Industry news

News about and of interest to Texas newspapers.

Headliners Foundation accepting 2020-21 scholarship applications
The Headliners Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2020-2021 academic year. Deadline to submit applications is March 27.
Undergraduate students attending colleges and universities in Texas are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate an active interest in writing and journalism and the talent for and the commitment to journalism. Eligibility is determined per semester, and scholarships are funded by semester.
Students who are chosen to receive scholarships must be enrolled for at least nine hours of course work under their degree plan for the academic school year. 
Internships and other professional activities pursued by students must be journalism related. Applications should be completed online and a variety of materials must be uploaded with final documents.
 More information is available at www.headlinersfoundation.org/scholarship-criteria

Star-Telegram now delivers digital-only edition on Saturdays
FORT WORTH – In mid-February, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram replaced its Saturday print edition with a digital-only edition.
Executive Editor Steve Coffman said the move was part of McClatchy Newspapers’ plan to end Saturday editions in all 30 of its publications.
Coffman encouraged print edition readers to update and use their digital access accounts to read Saturday digital editions in the future.
He also announced expansion of the Friday and Sunday editions with features previously published on Saturday, such as television schedules. He noted the addition of four pages of news stories and features to the Friday edition.
“Though the digital transformation has changed how we do business and how readers consume news, it has not altered our journalistic mission,” he wrote. 
“We are more committed than ever to be your watchdog over government agencies, to provide news and information that is relevant to your life...and to share the compelling stories of your neighbors.”
Coffman said two new reporters have joined an existing staff member to form an investigative team. He added that through the Report for America grant program, two more staff writers will be added to the newsroom in June. One will cover the Arlington area and the other will write about environmental issues surrounding area growth.

Lee Enterprises purchases Berkshire Hathaway newspapers
Lee Enterprises purchased Berkshire Hathaway’s 31 daily newspapers, including the Waco Tribune-Herald and The Eagle in Bryan-College Station. The sale was announced in early February.
 In 2018, Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, announced it would take over management of the newspapers that had been assembled into the BH Media Group. According to a press release announcing the sale, Berkshire Hathaway provided approximately $576 million in long-term financing to Lee at a 9 percent annual rate.The funds will be used to refinance Lee’s approximately $400 million of existing debt and Berkshire Hathaway will be Lee’s sole lender. 
Lee’s portfolio includes newspapers in St. Louis; Madison, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa; Billings, Montana; Bloomington, Illinois; and Tucson, Arizona. The addition of the BH Media newspapers increases Lee’s portfolio of daily papers from 50 to 81.
 
Cyndy Slovak-Barton honored with Texas House resolution
In honor of her induction into the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame, Cyndy Slovak-Barton was honored with a resolution by 45th District Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Kyle. 
The resolution praised Slovak-Barton’s work as publisher of the Hays Free Press in Kyle and the Dripping Springs News-Dispatch and her community involvement in Hays County. 
Slovak-Barton serves on the boards of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center, the Hays Foundation, the Buda Chamber of Commerce and the Budafest Committee. 
In addition to the newspapers, Slovak-Barton is co-owner of Gap Strategies, a retail and property management company.

Kingsville Record launches print redesign, new name
In February The Kingsville Record launched a re-design and shortened name as part of its ongoing transition under new ownership and management. 
To meet the requirements of a new printing facility, the newspaper’s size shifted to a narrower format and different fonts, and new section headers were added to the design. 
The newspaper’s name was shortened from The Kingsville Record and Bishop News to The Kingsville Record, to acknowledge the newspaper’s longstanding physical presence in Kingsville, according to publisher Tim Acosta. The newspaper will continue to cover Bishop and other areas in the region, he added. 
“The Kingsville Record is committed to furthering its regional approach to reporting because we recognize the importance of our communities having a local newspaper in which they can read about what matters to them,” Acosta said. 
“The Kingsville community banded together to save our newspaper from closing late last year, and we want to do our part to ensure people have an accurate source of information for what’s going on in their local governments and schools, as well as the community at large.”