Holding the line for Texas journalism

All I ever wanted to do was write. As a voracious reader with a resulting wide vocabulary, my young imagination led me to scribble stories, poems and lyrics on discarded yellow legal pads from my dad’s home office.

By YVONNE MINTZ, TPA President 2026-27

Long before I understood the importance of community, watchdog reporting or transparency, journalism interested me because it offered a steady paycheck for doing what I loved — writing.

If you’d have told 12-year-old Yvonne she would one day accept the gavel to become Texas Press Association president…well, she wouldn’t have believed you. Heck, 30-year-old Yvonne might not have either. Neither of those younger versions of me would have thought they would publish a newspaper or do even a third of the things that are in my job description now.

When I arrived at The Facts in Brazoria County as a reporter in 1997 I almost didn’t even sign up for the 401K, thinking I’d be here a year or two maximum and move on to be a big-city reporter before I could become vested.

Soon, though, what I learned in University of Texas journalism school found root in my soul as I lived the power of community news. Stories I wrote made a real difference. They provided a voice to residents who otherwise might not be heard, influenced public policy, held power to account and advocated for the best of Brazoria County. Mistakes, and of course there were some, helped me to get better and made me more vigilant.

As first blogs, then social media and the rise of “influencers” gave anyone who wants one a platform to say whatever they want, true or not, what newspapers do for our communities became ever more important. The printed word from the area’s official news source holds power. The care we take with every word and the fierce determination and calming voice in times of crisis are things you don’t get from Facebook or AI newsletters.

It is with that deep understanding and appreciation of the power of our products that we persevere in the tough environment our organizations face in the modern era. Texas Press Association represents 358 paid-circulation newspapers — 35 dailies and 323 non-dailies. If you lead one of those organizations, you are an innovator, a business leader, a storyteller and much more, and you have my respect and loyalty.

It’s a great honor and bigger responsibility to take the gavel from Lisa Chappell and lead this 140-plus-year-old organization, especially this year.

In a calendar year’s time we will hire a new executive director to follow (but never replace) the dynamic Mike Hodges. Mike officially announced his retirement plans at our convention in Dallas.

We’ll meet again in College Station next year before we officially have to say goodbye, though, and we know he will work hard all the way up to that time.

Because of the work Mike and the staff have done, along with some fortuitous moves and sound investments, the Texas Press Association is in good stead financially. That is sure to be a draw to candidates far and wide. We will keep you posted on our progress as we work toward narrowing the field to top candidates we will bring to the board.

The hope is to have someone aboard by the end of the year so that person can work with Mike and Donnis Baggett to advocate for Texas newspapers in the next legislative session that starts in January. Maintaining transparency through public notice and working against the erosion of open government and records laws will be top priorities for us in Austin next session, and we are counting on our members to help spread our message to our elected representatives clearly.

I’m grateful to the board for trusting me to be Texas Press Association president for the coming year. It’s not a title I expected, but it’s one I’ll do my best to live up to, with hard work and your help.

Yvonne Mintz is editor and publisher of The Facts in Brazoria County and vice president for content at Southern Newspapers Inc. She began her term as president of the Texas Press Association at the annual convention in Dallas.