Contest submissions made, now cross your fingers

Texas Press Association

Every year, the Texas Press Association holds its annual Better Newspaper Contest—a long-standing industry tradition that many community newspapers take seriously. For some, it’s about recognition. For others, it’s validation. For me, it’s about something deeper.

I spent this weekend combing through everything Robertson and Hardin County printed in 2025. It took the better part of two days, and for good reason: if you’re going to submit work to be judged, you owe it to the process—and to your readers—to put your best face forward. That’s how you get an honest critique of the body of work my staff and I produced for you.

I’ll be the first to admit it turned into more than a simple search. It became a reflection of just how much work both newspaper staffs put in over the year. Some of the people who contributed to that work are no longer with the papers, but their efforts remain part of each paper’s history—forever—even if their time here was brief.

The Robertson County News and The Silsbee Bee are both award-winning newspapers and have been for decades. That fact doesn’t change. Still, the contest matters because it brings the industry together—convention sessions, hopefully awards to accept, and the dinners and camaraderie that come with swapping stories with old friends and meeting new publishers.

I’m looking forward to the convention this year, and I plan on taking General Managers Dylan Busby and Roy McCoy with me. It’ll be Dylan’s first time, which means he gets the full experience—including the beanie.

The plaques and certificates—first through fourth place in categories like column writing, advertising design, sports photography and community service—aren’t just wall décor. They’re a signal that a newsroom is healthy, active and serving its community well. Entries are judged by professionals from other states, which helps remove hometown bias and rewards strong, objective journalism.

I started part of this column last year, after my return to Robertson County and after the purchase of The Silsbee Bee. Contest submissions come from a 12-month body of work—the full calendar year. That’s fine for Robertson County. For The Bee, though, we only have June 1 through Dec. 31, 2025. I don’t submit work that wasn’t produced under our team. Never have, never will. We submit what we did—plain and simple.

Here’s the fun part: you might think I’m saying that as an excuse, but after going through The Bee’s 2025 issues, we had more than enough contest-quality content to submit, in my opinion.

The Bee staff has worked hard to bring you strong feature stories, solid news reporting, sports coverage, photography and advertising. Truth be told, I almost feel sorry for the newspapers in our division that have to compete against us. I’m not gloating or bragging… well, maybe a little. A good friend of mine has a paper in The Bee’s division, and let’s just say I had no trouble making a friendly publisher wager. We’re going to kick his butt.

I remember when The Silsbee Bee dominated the TPA awards. I was there when Danny, Jan and other staff members stepped up year after year to accept honors. It’s time for The Bee to return to that stage—not for the sake of accolades, but to show it remains a trusted voice for Hardin County.

These awards don’t define us, but they do reflect the effort poured into every issue. They show we’re moving in the right direction—back toward excellence, both in Robertson County and in Hardin County.

And that, more than any plaque, is what truly matters.