monitor in McAllen.

T.C. Hurst, advertising director for the Corsicana Daily Sun, was honored at a retirement reception. He worked 20 years at the newspaper after starting in 1983. He represented the newspaper at the Corsicana/Navarro County Chamber of Commerce and helped the community welcome new businesses.

Bobby Horecka is the new managing editor of The Sealy News. He came from the El Campo Leader-News where he was a reporter. He also has been agriculture editor at the Abilene Reporter-News and staff writer at The Albany News. He replaced Richard Nelson who moved to sister newspaper the Fort Stockton Pioneer.

Sherry Koonce is the new managing editor of the Port Arthur News. Koonce joined the staff in July. She previously worked at The Orange Leader, The Panola Watchman and The Facts in Clute.

Sidney Levesque, Abilene Reporter-News learning writer, won a Silver Apple award for her coverage of the changing of the guard in the Abilene Independent School District’s superintendent office. The award is presented by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association to honor journalistic excellence in the reporting of public education news. Levesque joined the newspaper in 1999 and has been covering public education three years.

Dr. Scott Lieberman is among the most famous news photographers of 2003 even though he doesn’t work for a newspaper. Lieberman, a Tyler cardiologist, shot the clearest images of the Space Shuttle Columbia breaking up over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003 and those pictures were reprinted in newspapers around the world. The Associated Press bought the rights to his images and plans to submit them for a Pulitzer Prize nomination. At least four amateur photographers have won Pulitzers since 1947.

Frank Michel, the associate editor in charge of the Houston Chronicle’s opinion pages, has left the newspaper to become communications director for Houston Mayor Bill White. Michel, who spent 25 years at the Chronicle, joined the staff as a night copy editor and spent the past nine years overseeing the Editorial and Outlook pages. He is a native Houstonian and the son of Cuban and Mexican immigrants.

A.J. Narasimhan joined The Highlander in Marble Falls as sports editor. He replaces longtime sports editor Billy Becker. He has covered sports for the Ellis County Chronicle, Waxahachie Daily Light and Ennis Daily News.

Wayne Oxedine joined The Baytown Sun as head pressman. Oxedine’s history with newspaper presses began when he was a junior in high school in 1975. He was a pressman at his hometown newspaper the Monahans News and worked at The Facts in Clute and The Houston Post before it shut down in 1995.

Tyler Patton joined the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen as general manager. He replaced Steve Patterson who became publisher of a sister weekly newspaper. Patton has worked in operations at the Abilene Reporter-News and Odessa America, sister newspaper to the Star, where he most recently was operations director.

The Pflugerville Pflag won the 2003-04 Association of Texas Professional Educators’ (ATPE) Alafair Hammett Media Award in the weekly newspaper category for outstanding education-related coverage. ATPE will present the award to editor and publisher Sandy Flora at its annual banquet in Austin in April. Other finalists were the Allen American, Azle News, Rockport Pilot and Uvalde Leader-News.

Steve Ramos is the new reporter at the Kilgore News Herald. He comes from The Times in Gainesville, Ga. where he was managing editor.

Susanne Reed has been named publisher of the Big Spring Herald, replacing interim publisher Chuck Williams. She has served as general manager since mid-July when she came from the publisher role at the Stuttgart (Ark.) Daily Leader and Newport Independent. Williams will stay on as an administrative consultant for Horizon Publications, which owns the Herald.

Veteran newsman Phil Reynolds has joined the Port Aransas South Jetty news staff as a reporter. Reynolds, who has been editor of the Lake Travis View in Lakeway since 2000, worked for Austin Community Newspapers, owned by Cox Newspapers, since 1999. He was a staff writer for the Bastrop Advertiser and editor of the Pflugerville Pflag.

Danielle Treadway is the newest reporter at the Jacksonville Daily Progress. Before that she was an advertising representative at the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Debra White was named general manager and acting publisher of the Cleveland Advocate. She had been advertising manager for more than two years. She assumed the position held by Susan Lyles, who resigned to relocate to Wichita Falls. Sales executive Dianne Brady has been promoted to advertising manager to replace White.

Melissa Worthington is the new editor of the Stonewall County Courier in Aspermont. She has worked for the newspaper for two years.

Bob Yates took over Sports Day for The Dallas Morning News after longtime editor Dave Smith announced his retirement slated in April. Yates will be assistant managing editor/sports. He has been an assistant sports editor since joining the staff in 1987. Dwayne Bray was promoted to sports editor to replace Yates. He has been with the News for three years and came from the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, where he also was a sports editor, and before that sports writer at the Los Angeles Times.

Nancy Young is the new editor of the Borger News-Herald. She replaced Lisa Elliott who resigned. Young returned to the staff in June last year after a long stint in newspapers. She was publisher and editor in Stinnett, editor for the defunct Hutchinson County Herald and managing editor at The Pampa News.