Picture a small newspaper office with nearly a dozen people waiting patiently in line. They are young, energetic and engaged in the world around them. On the other side of the counter are members of a team dedicated to serving the community with the most relevant community news and information.

And in the case of The Big Bend Sentinel, they will also make you a great cup of coffee.

By Leonard Woolsey, TPA President

As 2022 draws to a close, staffers of TPA member newspapers should start thinking about coverage, photos, special sections and other work they will enter in the next Texas Better Newspaper Contest.
The schedule for the next contest starts earlier than past years, so it’s already time to start narrowing down choices and gathering page PDFs for entries. There’s also a new contest platform for the statewide contest.

Last week the screen of my cellphone lit up as the electronic brick began vibrating across the nightstand. Fumbling, I stabbed at the phone and flipped it open to see who decided 2 a.m. was a good time to call. 
Squinting, my eyes made out the letters K-R-I-S.

By LEONARD WOOLSEY, TPA President 

Aug. 18, 10 a.m. COST: Free with TPA-sponsored Digiversity.tv membership
Adobe has announced that in January of 2023 they will end all support for Type 1 fonts in Adobe applications - this includes InDesign and Illustrator. The good news is, there is a nice list of solutions. In this live event, Russell Viers and Julia Zieger will discuss who this may or may not impact and work through a list of solutions.

In addition to regular election night returns, the Texas Secretary of State's Elections Division is offering media subscriber access to an online-based inquiry system for the Nov. 8, 2022 election.
For a $250 subscription fee, the online system has immediate update features. Vote totals are updated continuously throughout election night as soon as returns are received. The inquiry system will display election results for statewide, district, county, and early voting totals.

By Jim Pumarlo, Consultant
Crime and public safety are garnering more headlines across the country. Law enforcement and racial disparities in the criminal justice system are under increasing scrutiny. Newspapers play a key role in examining the dynamics in their own communities.
But what’s happened to police logs, the most basic of public safety reporting? Where are the regular records of traffic citations, thefts, property damage, burglaries and much more?

This essay was originally published on the The Rural Blog, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based at the University of Kentucky. 
Gannett Co.’s recent recommendation or directive to local editors that they offer less opinion, and keep it local, has prompted reflections by rural editor-publishers.

By KEVIN YODER, Keep US Posted
After the massive mail slowdowns and postage hikes of 2021, Congress took action to financially stabilize the U.S. Postal Service by passing a historic, bipartisan postal reform bill. The bill freed the Postal Service from an unreasonable 2006 law demanding that it pre-fund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance—a requirement that put billions of dollars on the Postal Service’s balance sheet each year and motivated it to keep hiking postage rates while reducing services. 

By John Foust, Greensboro, NC

ODESSA – The Odessa American (OA) has converted from a seven days per week print publication to a seven days per week digital-only edition supplemented by two days per week of continued print publication.  
Subscribers receive each morning, seven days per week, the digital edition of the newspaper delivered directly to their email accounts. 
The digital editions are also available for single copy purchase via the Odessa American’s website, www.oaoa.com.  
Current home delivery and single copy prices will remain unchanged.