DENTON – The Texas Press Association honored veteran newspaper publisher and book author H.V. O’Brien with the Frank W. Mayborn Award for Outstanding Community Leadership.
TPS President Jim Bardwell presented the award June 12 at the concluding luncheon of the TPA Convention and Trade Show in Denton.
O’Brien, editor and publisher of Eastland County Today, noted that he and his wife, Gaynell, have been associated with the newspapers in Eastland County since 1962.
DENTON – Alvin Sun and Advertiser Sports Editor Stephen Collins has taken home this third Fred Hartman Award for Excellence in Sports Writing.
The award was presented by former Sun and Advertiser Publisher Dan Moore at the TPA Convention and Trade Show in Denton. Moore currently publishes the Henderson News.
Collins was also honored in 2014 and in 2019.
Thanking the Hartman family, TPA and his family, Collins also noted that this time was extra special because he was able to celebrate the award with his new bride, Josephine Collins, whom he married in March.
It was an underwhelming legislative session — not only because of the trash talk, partisan bickering and walkouts, but because of weather and health crises that were delivered by Mother Nature and made messier by the masked-up members of mankind. When the smoke cleared, however, the 2021 session of the Texas Legislature that ended with so much public business left undone was a positive one for the Texas newspaper industry.
Analysis By Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association
DENTON – Vendors demonstrated and shared their products and services with TPA members at the 141st Convention and Trade Show in Denton.
Sponsored by eType Services, the trade show kicked off convention events with a reception Thursday evening. Trade show hours continued on Friday morning.
A complete list of vendors is included in the 2021 Buyers Guide on the TPA website, www.texaspress.com/2021-trade-show-buyers-guide. The list includes links to the vendors’ individual websites.
As the 87th Texas Legislature concluded on Memorial Day, May 31, TPA Legislative Advisory Committee officials were confident the biennial barrage of legislation threatening public notice in newspapers would not make it through the final hours.
TPA Executive Vice President Donnis Baggett credited the work of Texas newspaper publishers in contacting their legislators, testifying in Austin, filing comments online and publishing columns and editorials to make the case for keeping public notices in newspapers.
“Newspapers remain the gold standard for public notice,” Baggett said.
This column is written by Paul Watler, Jackson Walker LLP.
Q: How do I recognize a defamatory statement in a letter to the editor? What if non-print and other media have in effect published the same defamatory statement?
Wise County Messenger honors high school UIL journalism state qualifiers
DECATUR – Three Wise County seniors, who were UIL Academic state journalism qualifiers, recently received the inaugural Ken Roselle Excellence in Journalism honor from the Wise County Messenger.
Messenger President/Owner Roy Eaton, Publisher Kristen Tribe and Editor Richard Greene presented the honor along with a $100 scholarship to Jacob Richey and Tony Howerton from Bridgeport High School and Hailey Holt from Paradise High School.
Staff additions, promotions and other changes at Texas newspapers.
Another legislative session is nearing an end, and it’s been intense. With four weeks remaining as of Messenger deadline, it’s still too early to tell whether newspaper public notice will survive the biennial barrage of nasty legislation, but one thing is certain: Texas publishers have never been more engaged in the legislative process than this year.
Analysis by DONNIS BAGGETT, Texas Press Association
Registration deadline is nearing for TPA’s 2021 Convention & Trade Show scheduled June 10-12 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center.
Hotel reservation information and registration forms are available online at www.texaspress.com. Deadline for convention registration and hotel reservations is May 26.
The event, postponed from January, will feature a wide variety of informative sessions, the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame 2021 induction ceremony, TPA awards and awards in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest.