Industry News

Liberty Vindicator management team takes over Anahuac Progress

ANAHUAC – Changes during the summer at the Anahuac Progress include a new management team as General Manager and Editor Dayna Haynes left the newspaper to pursue new business interests in Baytown.

Haynes, who first joined the newspaper in 2009, left in July to take join a partnership in ownership of Just One More Bar and Grill in Baytown. She said business and marketing skills she honed during years with the newspaper will be put to good use.

Granite Media Partners, the parent company of The Progress, named Jennifer Gray-Richardson area publisher and Russell Payne area  editor, adding to their duties with The Vindicator in Liberty.

Gray-Richardson is no stranger to Chambers County. She grew up on County Line Road, walking the fine line between Liberty and Chambers counties. She has been with Granite for about 15 years and has been the publisher in Liberty for seven years. She previously served for a brief time in that same role in Anahuac.

Payne has worked at The Vindicator on several occasions and is in his fifth year this time around. The 2023 Granite Media Partners Reporter of the Year, he will lead news coverage for the Progress and keep his finger on the pulse of what happening throughout the area.

Payne is also familiar with the area, having grown up in Dayton. His first two jobs in the newspaper business were in Anahuac. Payne said The Progress will continue to count on a motivated and dedicated group of contributors, with Sue Hawthorne, Darlene Pagels, Kalari Clark and Chris Cody making the rounds.

Calynn McDonnel will be coordinating marketing and advertising efforts for The Progress in addition to her duties as marketing consultant for The Vindicator in Liberty. McDonnel worked for the Vindicator several times and said she is excited to increase her role in Chambers County now as well.

In addition to expanding coverage in the print edition, work is underway to update and improve content via social media and through a revamped website.

Free webinar set Nov. 14

A webinar on how to perk up your writing to better connect with readers is set for Nov. 14 on Online Media Campus.

Visit www.onlinemediacampus.com for more information. 

Online Media Campus webinars are free to TPA members. Contact Mike Hodges or Candace Velvin at TPA for the association code to use when registering. 

New website launched by The Community News

A new website dedicated to covering news and events in Weatherford was launched in August  by Randy Keck, owner and publisher of The Community News, based in Aledo.

The new site, weatherford-news.com, is a complement to The Community News’ existing site, community-news.com.

“As Parker County continues its extraordinary growth, the need for locally focused news content does not go away,” Keck said. “In fact, it is more important than ever to have reporters covering local government entities.”

The site has deployed reporters to cover Weatherford ISD board meetings and Weatherford City Council meetings. “We are still staffing up and recruiting sponsors to allow us to expand our ability to provide more Weatherford coverage,” Keck said. Each of the two sites will focus on content for its local constituency and surrounding area.

“There will be some content overlap on the sites to meet the information needs of each area we cover,” Keck said. “In addition, our flagship newspaper The Community News will continue its longterm mission to be the best possible newspaper for its readers.”

Keck has owned The Community News for 29 years, and the newspaper has been Parker County-owned for 33 years. It is the largest paid-circulation newspaper in Parker County.

M. Roberts newspapers switch to postal delivery

In early September the Panola Watchman in Carthage, Marshall News Messenger and Kilgore News Herald converted from carrier to post office delivery.

“While we are altering our delivery method slightly, our mission to produce valuable journalistic content that engages audiences and improves the communities we serve along with delivering valuable marketing solutions that help our customers grow does not waiver,” M. Roberts Media President Stephen McHaney said in the announcement published in all three newspapers.

The alteration in the delivery method will ensure a consistently high level of service for valued print subscribers, according to the announcement.

In addition to print editions, the three newspapers also publish eEditions available to subscribers on their individual websites.