Politicians have long liked to say this or that is “the challenge of our time.” It’s an over-used phrase, but for those of us born after World War II, the coronavirus pandemic is surely that. And it is especially a challenge for community newspapers because it comes on top of another unprecedented challenge they already faced. How will they respond?

Governor, president spotlight actions in pandemic, economic downturn

AUSTIN — Texas, along with the rest of the nation and the world, continued to battle the COVID-19 pandemic last week as cases and deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus increased.

Gov. Greg Abbott on May 7 met with President Trump in the White House. The president praised Abbott's leadership in handling the months-long medical emergency and in managing the resulting slowdown of the economy in the Lone Star State.

Q: Since we don’t have a county health department, I am getting my statistics from the county health authority and its information comes from the Texas Department of State Health services, but the official I get the information from is a bit unclear on exactly what can be released. Can you point me where to find exactly what can be released?

For years, naysayers have said local and community newspapers are dying. They cite falling ad revenue, aging readership, lower subscriber rates and meager online revenue as Google and Facebook take the lion’s share.
COVID-19 has proved we are more relevant than ever, however. As tough a time as this is for our communities, our state and our nation, this is also a time for newspapers’  renaissance. It is a great opportunity to show our communities that no one covers them — and cares for them — like their local newspaper.

Governor’s order reopens many businesses on limited basis

AUSTIN — An executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott to reopen in-store retail shopping, dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, museums, libraries and more took effect May 1 and will continue through May 15.

Texas bolsters COVID-19 testing capabilities, moves toward reopening

AUSTIN — Texas continued to feel the effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic last week as Gov. Greg Abbott and advisors worked on a plan to ease his statewide stay-at-home order.

Abbott set April 27 as the target date for announcing his plan for the state to move toward normalizing business activities. 

Governor's orders move state toward reopening

AUSTIN — In line with signals from the White House to restart the nation's economy, Gov. Greg Abbott on April 17 issued executive orders to move the Lone Star State toward normalizing citizens’ activities during the COVID-19 crisis.

Transactions that pose little threat of spreading the deadly virus may reopen using a retail to-go model beginning April 24, Abbott ordered. On the other hand, schools must remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Recap: I'm summarizing questions to the NNA Postal Hotline of interest to members.
The identity of the questioner and location is withheld.

Q:  I have a question about our periodical permit. All of our advertisers have pulled their ads until at least the first of May. We cannot make it as a small newspaper without these major advertisers. If we take a short recess from publishing for about 3-4 weeks, will we lose our permit? What do we need to do in order to do this? This is crucial for us to stay in business.

The coronavirus pandemic is dominating headlines, generating stories on issues touching nearly every aspect of lives.

Reports addressing the health and safety of citizens are obviously center stage. At the same time, the pandemic has spawned a range of stories focusing on our worksites – the places we earn a paycheck as employees and purchase products and services as consumers. Business lockdowns and restrictions have redefined commerce and reshaped daily routines.

By Jim Pumarlo, community newspaper consultant

State-private partnership to speed up production of masks

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on April 8 announced a partnership between the Texas Military Department and Prestige Ameritech to increase production of personal protective equipment for health care workers.