Member Services Guide

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Publications

Press Pass — the latest TPA news and event information sent directly to your inbox
Texas Press Messenger — a monthly trade journal featuring the latest news in the Texas newspaper industry and beyond; the official voice of the Texas Press Association since 1926
Texas Newspaper Directory — annual directory of all paid-circulation newspapers in Texas; identifies key managers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Web addresses and circulation; lists newspapers by county and group ownership
Winners' Circle — annual publication of the Texas Better Newspaper Contest results
State Capital Highlights — a weekly aggregation of news about state government; available by subscription for member newspapers to publish
Law and the Media in Texas — online handbook for journalists on newsgathering, public access and ethical and legal issues by David McHam; published by TPA with co-sponsors Texas Association of Broadcasters and Texas Daily Newspaper Association
TPA Calendar — annual calendar featuring winning photos from the Texas Better Newspaper Contest

Public Notices — TXHeadlines.com online database of public notices in newspaper websites around the state
Media Buying — A complete "One Order-One Bill-One Check" advertising service covers every aspect of ad placement from space reservation and issuing insertion orders to trouble-shooting problems as they arise, gathering tearsheets and paying all newspapers in the ad schedule
Political Campaign Advertising Plan — Texas Newspaper Campaign Advertising Plan (CAP) statewide advertising opportunity for candidates seeking political offices
Texas Statewide Classified Advertising — TexSCAN classified ad network of participating newspapers available statewide or by three geographic regions
Texas 2x2 Network —Texas 2x2 statewide ad service for 2-column by 2-inch ads placed in participating newspapers available statewide or in three geographic regions

Mobile Lab — on-demand mobile training provides hands-on training free to member newspapers through various software programs covering Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, QuarkXPress and other topics
TPA Online Academy — free online continuing education modules for Texas journalists; classes offered through TPA; topics include News Writing, Headline Writing, Sports Writing and Feature Writing
Sales Training Kit — a set of video lessons featuring sales and marketing guru Mitch Henderson
On-demand Training — workshop topics vary depending on the request from the newspaper
Scholarships — scholarship-matching programs for the five state regional press associations’ scholarships

Legislative Support — the Texas Daily Newspaper Association/Texas Press Association Legislative Advisory Committee meets frequently during sessions of the Texas Legislature to discuss and plan action primarily on open government legislation
Bill Watch — an online database of legislation showing current positions the TDNA/TPA Legislative Advisory Committee has taken on individual bills, including bill status and brief analyses
Grassroots Legislative Committee — publishers who are prepared to contact their state representatives and state senators quickly when notified of pending legislation that may impact freedom of the press and the public's right to know
FOI Hotline — Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas hotline for open government and public access issues
Libel Hotline — hotline for members with questions concerning libel issues

Legal Notice Laws of Texas — an online database of Texas legal notice laws; governmental bodies are required to publish public notices, pursuant to state statutes, administrative rules and rules of court

Lone Star Journalism Writing Contest — contest sponsored by Interscholastic League Press Conference, pairing high school journalism students and local newspapers

Texas Better Newspaper Contest — annual contest for member newspapers awarding the best editorial and advertising content published in the previous year; winners are announced at the summer convention and printed in the Winner's Circle
Texas Newspaper Directory Cover Contest — contest open to TPA members; one winning cover is printed on the annual Texas Newspaper Directory cover
Monson FOI Award — annual award recognizing member newspapers and staff members for their contributions to open government and First Amendment issues; co-sponsored with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas

Golden 50 Award — highest individual honor TPA bestows to men and women who have logged at least 50 years of service in the newspaper industry in Texas; awarded at each summer convention along with a special pamphlet describing recipients’ accomplishments and listing past recipients

TPA Newspaper Exchange — statewide peer publication swap for members available for a small annual fee; a great way to get new ideas and see what others are publishing
Listserver — email member-exchange network to share questions and concerns about newspaper issues
Job Bank — the most comprehensive newspaper-specific job bank in Texas for newspapers seeking employees and journalists looking for newspaper jobs
Buy, Sell or Trade — free classifieds exchange for members to buy, sell or trade equipment or newspaper properties
Annual Conventions — TPA sponsors two annual meetings that rotate through major cities in Texas; the Midwinter Conference and Trade Show is business-oriented meeting with outstanding speakers, a trade show and silent auction; the summer convention is a newspaper executives retreat, where publishers, ad managers and editors discuss forward thinking ideas and plans. Board members are elected at each summer meeting and winners in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest are announced
Lone Star News Service — statewide news release service for agencies and public relations firms to distribute news via mail and email
Profit Recovery Service — reduced-fee profit recovery service through Transworld's Green Flag recovery service; call 512-244-9400 for information