We have all seen challenges to the future of a free and independent press. Yet I remain an optimist if we in the community newspaper business can learn best practices from the large media outlets and harness the best tools to help us disseminate information, which will always be in demand.

By Ken Esten Cooke, TPA Second Vice President

Awards in the annual Lone Star Writing Contest for high school students have been released.
The contest is co-sponsored by Texas Press Association and the Interscholastic League Press Conference.

Staff changes, promotions, retirements at Texas newspapers.

JILLIAN SMITH
The Kerrville Daily Times

Past TPA President Chris Barbee, former publisher of the El Campo Leader-News and Wharton Journal-Spectator, is El Campo’s first directly elected mayor.

The 2021 Texas Press Association Convention & Trade Show has been rescheduled due to continuing safety concerns associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
The event will be held June 10-12 at the same location, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center, TPA Executive Director Mike Hodges announced.

Thanks to the pandemic, the 2021 session of the Texas Legislature will be vastly different than any session we’ve seen before.

By Mike Hodges and Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association