Texas Managing Editors

Category: Texas Managing Editors News

Texas APME recognizes excellence in journalism

Posted on by Kelly Brown

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — The Austin American-Statesman was named the Newspaper of the Year while The Houston Chronicle was named the best online newspaper among the state’s largest metropolitan dailies at the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors’ annual meeting over the weekend.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times won Newspaper of the Year and the Abilene Reporter-News won best online paper among newspapers with Sunday circulations of 30,000 to 124,999. The Killeen Daily Herald won best newspaper and the Odessa American won best online paper honors among newspapers of 10,000 to 29,999 in circulation.

In the small newspaper division, the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel won Newspaper of the Year and Texas Christian University won best online paper.

Winners in the Headliners Excellence in Journalism Awards were announced Sunday from finalists named in each of the four divisions.

They were: Star Reporter of the Year, Karisa King of the San Antonio Express-News; Star Photojournalist of the Year, The Houston Chronicle’s Smiley N. Pool; and Star Designer of the Year, Adrian Alvarez of the San Antonio Express-News. The Houston Chronicle also won the Star Breaking News Report of the Year for its coverage of the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West.

The Star Investigative Report of the Year went to Brooks Egerton, Miles Moffeit and Reese Dunklin of the Dallas Morning News for their in-depth series into mismanagement and abuse at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

The winner of the Star Online Package award will be announced April 12 at the Texas AP Broadcasters annual meeting in Austin. Entries for that category come from both AP-member newspapers but also broadcasters throughout the state.

The Spanish language Newspaper of the Year honor went to La Estrella in Fort Worth. The non-daily university and college Newspaper of the Year honors went to The Collegian at Tarrant Community College in Hurst.

Alfredo Carbajal, managing editor of Al Dia in Dallas, was this year’s recipient of the Jack Douglas Award, the Texas APME’s highest honor. The award is given each year to honor a person who has made significant contributions to the organization and Texas journalism. Carbajal, who sits on the board of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, has played a leadership role in the development of Spanish-language media in Texas and beyond.

Chris Sherman, AP’s Rio Grande Valley correspondent based in McAllen, was named the Texas Associated Press Writer of the Year. San Antonio-based Eric Gay was named Texas AP Photographer of The Year.

Make plans now to attend the 2014 Texas APME convention

Posted on by txme

Make plans now to attend the 2014 Texas APME convention April 4-6 at the Pearl hotel on the beach in South Padre Island.

The APME board has put together another useful program that addresses some of the most critical issues facing our business. Here are some of the topics we’ll explore:

  • Covering the border: what your newspapers need to know about newsgathering along the U.S./Mexico border, whether you dispatch journalists there or use the work of those who do.
  • Video: Does it pay? Can we make it pay? We provide some advice on the wisest way to use your resources.
  • Beyond newsprint: Magazines, websites, book publishing; what niche publications and projects are working and why?
  • Plus, getting beyond the horse race in covering state elections and what you need to know about the latest on the state’s Freedom of Information laws, and more.

We also will honor outstanding journalism as we present the Texas APME-Headliner awards, the most prestigious journalism honors in the state.

Those of you who are convention regulars know we’ll also have a lot of fun. This year we’ll take advantage of our beautiful meeting location, with convention rooms that overlook the ocean and time to dip our toes in the sand.

We’ll make new friends and catch up with old ones in the hospitality suite. And we’ll raise money for another group of deserving scholarship recipients at the Saturday night Jack Douglas dinner and Buster Haas auction at Sea4ever Rooftop Bar and Grill, with the best view of the gulf South Padre Island has to offer. It’s a venue you won’t want to miss. In your free time, you’ll be able enjoy the hotel pool, seaside bar and beautiful beaches just downstairs from your room, visit Schlitterbahn resort right next door or the Sea Turtle Rescue Center just a short bus ride away.

We’ll see you there!

2012 Texas APME Convention Update #2

Posted on by txme

Here’s the latest on the 2012 Texas APME convention March 30-April 1 in Dallas-Fort Worth…

A registration packet and complete program information will go out by regular mail next week. But you should begin making reservations now at the Omni Dallas Hotel to get the TAPME’s outstanding room rate.

Call the Omni at 1-800-THE-OMNI and ask for the Associated Press group rate of $129 single/double. The cut-off date is March 2, 2012.

Program topics include politics, digital innovation …

In a nod to the 2012 election, our convention program will feature a political panel that will look at prospects for Gov. Rick Perry after his unsuccessful presidential run — and we’ll hear from experts about what Perry’s experience might mean for Texas politics moving forward.

We also plan two sessions dealing with the increasingly urgent move toward digital platforms. One will discuss the effort to balance revenue between print and digital products: What’s working, what’s not, and what are some of the best ideas for growing digital revenue? The second will examine the pros and cons of using social media to gather news and to extend your brand.

On Sunday, we plan sessions with Freedom of Information experts and a follow-up on access issues surrounding sports coverage — a subject that’s becoming increasingly complicated.

A reminder about the auction …

Celeste Williams at the Star-Telegram is our auction chair and is looking for your contributions for both the live and silent auction. Popular silent auction items include iconic photos, gift baskets and books about Texas people and places.

Live auction winners include vacation homes or packages, tickets to sporting events and airline tickets. Think creatively about what you or your newspaper might donate and get in touch with Celeste at cxwilliams@star-telegram.com.

Remember, the Buster Haas auction funds scholarships for worthy Texas journalism students

Toot your own horn …

We’re looking for produced videos from three newspapers to highlight during the convention, demonstrating effective community outreach efforts. If your newspaper  engaged during the past year in an especially worthwhile community effort, please share that with your fellow editors in the form of a three-minute video. To submit, contact Barton Cromeens at the Abilene Reporter-News (cromeensB@reporternews.com) or Brian Pearson at the Tyler Morning Telegraph (bpearson@tylerpaper.com). Don’t be modest!

Submit convention and contest payments here.