Texas Managing Editors

Last call for donations to our Texas Managing Editors auction benefiting the Buster Haas Minority Internship Program.

If you’re coming to our TME annual convention in Temple this weekend, remember to bring auction donations with you and drop them off at the registration table when it is staffed or hand them off to Dino Chiecchi or Terry Bertling on Friday evening or early Saturday. The silent and live auction is on Saturday night at the awards ceremony in the Hilton Garden Inn Temple Medical Center.

We’re looking for all kinds of donations — prints of fantastic photos, logo items for news organizations, new books, jewelry, art of all kinds, sporting goods, home decor items, experiences, passes to events or great museums/attractions, wine/beer/booze — literally anything that would help us raise money to send young college journalists into a small Texas newsroom for a paid internship to launch their careers. 

If you have a question about whether something is a good fit for the auction (it probably is), you can ask Terry (tbertling@txstate.edu) or Dino (eec99@txstate.edu) or bring it with you. 

If you’d rather make a cash donation, you can do that through the registration link on this website, noting Buster Haas in the description.

And if you’ve somehow missed our convention notices, it’s not too late to join us for a great program lineup.

Register here.

Journalism is an orchestra, and we are the musicians. 

Everyone is invited to the concert on April 19-21 in Temple. It’s a moment you don’t want your newsroom to miss.

The talents we are celebrating run deep — from digital experts and sports writers to city hall watchdogs and all the journalists who make sure our pieces hit the write (Forgive the pun. We couldn’t help ourselves.) notes.

Join us Friday evening for a laid-back opening reception to get to know your colleagues from across the state. 

We have experts coming in Saturday to share their resources and knowledge on topics like politics, AI and cutting through the distractions when covering education. Yes, there will be lunch.

And the awards? Oh, there will be awards. 

Who will win Newsroom of the Year? Whose team coverage of the biggest news events of 2023 rose above the rest? Texas’ best photojournalist, opinion writer, online package of the year — the suspense is killing us.

The annual TME awards dinner is Saturday night, featuring a live and silent auction to raise money for our most important mission — paying for internships that get the next generation of young journalists into smaller-market newsrooms for real-world experience.

After industry, open government and legislative updates on Sunday,  the final, most prestigious award winners are named. 

Let’s go! 

Register for the conference here. Book your hotel room at Hilton Garden Inn Temple Medical Center (Don’t forget to mention Texas Managing Editors when you make your reservation).

We’ll see you there!

Questions? Reach out to us at texasmanagingeditors@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, here’s a peak at what you can expect:

Saturday

  • Win-wins: Partnerships between newspapers and student newsrooms — Working with college student journalists to get data-driven, narrative and local news stories.
  • What’s the story: Narrative investigations — How to pull off a narrative investigation, including story selection, source psychology, caring for your reporters and so much more.
  • Get smart: Improving education coverage — Cutting through the noise of the culture wars to what really matters.
  • Awards luncheon
  • Evening reception, auction
  • Dinner, TME star awards presentation
  • Buster Haas scholarship and internship announcement

Sunday

  • Know your rights: 2024 elections edition — Understanding reporters’ legal rights and the free legal resources available to support election coverage is essential.
  • Ask a lawyer.
  • Newsroom of the Year and Star of Stars Headliners Awards

Texas Managing Editors sponsors the Buster Haas Minority lnternship Program, which aims to increase the number of minority journalists working in newsrooms across Texas.

TME places interns at Texas newspapers with circulations of 30,000 or less for 10 weeks over the summer. Students receive $3,000 stipends, plus $1,000 for living expenses. Upon successful completion of the internship, students receive $500 scholarships.

Continue reading “Internship application deadline extended through March 1”

Submit 2025 contest entry fees here.