Newsmakers

Promotions, additions and staff changes at Texas newspapers.

JILL NEVELS-HAUN
Waxahachie Daily Light
WAXAHACHIE – Jill Nevels-Haun is the new managing editor for the Daily Light and Midlothian Mirror.
Nevels-Haun also leads the newsrooms of two more Gannett-owned publications, the Amarillo Globe-News and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Among her plans are creating a reader advisory board to allow readers to share ideas and offer feedback. “We want to serve the informational needs of our community by delivering comprehensive and relevant information,” Nevels-Haun said. “We will combine that with a solid digital strategy.”
In her career of more than 20 years, Nevels-Haun has also worked as an editor at The News-Messenger in Fremont, Ohio; the News Herald in Port Clinton, Ohio; the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky.; and The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, W.Va.

JOHN MENG
Jackson County Herald-Tribune
EDNA – John Meng recently joined the staff of the Jackson County Herald-Tribune as general manager.
Originally from Pasadena, Meng comes to Jackson County from the Austin area. He has 20 years of marketing experience and has both magazine publishing and newspaper experience. He recently published a mystery novel, “Just As Dead.” He also has law enforcement experience.

CLAY THORP
The Banner-Press
BRENHAM – Clay Thorp is the new managing editor of The Banner-Press, Publisher Derek Hall announced.
Hall added that Thorp will be filling in as a page designer, editor and newsroom manager after the departure of 43-year managing editor Arthur Hahn.
Thorp is an Eagle Scout from the South Texas Council of the Boy Scouts of America and studied journalism and political science at Texas State University in San Marcos. As a student, he had internships with the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He also worked at The Examiner in Beaumont, the Killeen Daily Herald and the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. 
He comes to Brenham from the Craig Press in Colorado’s coal country, where he was a reporter covering government and energy.

ANDREA WHITNEY
San Jacinto News-Times
SHEPHERD – Andrea Whitney has joined the San Jacinto News-Times as editor.
She joined Polk County Publishing Company after two years with Hearst Media Services, serving as editor of the Jasper Newsboy and Lakecaster Magazine.
She began her career with the Orange Leader in 2003, starting out as an accounting clerk before moving into editorial. She has also worked for the Silsbee Bee and the Kirbyville Banner.

DON WALLACE
Herald-Banner
GREENVILLE – Veteran journalist Don Wallace has joined the editorial staff of the Herald-Banner.
Wallace brings 35 years experience in sports and news coverage, including photography. Most recently, he was sports editor for the Sulphur Springs Telegram for 11 years.
Wallace started his writing career with the Jacksonville Daily Progress in his native Cherokee County. He worked at the publication for more than 20 years before moving to other newspapers, including the Frankston Citizen, The Cherokeean/Herald, Athens Daily Review and Bullard Banner-News. He has also contributed to several state and national magazines.
Wallace attended Stephen F. Austin State University and Angelina College and has won many state and national awards for sports writing and photography.
Herald Banner Editor Dale Gosser said Wallace will cover many areas in Hunt and Rockwall counties for the Herald-Banner’s two weekly newspapers in addition to his work for the daily newspaper.

TOMMY CULKIN
Paris News
PARIS – Paris News staff writer Tommy Culkin has been promoted to sports editor.
Managing Editor Klark Byrd announced the promotion.
Culkin joined the Paris News staff in 2018 following a two-year stint with The Clayton Tribune in Georgia, where he also worked with Byrd as his editor. Culkin is a North Carolina native and a graduate of Appalachian State University, where he worked as
a reporter for the student publication The Appalachian.
Culkin has won awards in newspaper contests of both the Georgia Press Association and the Texas Press Association.

KAITLIN STUBBS
Yoakum Herald-Times
YOAKUM – Kaitlin Stubbs has joined the editorial staff of the Yoakum Herald-Times.
Stubbs is a recent graduate of Texas State University with a degree in electronic media and mass communications and a minor in writing. This is her first full-time staff writer position. 
Kristie Bludau, general manager of Lavaca County’s four newspapers, announced the appointment. She said Stubbs is focused on Yoakum news coverage and will help expand coverage in some under served areas of Lavaca and DeWitt counties as well.

MARK DENT
KRISTIAN HERNANDEZ
OTTO STRONG
Fort Worth Star Telegram
FORT WORTH - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has made three additions to its newsroom staff.
Mark Dent and Kristian Hernandez joined the staff as investigative reporters and Otto Strong is the new sports editor.
Dent worked at The Dallas Morning News and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a sports reporter, then as a news reporter for the Billy Penn news website in Philadelphia. His work includes coverage of the scandal surrounding Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky while with the Post-Gazette and coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016 with Billy Penn. Dent has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.
Hernandez came to the Star-Telegram from the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., where he worked on the state politics team. He previously worked at The Monitor in McAllen, where he covered breaking news and immigration, among other topics. Hernandez has a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master’s degree in investigative reporting from American University in Washington, D.C.
Strong has had a lengthy career in journalism, including work as a reporter, night city editor, sports copy editor and Sunday sports editor for Newsday in New York. More recently, Strong was deputy editor of ESPN The Magazine. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Associated Press Sports Editors. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Steve Coffman, executive editor of the Star-Telegram, announced the appointments.