Angelo State welcomes WTPA
Transcription
Angelo State welcomes WTPA
12 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 Dillard receives Harold Hudson Award Bob Dillard was awarded the prestigious Harold Hudson Award at the WTPA 79th annual Summer Convention in San Angelo. Last year’s recipient, Randy Mankin, presented the award. The award is in memory of the late Harold Hudson, publisher of the Perryton Herald and prominent member and past president of WTPA and the National Newspaper Association. The award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to the publishing industry and West Texas Press Association. “Bob was one of the first publishers to offer Kathy and me his assistance when we joined this business in 1994,” said Mankin. ”And he was the very first one I called on for advice when the polygamous cult invaded our county in 2004. I figured anyone who had lived through and reported the Republic of Texas standoff could surely offer me some good advice – and he did!” A native of Tyler, Dillard graduated from Fort Worth Eastern Hills High School in 1963 where he had worked on the school newspaper. He attended Baylor University in Waco and the University of Texas at Arlington where he again found himself as a major player in the school newspaper. In 1976, he found a way to buy a share of the Alpine Avalanche, which he operated and coedited until 1990. In 1982, the Dillards purchased the Big Bend Sentinel in Marfa, a paper they owned until 1992. In 1993, they acquired the Jeff Davis County News and changed the name to the Jeff Davis Mountain Dispatch. Then in 1995 the Stanton News was purchased and its name changed to the Martin County Messenger. A year later the Greenwood Ranger published its first edition in the Midland suburb. And, somehow in the middle of publishing five West Texas newspapers, he found the time to serve as Jeff Davis county judge, not to mention a long list of volunteer jobs. Bob and his wife Christi have two children and seven grandchildren. The cyan magenta yellow black the crime entitled No Reason to Kill. “It was a crime that touched San Angelo like no other,” Smith said. “After the murder, the whole town changed.” Smith went on to tell the room full of journalists what it was like to investigate the crime. He also said that much of the information he obtained for the book came from area newspapers that had followed the story closely. He said many of the reporters actually knew more about the case than the detectives working to solve it. “The newspapers never let up,” Smith said. “From 50 years later, you (newspapers) give us a means to go back and get important information. You are the historians.” PUBLISHER Official publication of the West Texas Press Association MICAH MOORE Intern’s stay helped by WTPA Bob Dillard, left, receives the Harold Hudson Award from last year’s recipient, Randy Mankin. Smith relates tale of senseless death It was a riveting tale. A crime so senseless, so revolting, that it shook the Texas city of San Angelo to its core when on Feb. 11, 1980, a man walked into a jewelry store and shot and killed Sheila Elrod. Elrod, 20, was a smart, pretty employee of the store who was gunned down during a robbery. In the days, weeks and months following the murder, police pursued leads and collected evidence, but it was 20 years later that a break in the case would finally land a suspect behind bars. At the West Texas Press Association’s annual conference in San Angelo, Russell Smith, former San Angelo police chief, addressed conference attendees about a book he had written about PRSRT STD Russell Smith tells the story of the death of Sheila Elrod in 1980. The Dublin Citizen has a new member on staff. Micah Moore, a Tarleton State University student, joined The Citizen as an intern for eight weeks through a program with the West Texas Press Association. Moore is originally from Golden, a small town in East Texas, and is an agricultural communications major. While at Tarleton, he has contributed to the J-TAC, the student newspaper, and has even written and reported the news on KTRL and Tarleton’s latest media project, the Texan TV News. Moore is also active outside the classroom as well, serving as the Noble Ruler of Alpha Gamma Rho and a member of the Student Media Advisory Board. He has also been active in student government and in ’07-’08 served as Tarleton’s mascot, the Texan Rider. Moore will graduate in May 2010 and hopes to have a career in journalism and public relations. Mac McKinnon, publisher of The Citizen, noted it is exciting to have someone to come in and help who has the talent that Moore obviously has. “We hope everyone in the community has the opportunity to meet him during his time on staff,” McKinnon said. www.wtpa.org ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 76450 PERMIT NO. 1 EST. 1926 AUGUST 2009 Angelo State welcomes WTPA It was time for publishers and editors to put on their thinking caps as Angelo State University as the city of San Angelo played host to the 79th annual West Texas Press Association summer convention held July 16-18. Ed Henninger, of Henninger Consulting in South Carolina, had members using their “brain power” as he took people through a two-hour session of “Design Between the Ears: It’s a Brainshop!” Henninger concentrated on how to balance, use better type and focus on color to help create better pages. He also devoted his Friday afternoon free time to critiquing several members’ newspapers at no charge, giving them insight and suggestions on how to improve their product. Technology involving podcasts was discussed during the Saturday morning session with ASU professors Dr. Cathy Johnson and Dr. June Smith. Both professors touched on using the Web to help expand community newspapers. Smith spoke on the use of two- to three-minute podcasts to get breaking news out to readers of nondaily papers. ASU students were exposed to community newspapers during the Friday luncheon roundtable discussion that involved Lara Johnson and Kimberley Parker, Smith and WTPA members Randy Mankin, Cathy Collier and Roy Robinson. Issues from how to reach out to students like Johnson and Parker to what these Melissa Perner is elected president of the West Texas Press Association for 2009-10. Perner elected president his own band. Friday morning opened with a welcome from Preston Lewis, director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at ASU. The convention’s annual silent auction also opened and the bidding began on items brought by members. After Henninger’s session, WTPA members Terry Collier and Marshall Day spoke on their experience with the Aus- Melissa Perner, editor and publisher of The Ozona Stockman, was elected president of the West Texas Press Association at the 79th annual summer convention July 16-18 in San Angelo. Perner had served the past year as first vice president and organized and chaired the San Angelo convention, which took place on the campus of Angelo State University. She succeeds Cathy Collier, editor of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. Perner also serves on the Texas Press Association board of directors. As a West Texas girl growing up in the small town of Seagraves, Texas, Perner always See ANGELO, Page 2 See PERNER, Page 2 Sweepstakes winners in the 2009 Better Newspaper Contest are, left to right, Melissa Perner, Ozona Stockman; Cathy Collier, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post; Lisa Davis, Wise County Messenger; and Rayanne Schmid, Kerrville Daily Times. students would experience if hired by a community newspaper were discussed. The convention opened with a golf tournament chaired by Paul C. Perner IV at Quicksand Golf Course. Awards for the winning team in the scramble tournament were presented at the Thursday night opening reception. That event was held at the LeGrand Alumni and Visitor Center on the ASU campus. Guests arrived to an elegant building set with Western and Indian designs and filled with names and businesses of ASU Alumni. ASU President Dr. Joseph C. Rallo and his wife of three weeks, Barbara, attended the event. Rallo welcomed WTPA to his campus and spoke on how ASU is working on becoming one of the top universities in the country and has a goal to have 10,000 students in the future. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Haden Burchard, a sophomore at Texas Tech University with 2 PUBLISHER Angelo continued from Page1 tin Tenant’s Council and the Federal Housing Administration. Both men’s newspapers were targeted by the Austin Tenant’s Council and ended up having to donate advertising and conduct training. Both men presented handouts to help other newspapers avoid any future targets. WTPA members were free to explore ASU and San Angelo Friday afternoon, with oncampus tours and trips to the Hummer House in Christoval, before reconvening at the Junell Center for the president’s reception sponsored by ASU. After a Texas barbecue feast, Randy Mankin, 2008 recipient of the Harold Hudson Award, presented this year’s award to Fort Davis publisher Bob Dillard. The group was then treated to an intense and intriguing tale by San Angelo author AUGUST 2009 continued from Page1 “dreamed” of becoming a newspaper journalist. In high school, she worked on the school newspaper and was editor her junior and senior years. She began her journalism career at ASU where she moved up the ranks to become editor of the university’s newspaper the Ram Page her senior year. After graduating from ASU in December 2000, Perner immediately stepped into a full-time reporting position for the San Angelo StandardTimes, where she remained until 2004 when she and her husband, Paul, bought The Ozona Stockman in Paul’s hometown of Ozona. There, Perner is publicity chair for Ozona Woman’s League and is an active member in the First Baptist Church. Paul and Melissa live on his parent’s ranch outside of Ozona. They are the proud “parents” of two dogs, Jade and Sage, and a cat named Dash. Other WTPA officers elected in San Angelo are Mac McKinnon of the Dublin Citizen as first vice president and convention chair and Derek Tidwell of the Hood County News as second vice president and Better Newspaper Contest chair. Collier will be chairman of the board and Mary Dudley of the Perryton Herald is secretary-treasurer. Board directors for 2009-10 are Robert Burns, EMBARQ; Carolyn Anderson, Rocksprings; Mark Engebretson, Possum Kingdom Lake/Graford; Debbie Aylesworth, Canyon (one year unexpired term); John Schmid, Kerrville; Roger Estlack, Clarendon; Lisa Davis, Decatur; and Rochelle Stidham, Stephenville. Mary Dudley, of the Perryton Herald, is again secretary-treasurer for WTPA. She maintains the records, keeps officers informed and is the central point of contact for WTPA business. Perner appointed Bob Dillard as scholarship chairman and Robert Burns to a one-year term, McKinnon to a twoyear term and Lisa Davis to a three-year term on the newly adopted finance committee. A heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all who contributed their time, money and effort to the success of the 2009 WTPA convention EMBARQ Hood County News AT&T Clarendon Enterprise Dublin Citizen Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Gatesville Messenger Hill Country Community Press Iowa Park Leader Lamesa Press-Reporter North Central Texas Publishing Perryton Herald South Plains Printing — For being Better Newspaper Contest sponsors Angelo State University AEP Texas Texas Press Association AT&T EMBARQ Hood County News Odessa Convention & Visitors Bureau Gatesville Messenger Wise County Messenger Lamesa Press-Reporter Iowa Park Leader — For being convention sponsors Lake Country Sun — For printing, labeling and mailing The Publisher Cathy Collier Melissa Perner 11 Winners Perner Russell Smith as he presented his book, No Reason to Kill. With photos from the book, Smith took the audience through the murder of 20-year-old San Angelo resident Shelia Elrod who was killed in 1980 during a jewelry store robbery. Collier chaired Saturday morning’s general membership meeting after the session. He announced that the first WTPA interns were at the Dublin Citizen and the Brownwood Bulletin. WTPA provided $5,000 to each paper. Results of the Better Newspaper Contest were announced and Mac McKinnon announced Odessa as the convention site for 2010. Prize drawings were held for stays at Prude Ranch and the Limpia Hotel in Fort Davis and the Paisano Hotel in Marfa. Both were won by Bill Berger and Jerry Berger. PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 Bob Brincefield Mac McKinnon Mary Dudley Bob Dillard Joe Hernandez Rochelle Stidham Mark Engebretson — For providing articles and photographs for The Publisher Paul C. Perner IV Joe Hernandez — For assisting with the golf tournament Susan Williams Susan Calloway — For assisting with door prizes and the silent auction continued from Page10 Third - South Tarrant Star interesting way. Very good!” Second Place - Hood County News Third Place - Jack County Herald Honorable Mention - Graham Leader General Excellence Division A First Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune “Good overall appearance; not too cluttered. Sports pictures are very professional. Great focus on local elections.” Second Place - Plainview Daily Herald Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Brownwood Bulletin Division C First Place - Hamilton Herald News “Good use of creative artwork – still interesting even without photos. Nice use of fonts. Nicely put together.” Second Place - Fredericksburg Standard Third Place- Lake Country Sun Division D First Place - The Albany News “Great ads! Good composition and color; good photos, very clean design.” Second Place - Crowley Star Third Place - Keene Star Column Writing Division A First - Stephenville EmpireTribune “The writer gets to the point. Second column is very interesting.” Second – Roswell Daily Record Third – Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Plainview Daily Herald Division B (Tie) First - The Perryton Herald “Nice analysis.” First - Lamesa Press-Reporter - “Touching story about small town antics. Really enjoyed reading it.” Second - The Highlander Third - The Burleson Star Division C First - Glen Rose Reporter - “Awesome story, very interesting about the relation to billion-dollar corporations getting bailed out while Average Joes are still struggling.” Second - Fredericksburg Standard Third - Dublin Citizen Division D First- Hico News-Review “Excellent, very newsworthy. Hits home to most.” Second - Joshua Star Division B First Place- Burleson Star “I like the National Dog Week. Lots of good coverage on local stories.” Second Place - Wise County Messenger Third Place - The Canyon News Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “High resolution photos had better quality than most papers in the same division. Catchy headlines, good layout.” Second Place - Dublin Citizen Third Place - Hamilton Herald News Honorable Mention - Glen Rose Reporter Division D First Place - The Olney Enterprise “Overall, very good appearance. We loved the little kids page. We also like the panoramic picture of the fire on the front page.” Second Place - South Tarrant Star Third - Crowley Star Honorable Mention - Alvarado Star Special Coverage Award Division-Weekly First Place - Dublin Citizen “This was a stand-out entry. Great coverage of behind the scenes politics and an appraiser’s fight with local business interests.” Second Place - South Tarrant Star Third Place - Ozona Stockman Division - Semi-Weekly/ Daily First Place - The Highlander “Great coverage of a hometown hero’s rise to Olympic contender.” Second Place - Canyon News Third Place - Graham Leader Honorable Mention -Lamb County Leader News Special Section Division A First Place - Brownwood Bulletin “This entry won first place in a field of tough competitors. Tons of good features that really show the reader what the people of Brownwood are like.” Second - Roswell DailyRecord. Third - Stephenville EmpireTribune Honorable Mention - Kerrville Daily-Times Division B First place - Highland Lakes, “Articles were good and original.” Second - Canyon News Third - Hood County News Fourth - Wise County Messenger Division C First - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post “Interesting take on a subject. Articles were good and creative.” Second – Dublin Citizen Third - Colorado City Record Honorable Mention - Hondo Anvil-Herald Division D First - Ozona Stockman “Good articles all related to the theme of the section. Layout and design were simple but photos were OK. Overall, something different.” Second - El Dorado Success Third - Albany News Sports Division A First Place - Stephenville Empire-Tribune “Strong use of leads to draw the reader in. An effective job of covering sport-related information for a variety of sports. Articles read easily and clearly. Photos are great, very clear images and nice job capturing action photos. Nice job equally distributing coverage on each segment of sports related events/material. Visual presentation of the information is appealing.” Second Place - Roswell Daily Record Third Place -Kerrville Daily Times Division B First Place - The Highlander “Pictures and layout are amazing; Very intriguing.” Second Place - Burleson Star Third Place - The Graham Leader Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Wonderful pictures! Nice coverage of all sports for Fredericksburg and surrounding areas. Good leads. Way to keep attention throughout story. Photo captions are good. Nice color in stories. Good headlines!” Second Place - Hondo AnvilHerald Third Place - Glen Rose Reporter Honorable Mention - Dublin Citizen Division D First Place - The Albany News “Lots of good stories and pictures. Great range of coverage. Everything from varsity to youth, great coverage. Good future info.” Second Place - The El Dorado Success Third Place - The Alvarado Star Photographer of the Year Weekly Division First Place - Lisa Walter, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post - “Great perspectives and use of visual storytelling techniques.” Second Place - Christopher Amos, Alvarado Star Third - Kim Ovard, Crowley Star Honorable Mention - Joe Hernandez, Ozona Stockman Semi-Weekly First Place - Joe Duty, Wise County Messenger - “Great photos, visually compelling journalism.” Second Place - Gabe Wolf, Lampasas Dispatch Third Place -Russel Skiles, Lamesa Press Reporter Honorable Mention - Kim Ovard, Burleson Star Daily First – Mark Wilson, Roswell Daily Record, “Photos that make you say ‘wow!’” Second - John Schmid, Kerrville Daily Times Third - Richard Porter, Plainview Daily Herald Journalist of the Year Division-Weekly First Place - The Llano County Journal - George Hatt “Well written, interesting subjects. Shows that you can write about anything from sports to crime scenes and still be effective. Great leads, from features to sports to difficult situations. You kept interest and wrote effectively in all areas. Great stories, huge variety, very interesting. Good profile, good leads and variety in stories. Good visuals and great layout and presentation.” Second Place - Alvarado Star-Christopher Amos Third Place- The Hico News Review - Anna Belew Division-Semi-Weekly First Place - Wise County Messenger - Mandy Bourgeois “Her articles varied in topic from Santa profiles to the heartwarming story of two sisters. Her writing always helps the reader to see the funny and the meaningful side of the topic.” Second Place - Lampasas Dispatch-Record - David Lowe Third Place - Graham Leader - David Rupkalvis Honorable Mention - The Highlander - Bobbi Gage Division- Daily First Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune - Amanda Kimble “Great range of coverage. The sexual assault stories were inspiring. Good photos along with stories. Lead to ‘Let’s Eat’ culinary story was good. Nice way to link Athena to the goddess Athena - Made us want to read more. Pretty good headlines.” Second Place - Plainview Daily Herald - Doug McDonough Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times - Alyson Chapman Honorable Mention - Roswell Daily Record - Richard Jacques 10 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 2009 WTPA Better Newspaper Contest winners SWEEPSTAKES Division A First place – Kerrville Daily Times Second – Stephenville Empire-Tribune Tie for third – Plainview Daily Herald, Roswell Daily Record Division B First place - Wise County Messenger Second place – the Highlander Third – Graham Leader Division C First place - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Second place - Dublin Citizen Third place - Glen Rose Reporter Division D First place - Ozona Stockman Second place - Joshua Star Third place - Alvarado Star Editorial Writing Division A First Place - Roswell Daily Record “Good editorial; good writing, and it makes a clear if sometimes unpopular point.” “Good background and conclusion was strong although some of the arguments seemed convoluted.” Second place - Plainview Daily Herald Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Brownwood Bulletin Division B First Place - Graham Leader “OK overall but focuses on making sure everyone is aware of a problem rather than on any solution.” “Good editorial, good background and shines light on local issue.” Second Place - Canyon News Third Place - Wise County Messenger Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Good use of personal example to define a local problem. Good clear argumentation.” Second Place - Colorado City Record Third Place - Lake Country Sun Division D First Place - Joshua Star “ Pretty good piece.” “Good on an important issue. A kind of ‘folksy’ writing that is hard to pull off.” Second Place - Ozona Stockman Third Place - Eldorado Success Features Division A First - The Kerrville Daily Times “Really touching story.” Second - Stephenville Empire-Tribune Third - Plainview Daily Herald Division B First - Wise County Messenger “Very nice, good length, great photos.” “This is great. The soldier theme was consistent in the story, title, photos and captions. The photos are great.” Second - Quanah TribuneChief Third - Breckenridge American Division C First - The Hamilton Herald “Very interesting.” Second - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Third - Dublin Citizen Division D Tie, First - Hico News Review “Great content. A nice warning tale.” First - Joshua Star “You did a great job with explaining why Scott loves sports and what inspires him to do what he does.” Second - Crowley Star Third - The Ozona Stockman News Writing Division A First Place - Kerrville Daily Times “Story flowed very well and kept me interested. It is a local issue, hitting on a national one. Great job localizing. Educates and informs people in a very upbeat yet serous way. Very good en- Division B First Place - The Graham Leader “Good lead, good use of quotes. The story made me want to keep reading, trailed off a little at the end, but overall good story.” “Good story, a few grammatical errors, but not a lot wrong.” Second Place - Hood County News Third Place - Quanah Tribune Chief Honorable Mention - Lampasas Dispatch Record Division D First Place- The Ozona Stockman “Good quotes, interesting intro, very good story, could shorten cutlines.” “Very well written, turned it into an interesting story. Colored ink on Page 1 would be cool.” Second Place - Joshua Star Third Place - Keene Star Photography Division A Quicksand Golf Course offers many challenges Quicksand Golf Course, the “ninth hardest course in Texas,” was the site of the 2009 West Texas Press Association annual golf outing at its annual convention in San Angelo. Tournament chairman Paul C. Perner IV said he was pleased with this year’s turnout. Quicksand boasts 7,171 yards of challenging golf when played from the championship tees. Sand traps, water hazards and generous fairways dot the 18 holes laid out over 320 acres. “We chose Quicksand because it is a beautiful and joyed it a lot.” “Good story; you have some really good quotes and the all focused on how the ban is going to be bad for them. I think there could have been more numbers and statistics used to show how many this ordinance will effect. Great quote on how much VFW gives in scholarships. I think there should have been more emphasis.” Second Place - Brownwood Bulletin Third Place -Stephenville Empire-Tribune Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Interesting topic, about a topic that affects everyone, so it draws the reader. I liked the interviews with normal shoppers.” “I really like the use of the picture of the map. It really helps the reader put a visual with the story. Interesting subject for readers and could possibly inform the reader to be more safe if they were not knowledgeable about this. Good job!” Second Place - Glen Rose Reporter Third Place -Colorado City Record PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 fun course to play,” Perner said. “We decided to shake things up a bit and do the tournament as a scramble this year.” The winning team scored a 67, with second and third teams tied at 68 each. On the winning team was Perner, Kathy McClellan from Vernon, Charles and Vonnie Fisher from Roswell, N.M., and Bob Brincefield of Brownwood. Everyone on the West Texas Press Board of Directors and members would like to thank Quicksand Golf Course and their staff for being such wonderful hosts. Paul Perner announces the winners of this year’s golf tournament. Style and poise Mac McKinnon, publisher of The Dublin Citizen, announces winners of the 2009 WTPA Better Newspaper Contest. First - Brownwood Bulletin (corn) “Interesting photo! Good composition, display and subject.” Second - Kerrville Daily Times Third - Plainview Daily Herald Honorable Mention - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Glen Rose Reporter Division B First - Lamb County Leader (fire) - “A perfect, newsy, interesting front page photo. Truly captured a unique and interesting moment!” Second - Wise County Messenger Third - Breckenridge American Honorable Mention - Wise County Messenger Advertising Composition Division A First Place - Plainview Daily Herald “Ads catch readers attention; even the one without color. Not too cluttered or wordy, gets message across succinctly.” Second Place - Brownwood Bulletin Third Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune Division C First - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post (track) “Great photo, captures expressions.” Second - Dublin Citizen Third - Fredericksburg Standard Radio-Post Division D First- Hico News (bridge) “Eye-catching photo! Very well composed.” Second - Alvarado Star Third - Ozona Stockman Honorable Mention - Crowley Star Division B First Place - Wise County Messenger “Very original, eye-catching, great ideas. Very creative. Gets message across in an See WINNERS, Page 11 3 4 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER 9 Ed Henninger urges design thinking R e d e s i g n t h e w a y y o u small newspapers carries his yours is a newspaper that is think. name.” planned. Or not.” That was South Carolina More information on the He added that design is no design consultant Ed Hen- program is available by con- more of an extra than acninger’s advice on how to tacting edh@henningercon- curate reporting, good writmake any newspaper redesign sulting.com or www.hen- ing, selling ads or making a success, and he challenged ningerconsulting.com. deadlines. West Texas Press Association At his morning workshop, He offered some suggestions members to do just that at Henninger talked about five about typography in terms of the San Angelo convention basic design principles – bal- body type, headline type, July 17. line length, “Learn to use “We’re all working for the reader,” he concluded. standing your brain and “If you think about them when you’re doing ev- headlines, think about u s e o f what you’re erything you do, you can’t go wrong.” color and doing when Ed Henninger m o r e , a n d you’re doing design consultant answered design,” he questions said. from his auFor those dience. who think He also they can’t afurged ediford a redetors to consign, Henninger talked about ance, contrast, focus, propor- sider holding most stories to the Francis A. Henninger tion and unity – and showed no more than 12-15 inches. Grant Program that Hen- examples of how those can “Readers stop when the ninger Consulting offers to be executed in newspaper story gets too long,” he said. make design services afford- design. “We’re all working for the able for every newspaper – “First impressions really reader,” he concluded. “especially those with limited matter. That’s why design “If you think about them circulation, revenue and staff matters,” he said, “Design is when you’re doing everything size,” he said. about looking right.” you do, you can’t go wrong.” “The grant is named for He stressed that design “is After lunch Friday, Henmy father who believed in not an extra. It’s a key ingre- ninger sat down with indihard work, commitment to dient in creating a newspaper vidual newspaper staffs and family and giving to others that’s worth reading – and did one-on-one evaluations without any desire for recog- advertising in.” during the afternoon. nition,” Henninger said. “Dad He noted that a paper’s deHe questioned staffs about never made it to high school, sign “tells readers that yours their goals and the reasons sacrificing his education to is a newspaper that is cred- behind their current designs, help in his father’s shop as a ible. Or not. It tells readers and he also offered suggesprinter’s devil. He’d be proud yours is a newspaper that is tions on how the papers to know this plan to help careful. Or not. It tells readers could be improved. Left, Angelo State University President Dr. Joseph C. Rallo greets West Texas Press Association members at a Thursday evening dinner. Right, Preston Lewis, director of the ASU Office of Communication and Marketing, greets West Texas Press Association members at the Friday morning meeting. Ed Henninger, a design consultant, gives a two-hour presentation at the West Texas Press Association. Silent auction items raise $862 Around 30 items were on the auction block for WTPA’s annual silent auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Bob Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund. The auction raised $862 this year. The top selling item was a wrought iron and crystal candle holder, donated by The Graham Leader, and purchased by Debbie Day for $60. Day also bought the second most sought-after item for $50, a huge candy basket, donated by the Lamesa PressReporter. Auction items ranged from the ever-popular Dublin Dr. Pepper and James Avery earrings, to food and gift baskets, home décor, autographed books, signed prints, jewelry, vases, metal crosses and even “Second Life” golf balls. Some 30 items are at the West Texas Press Association annual convention. Proceeds benefit the Bob Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund. We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true. Robert Wilensky, speech at a 1996 conference Left, Dr. Joseph C. Rallo, president of ASU, and his wife, Barbara, spend an evening with WTPA members during their third week of marriage. Above, ASU staff member and their wives have dinner at Thursday evening’s reception. 8 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 5 Day, Collier relate Fair Housing Act experiences A few Texas newspapers had a run-in with Housing and Urban Development over classified ads that were alleged to be in violation of federal fair housing guidelines – and two publishers caught in the whirlwind told West Texas Press Association members of their experiences. Marshall Day, publisher of the Gatesville Messenger, and Terry Collier, publisher of the Fredricksburg Standard-Radio Post and president of the Texas Press Association, related their experience and their perception of the ordeals. Day said it was Collier’s paper that received the first notification, his was next. In all, some 10 small newspapers had been notified of violations in the fair housing law. “It was the first time anyone could recall a group of small newspapers being targeted,” he said. “They gave you no warning – they just say ‘you’re guilty.’” Day noted that the Austin Tenets Council initiated the action through HUD. “They live off fines,” he continued. “They targeted all these small papers. There was no rhyme or reason.” MARSHALL DAY He related that the first letter from HUD and the Austin group wanted $25,000 cash and $10,000 in free advertising for a year as well as the entire newspaper staff to attend sensitivity training in Fort Worth. “HUD backed off (the training in) Fort Worth,” said Day. “I could not afford a $25,000 hit. We went back and forth.” He explained that there were three ads in question. The first was for an ad that noted it was one-bedroom, “mature renters only.” “Mature did not necessarily mean old – it could be responsible,” he said he argued. The second ad was a onebedroom, one-bath, “great for single.” “It didn’t say ‘for single only.’ “One I could not defend – no children – I couldn’t argue that one,” Day noted. He said HUD kept reducing the fine amounts, but there was never a conversation with ATC. Day called the National Newspaper Association and spoke with an attorney there who advised that he not hire an attorney. “She was very helpful. “In the end, they wanted $2,500 and $5,000 worth of free advertising. It was obvious from the beginning they weren’t interested in sensitivity. They just wanted money so they could qualify for grants. They had to justify their existence.” Day said he settled for $1,250 in cash and $5,000 in free advertising for one year. “They turned out to be illegal ads,” he said. TERRY COLLIER His advice? “Describe the property, not the person.” Collier said his notice was that there had been a formal complaint regarding the federal fair housing act. “We went the attorney route,” he said. “Initially they wanted a $5,000 fine, a fine for ‘frustration of resources.’” He also noted that they asked for $5,000 in free advertising and sensitivity training. “We had three also – al- legedly,” said Collier. “Our ads limited the number of people.” He added that they were informed that they could be fined up to $11,000 per offense. “We eventually got a conciliatory agreement. They said, ‘How about $750.’” He also agreed to run $5,000 in free advertising for a year. “We’ll be done at the end of September,” he said, adding that he also made a deal for online training for three employees. He also said he called Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office. “The more folks were cited by this outfit, the fines got less and less and less. They know they’re being watched now.” Collier noted that with $4,000 in attorney fees, his cost was $4,700. “They’re (ATC) already getting funded. I don’t think they should be rewarded by predatorily reading our paper. I don’t want them to use this to go against smaller papers. “There’s no second chance. Ethically, morally, we don’t want to run ads like that – I think they just wanted money.” Publishers, ASU professor discuss journalism future Graham Newspapers Publisher Roy Robinson opened Friday’s roundtable discussion with a quote from Ray Marcano of Cox Ohio Newspapers. According to Marcano, there will always be a demand for true journalists, for information played down the middle – not bloggers. Robinson said community newspapers will be around – what we need to save is journalism. The comments laid the groundwork for a discussion between panel members, Robinson, Randy Mankin, Editor and Publisher of the Eldorado Success, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Editor Cathy Collier, Dr. June Smith with Angelo State University Journalism Department and two student staff members of the Ram Page, ASU’s student newspaper. Smith said there is a need for good writers for different mediums who have the skills to ask the hard questions in such a manner that they will get and answer and not a “no comment.” One of the students agreed with Smith and said that information comes faster now and there needs to be a convergence of mediums. Mankin said that print products will always be a part of the equation – if we can find a way to pay for it. Speaking on the advantages community newspapers offer young journalism students graduating from the university, Collier said, “We can offer the opportunity for students to have a full range of experiences far more than a large newspaper in Dallas. We are anxious to do on-line newspapers and students can help us integrate Facebook and Twitter and streaming video.” The students said on the Ram Page they learn to do a little bit of everything and become more than just a photographer – they become well rounded. Robinson said they will find that in community newspapers as well – learn to Left, Dr. June Smith presents information about integrating technology to West Texas Press Association members. Right, Dr. Cathy Johnson addresses the integration of newspapers and the Internet. Both are with Angelo State University. Small town newspapers also see effects of Internet Although they may be the last to go, small town newspapers – like their larger counterparts – are “breaking … at an astonishing rate,” Dr. Cathy Johnson told members of the West Texas Press Association. Johnson, an associate professor of journalism, and Dr. June Smith, head of the Communications Department at Angelo State University, spoke July 18 during the summer convention sessions on the ASU campus. Johnson talked about what she termed the “evolving media landscape and what it means for those of us trying to get messages out.” She reminded WTPA members that “now readers can talk back” if they don’t like or disagreed with something in the paper. “Historically, it’s been said that the power of the press belongs to those who own one. With the Internet, everyone has the power of the press, so to speak. It’s cheap to produce a message, so everyone is producing messages.” Dr. Cathy Johnson Associate professor of journalism, ASU “They can go online and voice their opinions to the whole world, in many case right on the newspaper’s Web site,” she added. And while she said she likes printed ink on a piece of paper – and the portability of a newspaper – she noted that she likes the new model as well. “I like being able to retrieve a story on line. I like the fact that I can read newspapers around the country,” she said. “I like the fact that I can get news updates more quickly online than with any other medium. I like that I can learn things from readers’ comments.” Survival for newspapers, she believes, means embracing and evolving with the technology – and “changing the way we’ve always done things,” she said. She talked about blogging, Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and more. “Historically, it’s been said that the power of the press belongs to those who own one,” she said. “With the Internet, everyone has the power of the press, so to speak. It’s cheap to produce a message, so everyone is producing messages.” There is hope for newspapers, she concluded, but it will be necessary “to rethink Two high school seniors get scholarships No college applicants is no problem Left to right, Publisher Randy Mankin, ASU students Kimberly Parker and Lara Johnson, ASU Professor Dr. June Smith, Publisher Kathy Collier and Publisher Roy Robinson discuss the future of journalism. be responsible, come early and stay late to do the job and pull their weight like the rest of us. Mankin told the students community newspapers cover stories that don’t make it into the larger dailies. We can give a voice to people who don’t normally have a voice. The Friday luncheon and roundtable program was sponsored by AEP Texas. WTPA awarded Bob Craig Memorial Scholarships to two graduating high school seniors this year during the summer convention. Since no applications were received for the $2,000 scholarship for current college students, during WTPA’s general business meeting, the membership decided to award two $2,000 high school scholarships. The recipients, chosen from over 20 applicants, were Megan Bentley of Canadian and Ryan Diaz of Andrews. Bentley, the daughter of Stanly and Mary Alice Bentley, is a 2009 graduate of Canadian High School. She plans to major in journalism at St. Edwards University in Austin. In high school, she worked on the school newspaper staff as a reporter, and also competed in UIL news and feature writing events. Diaz, a 2009 graduate of Andrews High School, is the son of Rudy and Rosie Diaz. His father is sports editor at the Andrews County News. In high school, he was on the annual staff responsible for sports and photos. He has also worked in the circulation department at the Andrews County News. He plans to attend Grayson County College in Denison. our current model of giving away our content online.” Smith picked up that theme and began her talk by encouraging newspapers to charge for online content, suggesting, for example, that papers push online subscriptions for high school graduates going away to school in the fall. She talked about the “human quality” of online podcasts, news updates and film clips, and noted the ease of using small cameras that allow for automatic downloads to Web sites. “It’s so easy,” she said, “and they have an amazing quality. It may look a little bit ‘home movie’ but that’s OK.” She added that the cameras are so small that they are easily tucked in reporters’ pockets when they go out on an assignment. Newspapermen learn to call a murderer ‘an alleged murderer’ and the King of England ‘the alleged King of England’ to avoid libel suits. Stephen Leacock Canadian economist and humorist (1869 - 1944) 6 PUBLISHER cyan magenta yellow black Images and impressions AUGUST 2009 AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER 7 6 PUBLISHER cyan magenta yellow black Images and impressions AUGUST 2009 AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER 7 8 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 5 Day, Collier relate Fair Housing Act experiences A few Texas newspapers had a run-in with Housing and Urban Development over classified ads that were alleged to be in violation of federal fair housing guidelines – and two publishers caught in the whirlwind told West Texas Press Association members of their experiences. Marshall Day, publisher of the Gatesville Messenger, and Terry Collier, publisher of the Fredricksburg Standard-Radio Post and president of the Texas Press Association, related their experience and their perception of the ordeals. Day said it was Collier’s paper that received the first notification, his was next. In all, some 10 small newspapers had been notified of violations in the fair housing law. “It was the first time anyone could recall a group of small newspapers being targeted,” he said. “They gave you no warning – they just say ‘you’re guilty.’” Day noted that the Austin Tenets Council initiated the action through HUD. “They live off fines,” he continued. “They targeted all these small papers. There was no rhyme or reason.” MARSHALL DAY He related that the first letter from HUD and the Austin group wanted $25,000 cash and $10,000 in free advertising for a year as well as the entire newspaper staff to attend sensitivity training in Fort Worth. “HUD backed off (the training in) Fort Worth,” said Day. “I could not afford a $25,000 hit. We went back and forth.” He explained that there were three ads in question. The first was for an ad that noted it was one-bedroom, “mature renters only.” “Mature did not necessarily mean old – it could be responsible,” he said he argued. The second ad was a onebedroom, one-bath, “great for single.” “It didn’t say ‘for single only.’ “One I could not defend – no children – I couldn’t argue that one,” Day noted. He said HUD kept reducing the fine amounts, but there was never a conversation with ATC. Day called the National Newspaper Association and spoke with an attorney there who advised that he not hire an attorney. “She was very helpful. “In the end, they wanted $2,500 and $5,000 worth of free advertising. It was obvious from the beginning they weren’t interested in sensitivity. They just wanted money so they could qualify for grants. They had to justify their existence.” Day said he settled for $1,250 in cash and $5,000 in free advertising for one year. “They turned out to be illegal ads,” he said. TERRY COLLIER His advice? “Describe the property, not the person.” Collier said his notice was that there had been a formal complaint regarding the federal fair housing act. “We went the attorney route,” he said. “Initially they wanted a $5,000 fine, a fine for ‘frustration of resources.’” He also noted that they asked for $5,000 in free advertising and sensitivity training. “We had three also – al- legedly,” said Collier. “Our ads limited the number of people.” He added that they were informed that they could be fined up to $11,000 per offense. “We eventually got a conciliatory agreement. They said, ‘How about $750.’” He also agreed to run $5,000 in free advertising for a year. “We’ll be done at the end of September,” he said, adding that he also made a deal for online training for three employees. He also said he called Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office. “The more folks were cited by this outfit, the fines got less and less and less. They know they’re being watched now.” Collier noted that with $4,000 in attorney fees, his cost was $4,700. “They’re (ATC) already getting funded. I don’t think they should be rewarded by predatorily reading our paper. I don’t want them to use this to go against smaller papers. “There’s no second chance. Ethically, morally, we don’t want to run ads like that – I think they just wanted money.” Publishers, ASU professor discuss journalism future Graham Newspapers Publisher Roy Robinson opened Friday’s roundtable discussion with a quote from Ray Marcano of Cox Ohio Newspapers. According to Marcano, there will always be a demand for true journalists, for information played down the middle – not bloggers. Robinson said community newspapers will be around – what we need to save is journalism. The comments laid the groundwork for a discussion between panel members, Robinson, Randy Mankin, Editor and Publisher of the Eldorado Success, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Editor Cathy Collier, Dr. June Smith with Angelo State University Journalism Department and two student staff members of the Ram Page, ASU’s student newspaper. Smith said there is a need for good writers for different mediums who have the skills to ask the hard questions in such a manner that they will get and answer and not a “no comment.” One of the students agreed with Smith and said that information comes faster now and there needs to be a convergence of mediums. Mankin said that print products will always be a part of the equation – if we can find a way to pay for it. Speaking on the advantages community newspapers offer young journalism students graduating from the university, Collier said, “We can offer the opportunity for students to have a full range of experiences far more than a large newspaper in Dallas. We are anxious to do on-line newspapers and students can help us integrate Facebook and Twitter and streaming video.” The students said on the Ram Page they learn to do a little bit of everything and become more than just a photographer – they become well rounded. Robinson said they will find that in community newspapers as well – learn to Left, Dr. June Smith presents information about integrating technology to West Texas Press Association members. Right, Dr. Cathy Johnson addresses the integration of newspapers and the Internet. Both are with Angelo State University. Small town newspapers also see effects of Internet Although they may be the last to go, small town newspapers – like their larger counterparts – are “breaking … at an astonishing rate,” Dr. Cathy Johnson told members of the West Texas Press Association. Johnson, an associate professor of journalism, and Dr. June Smith, head of the Communications Department at Angelo State University, spoke July 18 during the summer convention sessions on the ASU campus. Johnson talked about what she termed the “evolving media landscape and what it means for those of us trying to get messages out.” She reminded WTPA members that “now readers can talk back” if they don’t like or disagreed with something in the paper. “Historically, it’s been said that the power of the press belongs to those who own one. With the Internet, everyone has the power of the press, so to speak. It’s cheap to produce a message, so everyone is producing messages.” Dr. Cathy Johnson Associate professor of journalism, ASU “They can go online and voice their opinions to the whole world, in many case right on the newspaper’s Web site,” she added. And while she said she likes printed ink on a piece of paper – and the portability of a newspaper – she noted that she likes the new model as well. “I like being able to retrieve a story on line. I like the fact that I can read newspapers around the country,” she said. “I like the fact that I can get news updates more quickly online than with any other medium. I like that I can learn things from readers’ comments.” Survival for newspapers, she believes, means embracing and evolving with the technology – and “changing the way we’ve always done things,” she said. She talked about blogging, Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and more. “Historically, it’s been said that the power of the press belongs to those who own one,” she said. “With the Internet, everyone has the power of the press, so to speak. It’s cheap to produce a message, so everyone is producing messages.” There is hope for newspapers, she concluded, but it will be necessary “to rethink Two high school seniors get scholarships No college applicants is no problem Left to right, Publisher Randy Mankin, ASU students Kimberly Parker and Lara Johnson, ASU Professor Dr. June Smith, Publisher Kathy Collier and Publisher Roy Robinson discuss the future of journalism. be responsible, come early and stay late to do the job and pull their weight like the rest of us. Mankin told the students community newspapers cover stories that don’t make it into the larger dailies. We can give a voice to people who don’t normally have a voice. The Friday luncheon and roundtable program was sponsored by AEP Texas. WTPA awarded Bob Craig Memorial Scholarships to two graduating high school seniors this year during the summer convention. Since no applications were received for the $2,000 scholarship for current college students, during WTPA’s general business meeting, the membership decided to award two $2,000 high school scholarships. The recipients, chosen from over 20 applicants, were Megan Bentley of Canadian and Ryan Diaz of Andrews. Bentley, the daughter of Stanly and Mary Alice Bentley, is a 2009 graduate of Canadian High School. She plans to major in journalism at St. Edwards University in Austin. In high school, she worked on the school newspaper staff as a reporter, and also competed in UIL news and feature writing events. Diaz, a 2009 graduate of Andrews High School, is the son of Rudy and Rosie Diaz. His father is sports editor at the Andrews County News. In high school, he was on the annual staff responsible for sports and photos. He has also worked in the circulation department at the Andrews County News. He plans to attend Grayson County College in Denison. our current model of giving away our content online.” Smith picked up that theme and began her talk by encouraging newspapers to charge for online content, suggesting, for example, that papers push online subscriptions for high school graduates going away to school in the fall. She talked about the “human quality” of online podcasts, news updates and film clips, and noted the ease of using small cameras that allow for automatic downloads to Web sites. “It’s so easy,” she said, “and they have an amazing quality. It may look a little bit ‘home movie’ but that’s OK.” She added that the cameras are so small that they are easily tucked in reporters’ pockets when they go out on an assignment. Newspapermen learn to call a murderer ‘an alleged murderer’ and the King of England ‘the alleged King of England’ to avoid libel suits. Stephen Leacock Canadian economist and humorist (1869 - 1944) 4 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 AUGUST 2009 PUBLISHER 9 Ed Henninger urges design thinking R e d e s i g n t h e w a y y o u small newspapers carries his yours is a newspaper that is think. name.” planned. Or not.” That was South Carolina More information on the He added that design is no design consultant Ed Hen- program is available by con- more of an extra than acninger’s advice on how to tacting edh@henningercon- curate reporting, good writmake any newspaper redesign sulting.com or www.hen- ing, selling ads or making a success, and he challenged ningerconsulting.com. deadlines. West Texas Press Association At his morning workshop, He offered some suggestions members to do just that at Henninger talked about five about typography in terms of the San Angelo convention basic design principles – bal- body type, headline type, July 17. line length, “Learn to use “We’re all working for the reader,” he concluded. standing your brain and “If you think about them when you’re doing ev- headlines, think about u s e o f what you’re erything you do, you can’t go wrong.” color and doing when Ed Henninger m o r e , a n d you’re doing design consultant answered design,” he questions said. from his auFor those dience. who think He also they can’t afurged ediford a redetors to consign, Henninger talked about ance, contrast, focus, propor- sider holding most stories to the Francis A. Henninger tion and unity – and showed no more than 12-15 inches. Grant Program that Hen- examples of how those can “Readers stop when the ninger Consulting offers to be executed in newspaper story gets too long,” he said. make design services afford- design. “We’re all working for the able for every newspaper – “First impressions really reader,” he concluded. “especially those with limited matter. That’s why design “If you think about them circulation, revenue and staff matters,” he said, “Design is when you’re doing everything size,” he said. about looking right.” you do, you can’t go wrong.” “The grant is named for He stressed that design “is After lunch Friday, Henmy father who believed in not an extra. It’s a key ingre- ninger sat down with indihard work, commitment to dient in creating a newspaper vidual newspaper staffs and family and giving to others that’s worth reading – and did one-on-one evaluations without any desire for recog- advertising in.” during the afternoon. nition,” Henninger said. “Dad He noted that a paper’s deHe questioned staffs about never made it to high school, sign “tells readers that yours their goals and the reasons sacrificing his education to is a newspaper that is cred- behind their current designs, help in his father’s shop as a ible. Or not. It tells readers and he also offered suggesprinter’s devil. He’d be proud yours is a newspaper that is tions on how the papers to know this plan to help careful. Or not. It tells readers could be improved. Left, Angelo State University President Dr. Joseph C. Rallo greets West Texas Press Association members at a Thursday evening dinner. Right, Preston Lewis, director of the ASU Office of Communication and Marketing, greets West Texas Press Association members at the Friday morning meeting. Ed Henninger, a design consultant, gives a two-hour presentation at the West Texas Press Association. Silent auction items raise $862 Around 30 items were on the auction block for WTPA’s annual silent auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Bob Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund. The auction raised $862 this year. The top selling item was a wrought iron and crystal candle holder, donated by The Graham Leader, and purchased by Debbie Day for $60. Day also bought the second most sought-after item for $50, a huge candy basket, donated by the Lamesa PressReporter. Auction items ranged from the ever-popular Dublin Dr. Pepper and James Avery earrings, to food and gift baskets, home décor, autographed books, signed prints, jewelry, vases, metal crosses and even “Second Life” golf balls. Some 30 items are at the West Texas Press Association annual convention. Proceeds benefit the Bob Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund. We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true. Robert Wilensky, speech at a 1996 conference Left, Dr. Joseph C. Rallo, president of ASU, and his wife, Barbara, spend an evening with WTPA members during their third week of marriage. Above, ASU staff member and their wives have dinner at Thursday evening’s reception. 10 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 2009 WTPA Better Newspaper Contest winners SWEEPSTAKES Division A First place – Kerrville Daily Times Second – Stephenville Empire-Tribune Tie for third – Plainview Daily Herald, Roswell Daily Record Division B First place - Wise County Messenger Second place – the Highlander Third – Graham Leader Division C First place - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Second place - Dublin Citizen Third place - Glen Rose Reporter Division D First place - Ozona Stockman Second place - Joshua Star Third place - Alvarado Star Editorial Writing Division A First Place - Roswell Daily Record “Good editorial; good writing, and it makes a clear if sometimes unpopular point.” “Good background and conclusion was strong although some of the arguments seemed convoluted.” Second place - Plainview Daily Herald Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Brownwood Bulletin Division B First Place - Graham Leader “OK overall but focuses on making sure everyone is aware of a problem rather than on any solution.” “Good editorial, good background and shines light on local issue.” Second Place - Canyon News Third Place - Wise County Messenger Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Good use of personal example to define a local problem. Good clear argumentation.” Second Place - Colorado City Record Third Place - Lake Country Sun Division D First Place - Joshua Star “ Pretty good piece.” “Good on an important issue. A kind of ‘folksy’ writing that is hard to pull off.” Second Place - Ozona Stockman Third Place - Eldorado Success Features Division A First - The Kerrville Daily Times “Really touching story.” Second - Stephenville Empire-Tribune Third - Plainview Daily Herald Division B First - Wise County Messenger “Very nice, good length, great photos.” “This is great. The soldier theme was consistent in the story, title, photos and captions. The photos are great.” Second - Quanah TribuneChief Third - Breckenridge American Division C First - The Hamilton Herald “Very interesting.” Second - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Third - Dublin Citizen Division D Tie, First - Hico News Review “Great content. A nice warning tale.” First - Joshua Star “You did a great job with explaining why Scott loves sports and what inspires him to do what he does.” Second - Crowley Star Third - The Ozona Stockman News Writing Division A First Place - Kerrville Daily Times “Story flowed very well and kept me interested. It is a local issue, hitting on a national one. Great job localizing. Educates and informs people in a very upbeat yet serous way. Very good en- Division B First Place - The Graham Leader “Good lead, good use of quotes. The story made me want to keep reading, trailed off a little at the end, but overall good story.” “Good story, a few grammatical errors, but not a lot wrong.” Second Place - Hood County News Third Place - Quanah Tribune Chief Honorable Mention - Lampasas Dispatch Record Division D First Place- The Ozona Stockman “Good quotes, interesting intro, very good story, could shorten cutlines.” “Very well written, turned it into an interesting story. Colored ink on Page 1 would be cool.” Second Place - Joshua Star Third Place - Keene Star Photography Division A Quicksand Golf Course offers many challenges Quicksand Golf Course, the “ninth hardest course in Texas,” was the site of the 2009 West Texas Press Association annual golf outing at its annual convention in San Angelo. Tournament chairman Paul C. Perner IV said he was pleased with this year’s turnout. Quicksand boasts 7,171 yards of challenging golf when played from the championship tees. Sand traps, water hazards and generous fairways dot the 18 holes laid out over 320 acres. “We chose Quicksand because it is a beautiful and joyed it a lot.” “Good story; you have some really good quotes and the all focused on how the ban is going to be bad for them. I think there could have been more numbers and statistics used to show how many this ordinance will effect. Great quote on how much VFW gives in scholarships. I think there should have been more emphasis.” Second Place - Brownwood Bulletin Third Place -Stephenville Empire-Tribune Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Interesting topic, about a topic that affects everyone, so it draws the reader. I liked the interviews with normal shoppers.” “I really like the use of the picture of the map. It really helps the reader put a visual with the story. Interesting subject for readers and could possibly inform the reader to be more safe if they were not knowledgeable about this. Good job!” Second Place - Glen Rose Reporter Third Place -Colorado City Record PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 fun course to play,” Perner said. “We decided to shake things up a bit and do the tournament as a scramble this year.” The winning team scored a 67, with second and third teams tied at 68 each. On the winning team was Perner, Kathy McClellan from Vernon, Charles and Vonnie Fisher from Roswell, N.M., and Bob Brincefield of Brownwood. Everyone on the West Texas Press Board of Directors and members would like to thank Quicksand Golf Course and their staff for being such wonderful hosts. Paul Perner announces the winners of this year’s golf tournament. Style and poise Mac McKinnon, publisher of The Dublin Citizen, announces winners of the 2009 WTPA Better Newspaper Contest. First - Brownwood Bulletin (corn) “Interesting photo! Good composition, display and subject.” Second - Kerrville Daily Times Third - Plainview Daily Herald Honorable Mention - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Glen Rose Reporter Division B First - Lamb County Leader (fire) - “A perfect, newsy, interesting front page photo. Truly captured a unique and interesting moment!” Second - Wise County Messenger Third - Breckenridge American Honorable Mention - Wise County Messenger Advertising Composition Division A First Place - Plainview Daily Herald “Ads catch readers attention; even the one without color. Not too cluttered or wordy, gets message across succinctly.” Second Place - Brownwood Bulletin Third Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune Division C First - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post (track) “Great photo, captures expressions.” Second - Dublin Citizen Third - Fredericksburg Standard Radio-Post Division D First- Hico News (bridge) “Eye-catching photo! Very well composed.” Second - Alvarado Star Third - Ozona Stockman Honorable Mention - Crowley Star Division B First Place - Wise County Messenger “Very original, eye-catching, great ideas. Very creative. Gets message across in an See WINNERS, Page 11 3 2 PUBLISHER Angelo continued from Page1 tin Tenant’s Council and the Federal Housing Administration. Both men’s newspapers were targeted by the Austin Tenant’s Council and ended up having to donate advertising and conduct training. Both men presented handouts to help other newspapers avoid any future targets. WTPA members were free to explore ASU and San Angelo Friday afternoon, with oncampus tours and trips to the Hummer House in Christoval, before reconvening at the Junell Center for the president’s reception sponsored by ASU. After a Texas barbecue feast, Randy Mankin, 2008 recipient of the Harold Hudson Award, presented this year’s award to Fort Davis publisher Bob Dillard. The group was then treated to an intense and intriguing tale by San Angelo author AUGUST 2009 continued from Page1 “dreamed” of becoming a newspaper journalist. In high school, she worked on the school newspaper and was editor her junior and senior years. She began her journalism career at ASU where she moved up the ranks to become editor of the university’s newspaper the Ram Page her senior year. After graduating from ASU in December 2000, Perner immediately stepped into a full-time reporting position for the San Angelo StandardTimes, where she remained until 2004 when she and her husband, Paul, bought The Ozona Stockman in Paul’s hometown of Ozona. There, Perner is publicity chair for Ozona Woman’s League and is an active member in the First Baptist Church. Paul and Melissa live on his parent’s ranch outside of Ozona. They are the proud “parents” of two dogs, Jade and Sage, and a cat named Dash. Other WTPA officers elected in San Angelo are Mac McKinnon of the Dublin Citizen as first vice president and convention chair and Derek Tidwell of the Hood County News as second vice president and Better Newspaper Contest chair. Collier will be chairman of the board and Mary Dudley of the Perryton Herald is secretary-treasurer. Board directors for 2009-10 are Robert Burns, EMBARQ; Carolyn Anderson, Rocksprings; Mark Engebretson, Possum Kingdom Lake/Graford; Debbie Aylesworth, Canyon (one year unexpired term); John Schmid, Kerrville; Roger Estlack, Clarendon; Lisa Davis, Decatur; and Rochelle Stidham, Stephenville. Mary Dudley, of the Perryton Herald, is again secretary-treasurer for WTPA. She maintains the records, keeps officers informed and is the central point of contact for WTPA business. Perner appointed Bob Dillard as scholarship chairman and Robert Burns to a one-year term, McKinnon to a twoyear term and Lisa Davis to a three-year term on the newly adopted finance committee. A heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all who contributed their time, money and effort to the success of the 2009 WTPA convention EMBARQ Hood County News AT&T Clarendon Enterprise Dublin Citizen Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post Gatesville Messenger Hill Country Community Press Iowa Park Leader Lamesa Press-Reporter North Central Texas Publishing Perryton Herald South Plains Printing — For being Better Newspaper Contest sponsors Angelo State University AEP Texas Texas Press Association AT&T EMBARQ Hood County News Odessa Convention & Visitors Bureau Gatesville Messenger Wise County Messenger Lamesa Press-Reporter Iowa Park Leader — For being convention sponsors Lake Country Sun — For printing, labeling and mailing The Publisher Cathy Collier Melissa Perner 11 Winners Perner Russell Smith as he presented his book, No Reason to Kill. With photos from the book, Smith took the audience through the murder of 20-year-old San Angelo resident Shelia Elrod who was killed in 1980 during a jewelry store robbery. Collier chaired Saturday morning’s general membership meeting after the session. He announced that the first WTPA interns were at the Dublin Citizen and the Brownwood Bulletin. WTPA provided $5,000 to each paper. Results of the Better Newspaper Contest were announced and Mac McKinnon announced Odessa as the convention site for 2010. Prize drawings were held for stays at Prude Ranch and the Limpia Hotel in Fort Davis and the Paisano Hotel in Marfa. Both were won by Bill Berger and Jerry Berger. PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 Bob Brincefield Mac McKinnon Mary Dudley Bob Dillard Joe Hernandez Rochelle Stidham Mark Engebretson — For providing articles and photographs for The Publisher Paul C. Perner IV Joe Hernandez — For assisting with the golf tournament Susan Williams Susan Calloway — For assisting with door prizes and the silent auction continued from Page10 Third - South Tarrant Star interesting way. Very good!” Second Place - Hood County News Third Place - Jack County Herald Honorable Mention - Graham Leader General Excellence Division A First Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune “Good overall appearance; not too cluttered. Sports pictures are very professional. Great focus on local elections.” Second Place - Plainview Daily Herald Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Brownwood Bulletin Division C First Place - Hamilton Herald News “Good use of creative artwork – still interesting even without photos. Nice use of fonts. Nicely put together.” Second Place - Fredericksburg Standard Third Place- Lake Country Sun Division D First Place - The Albany News “Great ads! Good composition and color; good photos, very clean design.” Second Place - Crowley Star Third Place - Keene Star Column Writing Division A First - Stephenville EmpireTribune “The writer gets to the point. Second column is very interesting.” Second – Roswell Daily Record Third – Kerrville Daily Times Honorable Mention - Plainview Daily Herald Division B (Tie) First - The Perryton Herald “Nice analysis.” First - Lamesa Press-Reporter - “Touching story about small town antics. Really enjoyed reading it.” Second - The Highlander Third - The Burleson Star Division C First - Glen Rose Reporter - “Awesome story, very interesting about the relation to billion-dollar corporations getting bailed out while Average Joes are still struggling.” Second - Fredericksburg Standard Third - Dublin Citizen Division D First- Hico News-Review “Excellent, very newsworthy. Hits home to most.” Second - Joshua Star Division B First Place- Burleson Star “I like the National Dog Week. Lots of good coverage on local stories.” Second Place - Wise County Messenger Third Place - The Canyon News Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “High resolution photos had better quality than most papers in the same division. Catchy headlines, good layout.” Second Place - Dublin Citizen Third Place - Hamilton Herald News Honorable Mention - Glen Rose Reporter Division D First Place - The Olney Enterprise “Overall, very good appearance. We loved the little kids page. We also like the panoramic picture of the fire on the front page.” Second Place - South Tarrant Star Third - Crowley Star Honorable Mention - Alvarado Star Special Coverage Award Division-Weekly First Place - Dublin Citizen “This was a stand-out entry. Great coverage of behind the scenes politics and an appraiser’s fight with local business interests.” Second Place - South Tarrant Star Third Place - Ozona Stockman Division - Semi-Weekly/ Daily First Place - The Highlander “Great coverage of a hometown hero’s rise to Olympic contender.” Second Place - Canyon News Third Place - Graham Leader Honorable Mention -Lamb County Leader News Special Section Division A First Place - Brownwood Bulletin “This entry won first place in a field of tough competitors. Tons of good features that really show the reader what the people of Brownwood are like.” Second - Roswell DailyRecord. Third - Stephenville EmpireTribune Honorable Mention - Kerrville Daily-Times Division B First place - Highland Lakes, “Articles were good and original.” Second - Canyon News Third - Hood County News Fourth - Wise County Messenger Division C First - Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post “Interesting take on a subject. Articles were good and creative.” Second – Dublin Citizen Third - Colorado City Record Honorable Mention - Hondo Anvil-Herald Division D First - Ozona Stockman “Good articles all related to the theme of the section. Layout and design were simple but photos were OK. Overall, something different.” Second - El Dorado Success Third - Albany News Sports Division A First Place - Stephenville Empire-Tribune “Strong use of leads to draw the reader in. An effective job of covering sport-related information for a variety of sports. Articles read easily and clearly. Photos are great, very clear images and nice job capturing action photos. Nice job equally distributing coverage on each segment of sports related events/material. Visual presentation of the information is appealing.” Second Place - Roswell Daily Record Third Place -Kerrville Daily Times Division B First Place - The Highlander “Pictures and layout are amazing; Very intriguing.” Second Place - Burleson Star Third Place - The Graham Leader Division C First Place - Fredericksburg Standard “Wonderful pictures! Nice coverage of all sports for Fredericksburg and surrounding areas. Good leads. Way to keep attention throughout story. Photo captions are good. Nice color in stories. Good headlines!” Second Place - Hondo AnvilHerald Third Place - Glen Rose Reporter Honorable Mention - Dublin Citizen Division D First Place - The Albany News “Lots of good stories and pictures. Great range of coverage. Everything from varsity to youth, great coverage. Good future info.” Second Place - The El Dorado Success Third Place - The Alvarado Star Photographer of the Year Weekly Division First Place - Lisa Walter, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post - “Great perspectives and use of visual storytelling techniques.” Second Place - Christopher Amos, Alvarado Star Third - Kim Ovard, Crowley Star Honorable Mention - Joe Hernandez, Ozona Stockman Semi-Weekly First Place - Joe Duty, Wise County Messenger - “Great photos, visually compelling journalism.” Second Place - Gabe Wolf, Lampasas Dispatch Third Place -Russel Skiles, Lamesa Press Reporter Honorable Mention - Kim Ovard, Burleson Star Daily First – Mark Wilson, Roswell Daily Record, “Photos that make you say ‘wow!’” Second - John Schmid, Kerrville Daily Times Third - Richard Porter, Plainview Daily Herald Journalist of the Year Division-Weekly First Place - The Llano County Journal - George Hatt “Well written, interesting subjects. Shows that you can write about anything from sports to crime scenes and still be effective. Great leads, from features to sports to difficult situations. You kept interest and wrote effectively in all areas. Great stories, huge variety, very interesting. Good profile, good leads and variety in stories. Good visuals and great layout and presentation.” Second Place - Alvarado Star-Christopher Amos Third Place- The Hico News Review - Anna Belew Division-Semi-Weekly First Place - Wise County Messenger - Mandy Bourgeois “Her articles varied in topic from Santa profiles to the heartwarming story of two sisters. Her writing always helps the reader to see the funny and the meaningful side of the topic.” Second Place - Lampasas Dispatch-Record - David Lowe Third Place - Graham Leader - David Rupkalvis Honorable Mention - The Highlander - Bobbi Gage Division- Daily First Place - Stephenville Empire Tribune - Amanda Kimble “Great range of coverage. The sexual assault stories were inspiring. Good photos along with stories. Lead to ‘Let’s Eat’ culinary story was good. Nice way to link Athena to the goddess Athena - Made us want to read more. Pretty good headlines.” Second Place - Plainview Daily Herald - Doug McDonough Third Place - Kerrville Daily Times - Alyson Chapman Honorable Mention - Roswell Daily Record - Richard Jacques 12 PUBLISHER AUGUST 2009 Dillard receives Harold Hudson Award Bob Dillard was awarded the prestigious Harold Hudson Award at the WTPA 79th annual Summer Convention in San Angelo. Last year’s recipient, Randy Mankin, presented the award. The award is in memory of the late Harold Hudson, publisher of the Perryton Herald and prominent member and past president of WTPA and the National Newspaper Association. The award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to the publishing industry and West Texas Press Association. “Bob was one of the first publishers to offer Kathy and me his assistance when we joined this business in 1994,” said Mankin. ”And he was the very first one I called on for advice when the polygamous cult invaded our county in 2004. I figured anyone who had lived through and reported the Republic of Texas standoff could surely offer me some good advice – and he did!” A native of Tyler, Dillard graduated from Fort Worth Eastern Hills High School in 1963 where he had worked on the school newspaper. He attended Baylor University in Waco and the University of Texas at Arlington where he again found himself as a major player in the school newspaper. In 1976, he found a way to buy a share of the Alpine Avalanche, which he operated and coedited until 1990. In 1982, the Dillards purchased the Big Bend Sentinel in Marfa, a paper they owned until 1992. In 1993, they acquired the Jeff Davis County News and changed the name to the Jeff Davis Mountain Dispatch. Then in 1995 the Stanton News was purchased and its name changed to the Martin County Messenger. A year later the Greenwood Ranger published its first edition in the Midland suburb. And, somehow in the middle of publishing five West Texas newspapers, he found the time to serve as Jeff Davis county judge, not to mention a long list of volunteer jobs. Bob and his wife Christi have two children and seven grandchildren. The cyan magenta yellow black the crime entitled No Reason to Kill. “It was a crime that touched San Angelo like no other,” Smith said. “After the murder, the whole town changed.” Smith went on to tell the room full of journalists what it was like to investigate the crime. He also said that much of the information he obtained for the book came from area newspapers that had followed the story closely. He said many of the reporters actually knew more about the case than the detectives working to solve it. “The newspapers never let up,” Smith said. “From 50 years later, you (newspapers) give us a means to go back and get important information. You are the historians.” PUBLISHER Official publication of the West Texas Press Association MICAH MOORE Intern’s stay helped by WTPA Bob Dillard, left, receives the Harold Hudson Award from last year’s recipient, Randy Mankin. Smith relates tale of senseless death It was a riveting tale. A crime so senseless, so revolting, that it shook the Texas city of San Angelo to its core when on Feb. 11, 1980, a man walked into a jewelry store and shot and killed Sheila Elrod. Elrod, 20, was a smart, pretty employee of the store who was gunned down during a robbery. In the days, weeks and months following the murder, police pursued leads and collected evidence, but it was 20 years later that a break in the case would finally land a suspect behind bars. At the West Texas Press Association’s annual conference in San Angelo, Russell Smith, former San Angelo police chief, addressed conference attendees about a book he had written about PRSRT STD Russell Smith tells the story of the death of Sheila Elrod in 1980. The Dublin Citizen has a new member on staff. Micah Moore, a Tarleton State University student, joined The Citizen as an intern for eight weeks through a program with the West Texas Press Association. Moore is originally from Golden, a small town in East Texas, and is an agricultural communications major. While at Tarleton, he has contributed to the J-TAC, the student newspaper, and has even written and reported the news on KTRL and Tarleton’s latest media project, the Texan TV News. Moore is also active outside the classroom as well, serving as the Noble Ruler of Alpha Gamma Rho and a member of the Student Media Advisory Board. He has also been active in student government and in ’07-’08 served as Tarleton’s mascot, the Texan Rider. Moore will graduate in May 2010 and hopes to have a career in journalism and public relations. Mac McKinnon, publisher of The Citizen, noted it is exciting to have someone to come in and help who has the talent that Moore obviously has. “We hope everyone in the community has the opportunity to meet him during his time on staff,” McKinnon said. www.wtpa.org ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 76450 PERMIT NO. 1 EST. 1926 AUGUST 2009 Angelo State welcomes WTPA It was time for publishers and editors to put on their thinking caps as Angelo State University as the city of San Angelo played host to the 79th annual West Texas Press Association summer convention held July 16-18. Ed Henninger, of Henninger Consulting in South Carolina, had members using their “brain power” as he took people through a two-hour session of “Design Between the Ears: It’s a Brainshop!” Henninger concentrated on how to balance, use better type and focus on color to help create better pages. He also devoted his Friday afternoon free time to critiquing several members’ newspapers at no charge, giving them insight and suggestions on how to improve their product. Technology involving podcasts was discussed during the Saturday morning session with ASU professors Dr. Cathy Johnson and Dr. June Smith. Both professors touched on using the Web to help expand community newspapers. Smith spoke on the use of two- to three-minute podcasts to get breaking news out to readers of nondaily papers. ASU students were exposed to community newspapers during the Friday luncheon roundtable discussion that involved Lara Johnson and Kimberley Parker, Smith and WTPA members Randy Mankin, Cathy Collier and Roy Robinson. Issues from how to reach out to students like Johnson and Parker to what these Melissa Perner is elected president of the West Texas Press Association for 2009-10. Perner elected president his own band. Friday morning opened with a welcome from Preston Lewis, director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at ASU. The convention’s annual silent auction also opened and the bidding began on items brought by members. After Henninger’s session, WTPA members Terry Collier and Marshall Day spoke on their experience with the Aus- Melissa Perner, editor and publisher of The Ozona Stockman, was elected president of the West Texas Press Association at the 79th annual summer convention July 16-18 in San Angelo. Perner had served the past year as first vice president and organized and chaired the San Angelo convention, which took place on the campus of Angelo State University. She succeeds Cathy Collier, editor of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. Perner also serves on the Texas Press Association board of directors. As a West Texas girl growing up in the small town of Seagraves, Texas, Perner always See ANGELO, Page 2 See PERNER, Page 2 Sweepstakes winners in the 2009 Better Newspaper Contest are, left to right, Melissa Perner, Ozona Stockman; Cathy Collier, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post; Lisa Davis, Wise County Messenger; and Rayanne Schmid, Kerrville Daily Times. students would experience if hired by a community newspaper were discussed. The convention opened with a golf tournament chaired by Paul C. Perner IV at Quicksand Golf Course. Awards for the winning team in the scramble tournament were presented at the Thursday night opening reception. That event was held at the LeGrand Alumni and Visitor Center on the ASU campus. Guests arrived to an elegant building set with Western and Indian designs and filled with names and businesses of ASU Alumni. ASU President Dr. Joseph C. Rallo and his wife of three weeks, Barbara, attended the event. Rallo welcomed WTPA to his campus and spoke on how ASU is working on becoming one of the top universities in the country and has a goal to have 10,000 students in the future. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Haden Burchard, a sophomore at Texas Tech University with