Sunshine Week, March 12-18, is the perfect time to show support for government transparency issues championed by the Texas Press Association in the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.
Members of the TPA Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC), along with TPA Executive Vice President Donnas Baggett and Member Services Director Ed Sterling, are monitoring bills and meeting with legislators promoting issues related to the three pillars of transparency: open records, open meetings and public notices in newspapers. 

The Texas Better Newspaper Contest online portal opens today, Feb. 15, accepting 2017 contest entries from TPA member newspapers. 

AUSTIN — Community news organizations in Texas may be better equipped to pursue enterprise journalism with a new program by the Headliners Foundation of Texas to help reimburse the high costs of obtaining public records. 
“We have a history of support for Texas journalism,” said Mark Morrison, chair of the Headliners Foundation. “We hope this innovative approach will make a difference in smaller communities where it is needed.”

AUSTIN - Combinator-backed OwnLocal announced Feb. 6 they have acquired Print2Web, a pioneering digital service provider for the newspaper industry. 
The acquisition fits into OwnLocal’s strategy to make localized digital marketing accessible to all businesses through traditional media outlets, such as newspapers. 

Lee Hartman, Fort Bend Herald
ROSENBERG – Lee Hartman, a third-generation member of a Texas newspaper family, has been named editor and publisher of the Fort Bend Herald, according to Clyde C. King, Jr., president of Hartman Newspapers, L.P. 
Hartman, 50, is starting his 26th year at The Herald, having worked in the pressroom, as an assistant photographer, an advertising sales representative and as general manager before assuming the editor and publisher’s job. 

Leonard Woolsey, president and publisher of the Galveston County Daily News, shares ten steps to successful magazine development.
1. Identify your niche: No need to be No. 3 in a three-horse race. Bring something new and interesting to the market. If lifestyle is already done with two competitors beating each other up, you might consider looking for an overlooked category. Health, parenting, even dining are easy to access entry points. 

The U.S. Postal Service has long provided a website, Postal Explorer at pe.usps.gov, with an abundance of useful information at the ready for those willing to “explore.” It has been rebuilt in recent months to comply with certain standards, and although confusing at first, prior users can find everything, and more, that they are used to seeing.

Q: The superintendent of a school district I cover sends out a weekly e-mail to school board members. First, do you know where I could find, either in statute or in an attorney general’s decision, whether that e-mail is considered public record? Second, I would like to be included on the list for receiving those e-mails. Do you know of any statute or AG decision that would require the superintendent to include me on the list?

FRISCO – At the 2017 Texas Newspaper Foundation hall of Fame dinner, retired New England Newspaper Association Director Morley Piper brought to life a somber moment in history during the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame dinner with his recollections of the pivotal World War II battle he and other young men of the 29th Infantry fought on the beaches of Normandy.
On the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014, Piper went back to the scene of the battle to attend commemorative ceremonies hosted by the ten communities on the Normandy coast that were liberated by the invasion. 

FRISCO, Texas — Texas Press Association members approved a bylaws amendment regarding rules for participating membership during the Midwinter Conference and Trade Show.
Seventy-seven percent voted to allow newspapers that do not meet the requirements of active membership to be participating members if approved by a majority vote of the board of directors.  The vote exceeded the required two-thirds majority of active members present and voting at the convention.