Staff Report/Jefferson Jimplecute
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The Texas Center for Community Journalism (TCCJ), based at Tarleton State University, will once again offer face-to-face instruction and professional development opportunities for community journalists throughout the state.
The upcoming Nov. 18 “Eye on Design” workshop sold out within 24 hours, a TCCJ record, according to Director Austin Lewter.
Lewter is also co-publisher of the Jefferson Jimplecute.
“To me, it’s just proof-positive that we are doing work that is needed,” Lewter, Communication Studies instructor, said. “Because of the pandemic, we placed workshops on hold and worked through virtual means. I think people are excited about being back in-person.”
TCCJ contributors Broc Sears and Robert Bohler, and Director Lewter will lead the workshop in the Texan News Service newsroom on the Stephenville campus. The workshop encompasses a wide array of digital and print design concepts geared to give attendees tools to take back to their newsrooms across the state and put to use immediately.
TCCJ’s Lewter and Bohler have been taking writing workshops to community newsrooms over the last month. They met in Snyder, Texas, where they worked with writers from three different newspapers. Future writing workshops will be in Ozona and Atlanta (Texas).
Recently, Lewter was an invited speaker at Texas A&M College of Law, delivering a presentation on “The Sustainability of Local News,” to a group of media law students.
“It was a wonderful time,” Lewter said. “The media law students were genuinely interested in the future of local news. It was inspiring.”
TCCJ is planning its spring slate of workshops including a “Newspaper Management Bootcamp” and a Community News Symposium. Details will be shared on the TCCJ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/communityjournalism.
Created and funded by the Texas Newspaper Foundation, TCCJ moved to Tarleton in 2020. Established in 1974, the Texas Newspaper Foundation, a non-profit organization, exists to honor the past, protect the present and build the future of journalism in general and newspapers in particular as a vibrant force in democratic society.
About TCCJ: The Texas Center for Community Journalism, based at Tarleton State University, is a partnership with the Texas Newspaper Foundation to invest in community journalists and the sustainability of community journalism across the state. Founded in 2009, the organization provides training and professional development opportunities, industry networking, and support for almost 400 small-town news outlets.
About Tarleton: A founding member of The Texas A&M University System, Tarleton transforms generations by inspiring discovery, leadership and inclusion through teaching and research. Degree programs for more than 14,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, at RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online emphasize real-world learning that addresses regional needs while sustaining the values of excellence, integrity and respect.