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.
A live webinar going over the stimulus package and how it relates to the newspaper industry is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 28. The FREE event starts at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28.
The bill includes a potential second draw for PPP loans with expanded definitions of forgivable expenses. Additionally, the bill includes a special set of rules for news organizations regarding eligibility, affiliation, and publicly traded companies.
TPA members are invited to join Scott Sternberg and Keith Naccari, of Sternberg, Naccari & White, to learn more.
Deadline is approaching for nominations to the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame and for annual TPA awards, including the Golden 50 Award, the Mayborn Award and the Hartman Award for Excellence in Sports Writing.
Nov. 16 is the deadline for the 2021 Lone Star Journalism Writing Contest, co-sponsored by Texas Press Association and the Interscholastic League Press Conference.
Through the annual contest, participating students write general-interest features for publication in their hometown newspapers. Cash prizes will be awarded.
Since UIL Academics does not have an amateur rule, students may participate in this contest as well as participate in UIL journalism competition or any other academic contest.
Philip Austin Berkebile, Sr, who served as executive vice president of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association for 22 years, died May 1 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was 83.
National Newspaper Association expressed its appreciation to members of Congress for moving quickly to adopt the $2 trillion Coronavirus Act, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that contains appropriations to help small businesses avoid bankruptcy.
SAN ANTONIO – Transparency experts will gather Wednesday, April 8, in San Antonio for a seminar offering training in the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The Open Government Seminar is part of a series of regional educational sessions the non-profit Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is hosting this year in cooperation with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
It is open to all who are interested, including community activists, journalists, attorneys, government employees and the general public.
MOUNT PLEASANT – Toni Rowan is the new editor and publisher of the Mount Pleasant Tribune, Pittsburg Gazette and Steel Country Bee.
The announcement was made by Mark Henry of Northeast Texas Publishing, LP. “We are happy to have Toni join us as the new leader for these newspapers,” he said. “We are confident she will help the newspapers better serve the readers, advertisers and communities throughout the counties.”