Speakers lined up for Texas Press 2015 Midwinter Conference & Trade Show

Five news industry experts will speak at the Texas Press 2015 Midwinter Conference & Trade Show in Galveston.

STEVE BUTTRY 

Steve Buttry is a Lamar Visiting Scholar at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was Digital Transformation Editor for Digital First Media and has been an editor, reporter and writing coach for seven U.S. newspapers. Buttry is a graduate of Texas Christian University and a member of the Hall of Excellence at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication. On Friday, January 23, he will present both, “Finding Funds for the Future,” and  “Upholding and Updating Journalism Ethics.” Buttry, who has been involved in six different broad efforts to update journalism’s ethical standards, will give editors and other journalists guidance on addressing these challenges in your newsroom. 

LARRY MERSEREAU

A professional speaker since 1993, Larry Mersereau has addressed more than 1,000 corporate and association audiences throughout the western hemisphere. His mission is always the same: to get business growing. Mersereau says the mission has never been more important than it is right now. His sessions, to be held on both Friday and Saturday of the conference, will cover, “Selling from a Position of POWER,” and “Killer Copy Writing and Design Skills.”

ED HENNINGER

Ed Henninger has been an independent newspaper consultant since 1989 and is director of Henninger Consulting, Rock Hill, S.C. During the past few years, Ed has traveled to the Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, and Armenia to offer design workshops and assist with redesigns of several daily and weekly newspapers. Last fall, he again visited Armenia, where he spent two weeks consulting with editors and publishers of regional newspapers throughout the country.

Henninger, presenting on Friday and Saturday as well, will cover “Your Newspaper’s Design Is a License to Print Money,” and “When Write is Wrong.”

The tips and techniques from these seminars can be used at even the smallest newspapers because they go to the heart of the matter: Getting better writing as the bedrock upon which to construct better-directed and better-designed packages. 

JOE GALLOWAY

Joe Galloway, a retired newspaper correspondent and columnist from Refugio, will speak at the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony.

His career began at the Victoria Advocate. He went on to work for United Press International in Kansas City and Topeka. During the Vietnam War, Galloway continued as a reporter for UPI, beginning in early 1965. 

In Vietnam, he worked alongside the troops he covered and was awarded a Bronze Star for carrying wounded soldiers to safety. 

PENNY ABERNATHY

Penny Abernathy is a journalism professional with more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, editor and media executive. 

She has served as Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2008. Her presentation, “Saving Community Journalism,” will demonstrate how newspapers can expand their reach into the digital realm.