Staff changes at Texas newspapers.
AMARILLO – Two newspaper veterans were inducted into the Hall of Fame and winners in the regional better newspaper contest were awarded at the 107th annual Panhandle Press Association Convention held April 20-22 in Amarillo.
Thursday’s reception was highlighted by a welcome reception held at the abandoned Herring Hotel, which hosted PPA conventions from the 1930s through the 1960s. PPA memorabilia was on display from the Herring days, and PPA members Laurie Ezzell Brown, Mary Hudson Dudley, and Susan Hogue Allen recalled attending conventions at the Herring with their parents.
Q: Are booster clubs subject to the public information law if I ask for their finances, donations and expenses? The one I’m asking about has ties to the school district but is not registered as a non-profit (yet).
Several years ago my newspaper was selected to participate in a roundtable discussion with several journalists from the Middle East. I’m not sure how that happened, but it was an enlightening experience.
Five of the most frightening words to hear from elected officials from all levels of government are these: “I’m all for transparency, but….”
The phrase following the “but” is usually an excuse to weaken government transparency, not protect it.
By Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Todd Hunter
AUSTIN — Newspaper public notice survived serious attacks in the 85th Texas Legislature, and press interests fended off dangerous bills that would have made newsrooms more susceptible to libel suits.
Transparency legislation championed by the Texas Press Association and its allies did not fare as well, however. Most pro-transparency bills fell victim to a deeply divided legislature that fought bitterly over everything from sanctuary cities to tax reform to transgender bathroom access.
Analysis by Donnis Baggett, TPA executive vice president
With the advent of the new Marked Copy Alternate Process, some corollary questions about advertising and non-advertising measurement have arisen.
Advertising measurement of newspapers is only required to compute higher, zoned pound rates on ad matter by distance outside the county, and allows lower, unzoned rates for all editorial matter. Rules concerning ad measurement are shared below, with updated citations from the U.S. Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual and Customer Support Rulings.
No matter how great your content is, if you don’t package it properly, few will read or share it.
Writing a great headline and choosing a dynamic main image for every article matters more now than ever — on a crowded Facebook feed that’s already turning out link posts for video, you’re playing a zero-sum game for your audience’s attention. That headline and image are frequently all anybody’s going to look at.
So the city you cover is considering raising property taxes and your editor wants a story today. If you’re like many journalists, you didn’t get a lot of training in college on municipal budgets. Journalist’s Resource offers some great information for writing about property taxes, what readers need to know about an impending increase in their property taxes and calculations for showing the impact on individual property owners.
A state appeals court has accelerated its review of a district court judge's ruling that resulted in the dismissal of charges against two Montgomery County elected officials and a political consultant, the Conroe Courier reported.