Newsmakers

Staff changes, additions and promotions at Texas newspapers.

CHRIS LYKINS
Herald-Zietung
NEW BRAUNFELS – Chris Lykins, who served as managing editor from 2015-2017, returned the Herald-Zeitung to lead the newsroom as executive editor.
Lykins will also continue to guide the Herald-Zeitung’s sister newspaper, The Seguin Gazette, where he served as editor for the last eight months. Lykins will manage the day-to-day operations of the Herald-Zeitung and work with Felicia Frazar, the Gazette’s managing editor.
His three stints leading The Seguin Gazette newsroom totaled nearly 12 years. During Lykins’ two years leading the Herald-Zeitung newsroom, he directed content that won state honors for news coverage, design, photography, editorials, team effort and community service, including the Associated Press Media Editor’s designation as 2016 Newspaper of the Year.
Lykins recently oversaw redesigns of the Gazette’s print and website content after a short stay as social media producer of the San Antonio Express-News’ website, ExpressNews.com.
Herald-Zeitung Publisher Neice Bell, who has worked with Lykins at both papers over the years, said she expects a seamless transition for both newspapers, which are owned by Southern Newspapers, Inc.
In his new position, Lykins plans to increase the online offerings of both newspapers and to use their resources to cover the explosive growth that is driving the two communities closer together.
 
SUSIE BERND
Gonzalez Inquirer
GONZALEZ – Susie Bernd is a new sales representative for the Gonzalez Inquirer.
Bernd is a retired teacher with many years of experience in business administration, marketing and advertising, according to Publisher Terry Fitzwater.
Bernd earned her associate degree at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla. before graduating from Oklahoma Wesleyan University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. 
In addition, she was advertising manager for the Pawhuska Journal Capital from 1986 until 1993.
 
RYAN GRABAN, MISSY RODRIGUEZ, ROBERT MOSELEY
Boerne Star
BOERNE – Publisher Jeff Parra recently announced the hiring of two new advertising sales representatives and a managing editor at the Boerne Star.
Ryan Graban and Melissa (Missy) Rodriguez are the new sales reps covering Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch. Robert Moseley is the new managing editor.
Graban, whose father is an Air Force officer retired in Fair Oaks Ranch, moved to the area from West Virginia with his family to be closer to relatives. He worked in a variety of sales positions in West Virginia for companies such as Comcast, US Cellular and Star Furniture. He attended Ashland University in Columbus, Ohio, before moving to West Virginia.
Rodriguez and her husband grew up in Abilene, where she attended Hardin-Simmons University and began her career at Blue Cross/Blue Shield. She transferred with BC/BS to San Antonio, where her husband John became a high school teacher. She completed her bachelor of science in management at Phoenix University, then went into sales as an agent for New York Life, then a property and casualty agent for Liberty Mutual.
Moseley began in journalism after graduating from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. He worked his way up to the managing editorships of two daily papers, in Florida and Alabama. He left full-time journalism but remained in the communications field through freelance writing, advertising and public relations work and the establishment of a printing firm in San Antonio.

DEREK HALL, NATALIE FRELS
The Banner-Press
BRENHAM – The Banner-Press started the new year with staff changes announced by Publisher Jay T. Strasner.
Derek Hall, set to begin his 20th year at the Brenham newspaper, assumed duties as creative marketing director. In his new role, Hall continues overseeing production of the newspaper’s special sections and glossy magazines. In addition, he joined The Banner-Press advertising staff, helping provide media solutions for local businesses, and he directs the newspaper’s digital and social media campaigns.
Along with the editorial staff, Hall’s contributions helped The Banner-Press capture 10 Associated Press Managing Editors Association awards in 2018.
In a related move, staff member Natalie Frels was named news editor. She oversees pagination of the newspaper’s daily editions, while continuing to contribute news articles and photography for the newsroom.
 
TERRY L. BRITT
COLUMBIA, MO – Terry L. Britt, a longtime former reporter for the Canton Herald and its sister Van Zandt Newspapers LLC publications, earned his doctorate in journalism from the University of Missouri in December.
He spent the past three years as a graduate teaching fellow, instructing courses in the school’s undergraduate journalism program, which enrolls about 2,000 students each year.
He earned a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2013.
He worked as a reporter for the Canton Herald and also wrote articles for its sister newspapers from 1994-2001 and again from 2007-2013.
He is now assistant professor of digital journalism at Texas A&M University at Commerce.
 

FRANK COLEMAN
Rosebud News
ROSEBUD – Francis (Frank) Coleman has joined the Rosebud News as a reporter.
The Rosebud-Lott ISD graduate will be covering public meetings and community events, Publisher Raymond Moore said in announcing the appointment. 
 
ERIN EDGEMON
Austin Business Journal
AUSTIN – Erin Edgemon recently joined the Austin Business Journal staff, covering the real estate industry in Travis County.
Her past experience includes reporting for the Alabama Media Group in Birmingham and a decade as a journalist in Tennessee, including serving as business editor of the Murfeesboro Post. 
In her new position, Edgemon continues ABJ’s coverage of the residential and commercial real estate sectors — reporting not just on the transactions and trends but also on the people who make them happen.
 
MARK HEITMAN
Colorado County Citizen
COLUMBUS – Mark Heitman has joined the Colorado County Citizen staff as a reporter.
Editor Vince Leibowitz announced the appointment.
A resident of Sheridan, Heitman is a graduate of Louisiana State University and previously covered sports for several publications in Louisiana, including The Daily Iberian in New Iberia, La. 
At the Citizen, he covers sports and general assignments.
 
JANIS THOMAS
Cooper Review
COOPER – Janis Thomas has succeeded Cindy Roller as editor of the Cooper Review.
Roller and her husband moved to Bowie, where he is a teacher and coach and she is community development director for Bowie.
Cooper Review Publisher Jim Butler announced Thomas’ appointment. 
Thomas has been a staff writer for the Review, working part time since her retirement last May after teaching English for 45 years. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and East Texas State University, where she earned a master’s degree. A resident of Delta County for 31 years, she taught at North Hopkins High School in Hopkins County for 30 years.
Thomas plans to revive a popular tradition at the Cooper Review, writing feature articles about subscribers. In February, she plans to begin publishing a series based on the historical accounts of an 1876 murder in Ben Franklin.

THOMAS SCOTT, MESHACH SULLIVAN, MATT FAYE
Beaumont Enterprise
BEAUMONT – Editor Ronnie Crocker introduced three members of the Beaumont Enterprise sports staff in a recent column. 
The newspaper’s new sports editor, Thomas Scott, comes to Beaumont from the Selma (Ala.) Times-Journal. An Atlanta native and Morehouse College graduate, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse and brings experience covering local athletics. Crocker noted Scott will also increase the sports section’s online engagement with readers on social media.
Another recent addition to the sports staff is Meshach Sullivan, a Texas Southern University graduate who previously wrote freelance coverage of high school sports in the Houston area. “Sullivan came aboard just as the playoffs were getting under way and he quickly established a rapport with players, coaches and his newsroom colleagues,” Crocker wrote. 
Crocker also noted the promotion of Matt Faye as the newspaper’s new Sunday sports columnist.
Faye completed his studies at Arizona State University in 2017 and made his way to Southeast Texas just in time for Tropical Storm Harvey and its aftermath, Crocker noted. In his 16 months with the Enterprise, Faye oversaw the newspaper’s high school football coverage while covering Lamar University’s winning streak and first FCS playoff appearance. 

AMANDA McFADDIN
The Henderson News
HENDERSON – Amanda McFaddin is the new circulation supervisor for The Henderson News.
She replaces Jade Duncan, who moved to the insert and press department.
McFaddin served as circulation and insert supervisor for the Kilgore News Herald for two years. She is a native of Kilgore.
In announcing the appointment, Publisher Dan Moore noted McFaddin “brings a wealth of experience to our newspaper.” 
 
JEFF OSBORNE
The Progress
THREE RIVERS – Jeff Osborne is the new editor of the The Progress, joining the staff in late December.
Osborne is returning to journalism after a three-year stint as a public information officer for for the Brazos River Authority. He previously worked in the newspaper business for 24 years in both large and small markets.
Osborne and his family are transitioning from Temple to the Three Rivers area. He attended McLennan Community College in Waco and later Texas A&M University. He worked for the Waxahachie Daily Light, the Stephenville Empire Tribune and the Brazosport Facts before joining the Waco Tribune-Herald, where from 1998-2011 he was assistant city editor and later editor of Waco Today, a monthly magazine produced by the newspaper. Later, he was managing editor of the Fort Bend Herald in Richmond-Rosenberg and spent three years with the Temple Daily Telegram as education reporter, city reporter and features editor. 
 
TONY BENNETT
Snyder Daily News
SNYDER – Tony Bennett, a longtime Texas resident with more than 35 years in the newspaper industry, was recently named the Snyder Daily News’ production manager, Publisher Bill Crist announced.
Bennett worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 33 years after spending five years as a pressman with the Denton Herald Chronicle.
Bennett and his wife Donna had relocated to Cloudcroft, N.M. They learned of the job opening in Snyder when the West Texas Press Association convention was held there and a chance meeting between Crist and Mrs. Bennett occurred at the Cloudcroft Chamber of Commerce office.
“Finding pressmen with a knowledge of the kind of press we have at the Snyder Daily News is getting harder all the time,” Crist said. “Tony knows the press from end to end and I believe will do a great job for us. And to think, if the Cloudcroft chamber office had opened on time that day, I might never have met his wife Donna and six months later been able to recruit him to Snyder.”