Industry News

Industry news reported in the January 2024 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

Madison County accepts Tocker Grant to digitize newspapers

MADISONVILLE – Madison County Commissioners recently accepted a Tocker Foundation grant for the Madison County Library that will provide funding for digitizing old editions of the Madison Meteor and The Patriot.

Veronica Landmann of the library has been working with Ana Krahmer of the University of North Texas Library to find grant funding for the project. The digitized versions of the local newspapers will be available through the UNT Library’s Portal to Texas History Digital Newspaper Program.

The early phases of the project are to cover the most perishable editions in the collection first, which starts in the 1800s. “The grant is going to cover the newspaper from 1897 to 1965, and we’re looking at approximately 20,000 to 24,000 pages,” said Landmann.

Upon completion, the digitized newspapers, including the 1989 to 1992 editions of The Patriot, will be accessible from the Madison County Library and the Portal to Texas History.

TJC DrumBeat wins Pinnacle Awards from CMA group 

Tyler Junior College’s student media, The DrumBeat, earned three Pinnacle awards at the recent College Media Association Convention in Atlanta, Ga., TJC publicity officials announced.

The DrumBeat Student Media placed second in Division III Periodic Newspaper of the Year, Two-Year Radio Station of the Year and Two-Year TV Station of the Year.

The DrumBeat Student Media is an independent media organization run by TJC students and includes a printed newspaper, website, app, live broadcast, podcast and social media management. It is one of the oldest student organizations at TJC and is open to all majors. Kasi Dickerson, TJC mass communication professor, is DrumBeat faculty adviser.

The DrumBeat student newspaper is a bi-weekly production created by student journalists. Their award-winning coverage featured topics including campus construction, community involvement and student organizations, among others.

Founded in 1954 as the National Council of College Publications Advisers, CMA now has more than 600 members from coast to coast, according to the CMA website. The organization supports both new and veteran advisers of collegiate media programs with conventions, workshops, publications and national networking.

Eastfield EtCetera earns national Associated Collegiate Press honors

MESQUITE – The Eastfield EtCetera, a college media outlet of Dallas College that has long enjoyed a legacy of empowering student journalists, gained major recognition with its induction into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame.

Dubbed the “Pulitzer Prizes of Collegiate Journalism,” the recognition pays homage to newspaper storytelling as well as communication through audio, video, social media and email newsletters.

The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) established the Hall of Fame in 1987 to honor student publications. The ACP Hall of Fame induction is a nod to the student publication’s standing among its peers. It honors Et Cetera editors-in-chief Carmen Guzman-Contreras and Moira McIntee as well as longtime former advisers Lori Dann and Natalie Webster, along with Beth Langton, a volunteer adviser.

The Hall of Fame distinction, presented during ACP’s national convention in Atlanta, acknowledges years of exceptional journalism and commitment to excellence, said Dallas College Eastfield Campus faculty adviser James Lehaman.

The newspaper’s history of honored work includes: Newspaper Pacemaker Winner 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020; Online Pacemaker Winner 2018, 2019, 2020; Newspaper Pacemaker Finalist 1999, 2000, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023; and Online Pacemaker Finalist in 2021.

Lehaman said The EtCetera is known for its outstanding coverage of the Eastfield Campus and the city of Mesquite, where Eastfield is located. Lehaman is adding a podcast to the traditional multimedia offerings at Eastfield in hopes of keeping his students current and competitive.

Guzman-Contreras, who has been on the EtCetera staff for two years, credits the college with helping the news staff create engaging and professional content.

Eastfield also won several honorable mentions, including for editorials, and Guzman-Contreras received an individual honorable mention for reporter of the year at a two-year school. She also received a first-place honor for best profile.

Mattheau Faught, the news outlet’s presentation editor, also won several individual awards.

Uvalde Leader News switches to larger weekly publication

UVALDE – The Uvalde Leader-News transitions to a weekly publication beginning this month.

News and advertising from the Thursday and Sunday editions are being combined to form a larger, more comprehensive Sunday-only edition.

“After 75 years as a twice-weekly newspaper, the time has come for us to consolidate our efforts into one larger product containing a week’s worth of solid reporting, news features and eye-catching advertising,” according to newspaper publisher Craig Garnett.

The goal for the combined product is at least 30 pages each Sunday, including more in-depth reporting on issues critical to the region such as immigration, school safety, jobs and housing, Garnett said.

The Leader-News continues to report breaking news in real time on social media and at uvaldeleadernews.com, which receives about 7,000 unique visitors per week.

The newspaper’s Daily Update, which is emailed free of charge to those who sign up, was begun last August as part of a commitment to deliver the most current information to readers.

“The way that people consume news and marketing has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. The news cycle is now 24/7, and we intend for our products to reflect that demand,” Garnett said.

Newspapers across the nation have struggled to respond to the encroachment of social media into the delivery of news, and many publications have ceased operations altogether, Garnett said.

“Social media is appropriate for sharing casual news and photographs with family and friends, but it has no place in the world of professional journalism. The blending of fact with fiction that is prevalent on platforms like Facebook and Twitter has left us less well informed and consequently more divided as a nation,” Garnett said.

The consolidation of the two ULN issues in conjunction with the expansion of digital reporting will help the Leader-News remain the region’s sole source of professionally-edited news for years to come, according to Garnett. 

He expressed appreciation to “those who have relied on the Leader-News for news and advertising and hope that our new product will garner the same faithful support.”

Lexington Leader, Giddings Times & News archives available on Portal to Texas History site 

LEXINGTON – Digital archive editions of the Giddings Times & News and Lexington Leader are now available on the Portal To Texas History’s Digital Newspaper Program.

The online newspaper archive is part of an ongoing project to digitize the Giddings Public Library’s microfilmed collection of local newspapers.

“Our local news media is such a valuable resource,” said Library Director Jessi Akins. “Newspapers provide material for historic, personal, and genealogy research. And they provide a chronicle of our way of life, of the culture here in Lee County.”

Through the Texas Digital Newspaper Program, the University of North Texas provided hours of staff time, expertise, and equipment to convert hundreds of reels of microfilm into a digital format. And the Tocker Foundation provided the grant that’s funding the project.

Almost 3,000 newspaper editions from Lee County are available online through the project. Newspapers will continue to become available as they are digitized and uploaded to the Portal to Texas History. Currently available issues include the German-language Giddings Deutsches Volksblatt from 1902-1949, The Giddings News from 1920-1961, The Giddings Star from 1946-1964, Giddings Times & News from 1987-1999, and Lexington Leader from 2006. The newspapers are keyword searchable.