North and East Texas Press Association

04/16/2025

04/07/2025

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION OPEN

Are you interested in producing quality video for your newspaper’s website?

Have you ever considered sponsored video content for advertisers on your social media channels?

If not, you should, because:

• 86% of U.S. adults say they (at least) sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, with 57% saying they do so often.
• 58% of Americans prefer digital devices for news consumption and video is their preferred method of retaining news.
• 93% of adults in the United States get at least some of their news online, with a significant portion of this consumption happening through video content.
• A third of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on Facebook and YouTube— and social networks are built for video.

You probably know all this. You also know that your newsroom is situated perfectly to produce hyperlocal video news content for your community.

But, does the thought of shooting and editing quality video on a budget scare you?

We can help.

We're opening registration for our new workshop, Broadcast News for the Community Newspaper.

This is a chance to learn how to up your video content at your community newspaper.

You will come away with a concrete plan to make video work for you.

We'll look at the whole picture:

• Getting the gear you need. In most cases, quality video can be produced with a smart phone and an affordable editing software subscription. Your initial investment can be minimal and there are a few cheap tools and tricks that help you up your game. We’ll cover it all.
• Content programming. We’ll look at ideas on how to transition the stories you are already covering to broadcast format to compliment the long form journalism you are already doing.
• Production. We’ll get you up to speed on the software needed to produce quality video (many of you may already own it and not know it).
• Distribution. Once produced, we’ll look at how to get your video in front of your audience.
• Monetizing. It doesn’t do us any good if it doesn’t make us money. We’ll look at that too.

You will learn from Emmy, Peabody and Edward R. Murrow Award winning broadcasters who all have roots in community news. We’ll discuss how to localize national stories, write best for broadcast and ask questions that resonate on video.

Thanks to the generosity of the Texas Newspaper Foundation, the workshop is FREE.

Your tuition is FREE, your hotel room is FREE and your food is FREE.

All we ask is that you clear your calendar so that you can be at our Fort Worth Campus by 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 5 and be available through 4 p.m. Friday, June 6.

We’ll start Thursday afternoon before checking into the hotel and dinner. Then we’ll be at it all day Friday.

Please do not ask to come late or leave early.

These workshops are expensive, and they're jam-packed with great information and activities -- it would not be good stewardship of the TNF grant to allow people to take up a place and not attend the whole event.

We know stuff happens, though. That's why we maintain a waiting list, and people from that list are ALWAYS invited to attend when participants must cancel in advance.

This workshop is limited to a maximum of 25 attendees, and we try to balance the group geographically and by size of newspaper and other factors, so your interaction with your colleagues becomes one of the most valuable parts of your experience.

In exchange for the free workshop and meals and room, we'll work your butt off -- your day on Thursday begins at 1 p.m. and lasts through Friday. But, you'll come back to your newspaper with a concrete plan about how to launch your broadcast initiative.

All registration is online. To register, click here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJPmh0D6IeE5cAq3J5DnJ8YRl1CPxFKo5PERze1ksIGICOWw/viewform?usp=header

Those selected to attend should receive a confirmation that you have received a spot in the workshop, or on the waiting list, within a few days.

This workshop will fill fast, so don't delay.

Hope to see you in a June in Fort Worth!

04/06/2025

Showing off sweepstakes awards from the North and East Texas Press Association contest are (from left) Katecey Harrell, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Division 1; Rick Craig, Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, Division 2; Lisa Chappell, Cleburne Times Review, Division 3; Abigail Allen, Pilot Point Signal, Division 4; and Paul Gaudette, Dublin Citizen, Division 5. The awards were presented at the 98th annual NETPA convention in Fairfield.

04/05/2025

Gary Stallard received the NETPA Tom Mooney Friend of the Newspaper Award from Greg Weatherbee at the NETPA awards banquet Friday at the Tri-County Golf Club at the Vineyards. The event was part of the NETPA convention this weekend in Fairfield.

04/05/2025

NETPA really is a family. Each year we have an auction to raise money for our scholarship fund. This year several student journalists from University of Mary Hardin Baylor and their instructor attended the convention. One of our premiere auction items was two cases of soda from Dublin Bottling Works.

"These are like caviar in East Texas," one student exclaimed! They really wanted the sodas but ... they're college students. One student had $5, the next added $10 and soon they had about $60. Then other NETPA members started handing them money. A $100 bill, $20s, a $50.

The finance major counted and soon they had $300. They won the bid.

In a move of pure generosity, Wood County Monitor handed the cash back to the kids and their sponsor exclaiming use this for expenses and gas, we will take care of your bid. The students later donated a portion of the money back in honor of a special auction item in honor of Suzanne Bardwell.

Their trip back home will be even sweeter thanks to the pure cane sugar prize.

04/05/2025

Despite some sprinkles and mist, we all had a great time Thursday playing in the annual NETPA golf tournament at Tri County Golf Course at the Vineyards. No one won the scramble since both teams ended up in a dead tie!

04/05/2025

Sam Holloway Memorial Awards were presented at the North and East Texas Press Association awards banquet Friday. Abigail Allen presented the award to Kim Ware and Rick Craig presented the award to Cher Thompson. The event was part of the 98th Annual NETPA Convention this weekend in Fairfield.

04/05/2025

TCCJ Director Austin Lewter spoke to the North and East Texas Press Association this morning about successful social media strategies for community newspapers. The NETPA is meeting in Fairfield this weekend for their annual convention.

03/10/2025

Just a reminder! Deadline to get a hotel in our room block is this Friday! Contact Wyndi Veigel for convention registration if you need to register.

03/05/2025

Don't miss out on this year's convention for NETPA!

02/27/2025

Student journalists are the fearless voices shaping the future of journalism🎓📰 . Today, on the Student Press Law Center's eighth annual Day, we honor their work and continue fight to protect the press for generations to come! 🎉 https://studentpressfreedom.org/about/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=societyofprofessionaljournalists&utm_content=spjpromo #:~:text=The%20Student%20Press%20Law%20Center,press%20freedom%20in%20their%20communities

02/17/2025

Now that contest is out of the way ... here's preliminary information about the convention and schedule. Go ahead and get your hotel rooms booked and register for the convention today!

02/14/2025

Today is the day! Don't forget to submit your contest entries by midnight tonight!

02/13/2025

NETPA Contest 2025 deadline is Friday, Feb. 14!
newspapercontest.com/NETPA
Association Code: NETPAPRESS

02/12/2025

Thoughts?

The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from attending an event in the Oval Office after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has ordered renamed to the Gulf of America.

02/12/2025

Congrats to Austin Lewter for his appointment to NNA!

Austin Lewter, a Tarleton State University Journalism Instructor, was recently appointed to serve on the National Newspaper Association Foundation (NNAF) Board of Directors.

He was nominated to the board by fellow Texan and board president Randy Keck, owner of the Community News in Aledo.

“Austin's years of experience both in the industry and the college classroom make him a perfect fit for our board of directors,” said Keck. “His background in journalism education is especially welcome to our mission at the foundation.”

The NNAF is a nonprofit trade association that represents America’s community newspapers. It is a sister organization of the National Newspaper Association (NNA). Lewter’s appointment was made official at the NNA Annual Convention earlier in the fall in Omaha, Neb. The two groups work together to protect, promote and enhance the nation’s community newspapers.

“Mr. Lewter will be an amazing ambassador for Tarleton State at the national level,” said Dr. Chris Gearhart, Department Head for Communication Studies. “He is passionate about student achievement. His advocacy for the journalism industry is rooted solely in a personal desire to ensure the next generation of journalists are set up for success.”

Lewter also serves as the director of the Texas Center for Community Journalism (TCCJ), which works to support and train community newspapers across Texas.

“The work of the center and the NNAF go hand in hand,” said Lewter. “And I am humbled by this appointment. We also work closely with the Texas Press Association and the five regional press associations in Texas to benefit community newsrooms across the state and now across the country.”

In addition to his role at Tarleton State, Lewter is the owner and publisher of the Whitesboro News-Record, a 148-year old weekly newspaper in Grayson County. He began his career at the News-Record while still in high school, and he and his wife, Jennifer, bought the publication in 2023.

Prior to taking on his role at the university, Lewter served in leadership roles at community newspapers across Northeast Texas, including stints in Paris, Jefferson, Muenster, Lindsay, New Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburg, Dangerfield and Linden.

He entered academia full time as a second career in fall 2021 when he was appointed to the faculty at Tarleton State. He serves as the journalism program lead within the Department of Communication Studies and as faculty adviser of the Texan News Service and JTAC student newspaper.

“I'm just passionate about community journalism,” said Lewter. “I have built my career around it and have integrated it into every part of what we do. I want to help community newspapers thrive in a new age, and I'm excited about building relationships outside of Texas and across the country.”

Lewter resides with his family in Collinsville where he serves locally on the board for the Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Collinsville Education Foundation. He earned a bachelor's degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and a master's degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

02/12/2025

Don't forget to submit your entries!