Texas Press Association history from the pages of the Messenger

In 2025, the Texas Press Messenger’s volume number rolls to 100 —  10 decades covering Texas newspapers as they dutifully served their communities through the milestones of the 20th Century and continuing challenges of the first two decades of the 21st Century.

As the anniversary year approaches and throughout 2025, the Messenger will showcase some of its coverage from past years.

1944

Bill Quinn publishes Army paper on presses taken from enemy

Sgt. Bill Quinn, publisher of the Grand Saline Sun, went away to war but not away from newspaper publishing. He simply traded the  problems of putting out a newspaper in Texas for those of printing one in Italy and France.

As editor of the Beachhead News,  his job is to follow the 7th Army and when a town is liberated, take over the local newspaper equipment and begin publication of an Army newspaper.

The newspaper was founded on Anzio beachhead and has followed the soldiers of the 36th Division in their drive through Italy and their invasion of Southern France.

Sgt. Quinn is a member of the Texas Press Association.

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Pierce says 1945 is the year to renew effort on publication bill

N.H. Pierce of Menard was written The Messenger suggesting that the 1945 legislative session would be a good time to get through the bill Texas Press Association sponsored a few years ago, which would require publication of the expenditures of all political subdivisions. He suggests that the press has a number of friends in both houses and that Gov. Stevenson is in favor of pitiless publicity on public expenditures. For this reason, Pierce considers the coming session as the time to introduce the bill.

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Press time change in Italy

Publisher W.E. Reid of Italy (Texas) announced to his readers in mid-November: “The News-Herald is printed on Wednesday morning this week. That is almost two days earlier than usual. It is brought about by circumstances beyond our control. We cannot control the calendar. We cannot change the state laws. Both the calendar and state laws say deer season opens on Thursday morning, Nov. 16.”

The publisher’s hunt took place at Llano and Mason.

1954

New publication in Austin

Ronnie Dugger of Austin has been named editor of a new statewide liberal weekly to be published in the Capital City.

A political weekly now being published in Austin, The Observer, has been purchased from Paul Holcomb and merged with the East Texas Democrat to form the new publication Dugger will head. The name for the new publication will be the Texas Observer.

Dugger is a graduate of the University of Texas.

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Marlin Democrat in new plant

A new air-conditioned building now houses the Marlin Democrat Publishing Company, which publishes the Marlin Democrat, a semi-weekly in its 65th year, and the Daily Democrat, in its 54th year.

Both newspapers are owned by Mr. and Mrs. George S. Buchanan.

A new 2,000 square-foot warehouse was also built on the lot. A new Goss Cox-o-type press was installed in the new building nine months before the rest of the heavy equipment was moved in.

1964

Newspaper is ‘great miracle’

One of the “greatest miracles of production anywhere takes place in your local daily newspaper plant,” Dick Jeffery, promotion manager of The Dallas Morning News, said in a recent talk to a civic club.

He pointed out one little-known fact: that the newsprint on which the day’s product is printed costs the publisher more than the subscriber pays for the newspaper.

“The power of the press is great and with that power goes attendant great responsibility,” Jeffery said. “Probably first and foremost in the responsibility of the newspaper to its community is to operate in a business-like manner and make a profit — to be financially successful.”

He said that for a newspaper to maintain its independence, to retain its right to report fearlessly the truth, to be the conscience of a community and do the many things that people take for granted in their daily newspaper, the newspaper must be financially sound.

“Generally speaking, the newspapers that are most responsible and trustworthy ... are the ones that are solvent,” he said.

1974

More students studying journalism

A national trend in higher numbers of college journalism majors was reflected in statistics from the University of Texas reported by TPA President Glenn Sedam in his Messenger column.

Sedam attended a meeting of the advisory council of the UT School of Communication when Dr. Wayne Danielson, dean of the school, reported that journalism students on campus in the fall 1974 semester had reached a new record: 2,783 undergraduates and 276 grad students — an increase of 24 percent since the school organized in 1965.

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1975 Midwinter meeting planned

Plans for the January 1975 midwinter meeting in San Antonio were announced, including an appearance by Miss America Shirley Cochran, who was scheduled to speak and play selections on the flute.

Other dignitaries scheduled to speak were Herb Gibson, Jr., president of GibsonDiscount Centers; Father Joseph J. O’Brien, O.M.I., Catholic chaplain for the Texas Department of Corrections; and Colonel Gerald Childress, commander of the Southwestern Regional Recruiting Command in San Antonio.

1984

Thicker than printer’s ink

Beeville Bee-Picayune employees celebrated the 80th birthday of their oldest co-worker —  oldest both in terms of age and years of service with the newspaper —  Irvin McWhorter. Born in 1904 in Beeville, McWhorter began work as an “office devil” at the newspaper 15 years later. Now a printer, McWhorter works on the press staff with his brother, son, son-in-law and stepson. McWhorter attributes his longevity to drinking whole milk: “drunk it all my life,” he said. He even has his own personal cow, Peggy, which he rushes home to milk each evening at 5 p.m. Of course he gets a proper amount of rest on his new waterbed, nodding off to sleep about 6 p.m. (5:45 p.m. after the time change.) And, the two loves of his life are Dolly Parton and his wife Clara (not necessarily in that order.)