In addition to the Texas Better Newspaper Contest, TPA members have the opportunity to enter an separate competition that carries a $5,000 prize.
Texas is among 14 states where the Center for Integrity in News Reporting is launching a new annual journalism awards program.
Funded by a grant from the SNPA Foundation, the awards will recognize the best examples of impartial, objective and fair reporting in newspapers.
As the year draws to a close, TPA members are encouraged to start selecting their best work from 2025 to enter in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest.
The contest opens for entries on Jan. 19 on the ACES contest platform, the online system used for the past two years. Entries submitted should have been published during the 2025 calendar year. Deadline for entries is Feb. 13.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the Texas Press Messenger will become a digital-only newspaper.
For several years, Texas Press Association has been delivering its monthly newspaper to members the first of each month both digitally and in print. Since almost every print copy is an out-of-county mail piece, the delay in delivery is frequently three to four weeks.
NACOGDOCHES – The Daily Sentinel has welcomed Jackland Berry-McDowell as publisher to lead the award-winning community newspaper.
“I am incredibly proud to have Jackland Berry-McDowell step into the publisher role for The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches. With her experience growing up in the area combined with her energy, there is no doubt she will make the community proud,” said Leonard Woolsey, president of Southern Newspapers, Inc. “I see great things ahead for The Daily Sentinel and the community.”
Lavaca County celebrated a remarkable milestone recently as Henry Joe Jasek began his 70th year in journalism.
By MICHELLE PRICE, Halletsville Tribune-Herald
Jasek’s career started on Aug. 30, 1956, when he was a recent high school graduate looking for work close to home. The Moulton Eagle hired him as a typesetter, a job that came at a critical time for his family. With his father battling cancer and his mother in need of help, Jasek set aside his plans to attend business school and stayed near home to support them.
(Industry news as reported in Texas Newspapers and published in the December edition of the Texas Press Messenger.)
Beaumont Enterprise marks 145th anniversary
BEAUMONT – The Beaumont Enterprise has marked 145 years of publishing under the current name.
A history complied by staff writer Megan Zapalac and published on the Nov. 7 anniversary date included these milestones:
The Headliners Foundation of Texas presented Daily News Editor Michael A. Smith with the Charles E. Green Award for Opinion Writing.
“Each year the foundation recognizes the best — the journalists who report and write outstanding stories, take riveting photos and design content for impact and accessibility — with the Charles E. Green Award,” according to the organization.
Promotions, new hires and other employment news reported in Texas newspapers and published in the December 2025 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.
ALEXANDRA MONTOYA
Marlin Democrat, Rosebud News
MARLIN – Alexandra Montoya has been promoted to the managing editor position for Texas Local Media’s Marlin Democrat and Rosebud News weekly newspapers.
“We have been looking for ways to build up the paper,” Group Publisher Tim Timmons said. “Alex has a long track record with this company and her work has been outstanding.”
(Obituaries published in the December 2025 edition of the Texas Press Messenger)
JOHN GRAVOIS
DALLAS – John Gravois, a man whose passion for journalism shaped both the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s political coverage and the reporters who worked for him, died on Nov. 11. He was 67.
Colleagues remembered Gravois for his passion for the craft and ability to make the people around him better.
Rules are available online for the 2025 Texas Better Newspaper Contest, which opens for entries Jan. 19.
For a second year, the contest will allow online content to be submitted as entries in writing and photography categories. In addition, the rules specify AI generated or AI modified/enhanced content is not eligible for submission.
The contest opens for entries on Jan. 19 on the ACES contest platform, the online system used for the past three years. Entries submitted should have been published during the 2025 calendar year. Deadline for entries is Feb. 13.