By Laura KingTexas Press Messenger

Tragedy struck Big Lake last month. The Reagan County deputy sheriff was killed.

In a community like Big Lake, the deputy sheriff is never just the deputy sheriff – he’s family. And to one local journalist who helped cover the story, including a 17-hour standoff with the suspect, he was a brother-in-law.

J.L. Mankin was driving down Main Street with his wife, Jacy, and their two-year-old on the first day of August when he came across a patrol car with its lights on. Mankin, a reporter and photographer for The Big Lake Wildcat, was naturally curious and decided to follow the vehicle.

About half a block down Main Street, the patrol car pulled into an alleyway and officers exited the vehi-cle carrying assault rifles.

Mankin pulled over and got out. Moments later his mother-in-law pulled up behind them. She had been listening on her scanner – Jacy’s brother, 26-year-old Reagan County Deputy Sheriff Josh Mitchell, had been shot.

“At that time we didn’t know if there was still an active shooter,” Mankin said. “I noticed there were kids out at the swimming pool, which was just across the street. I yelled at

them to get inside. Then I realized I had my two-year-old and my wife right there, so we all hopped in the car and got away, because I didn’t know if the guy was just shooting to shoot.”

The primary suspect, Mark Madison of Big Lake, allegedly shot Mitchell in the side as he walked around the back of his patrol car to speak with him about a complaint. Madison refused

PAGE 5

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION • TEXASPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2012 • VOL. 87 NO. 9

Texas Press

Alto Herald print shop finds new home in Waco

MESSENGERWhen tragedy hits homeBig Lake paper covers 17-hour standoff while mourning the loss of a loved one

A Midland County Sheriff’s Office armored personnel carrier approaches Madison’s home early Thursday morning (Aug. 2) in a continued attempt to have Madison sur-render on his own. Snipers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers kept aim on Madison’s home as the assistant police chief drove into the front yard. The assis-tant police chief was forced to back away from the house just after 8 a.m. after they received no response. Photo by J.L. Mankin/The Big Lake Wildcat.

Big Lake Volunteer Fireman Jaron Young, talking to two Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, is silhouetted against the bright standoff scene in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 2. Several flood lights were placed around the 1108 North Main Street home where Madison holed up after he fatally shot Reagan County Deputy Josh Mitchell. Photo by J.L. Mankin/The Big Lake Wildcat.

Continued on PAGE 8

2 MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

Earlier this year I was looking through a filing cabinet in the old photo darkroom when I came across the memory card for our first digital camera.

Labeled as a Digital Camera Storage Adapter, it was an inch and a half wide, over three inches long, and almost a quarter-inch thick — about the size of an entire digital camera today.

The card had a whopping 4 MB of memory. If I remember right, that was enough for maybe 12 photos — photos that would become too pix-elated if printed any larger than two columns wide.

It is a true dinosaur by today’s digital standards.

Our industry has seen an amaz-ing technical transition in just the three-plus decades I’ve been in the business.

One of my fellow publishers in a neighboring community is gray-headed enough to remember the old linotype days. The smoke-blackened metal ceiling in one of our back rooms is a reminder of that era, when fires were used to melt lead type.

My own newspaper memories begin during the days of photo typesetting with Compugraphic machines. And I vaguely remember something about a machine produc-ing long strips of paper punched with holes — whatever that was.

A recent exchange of comments on the TPA publisher’s listserver showed little love lost for the messy waxing machines that some of us still used until just a few years ago. My wife, a young typesetter in the early 1980s, still laughs out loud when she recalls the day a somewhat-cranky ad manager got his necktie caught in the waxer’s rollers. Obviously think-

ing he was about to be pulled in and choked to death, a flash of fear crossed his face before he realized he could easily pull the tie back out. Only his ego and his tie suffered any damage.

The first newspaper computer I recall basically filled a climate-con-trolled room in a daily’s basement. As impressive as it seemed at the time, it almost certainly had only a tiny fraction of the computing power of today’s smart phones.

Yes, the tools of our trade have undergone plenty of changes in recent years.

Most, like digital cameras and computers when they work properly, have made our job easier than ever before. Photoshop can do so much more in a split second than we ever could achieve during hours in the darkroom. Creating pages while sit-ting in a comfortable chair with a mouse in hand sure beats leaning over tables to cut and paste with wax and a razor blade.

New equipment and technology have demanded entirely new skill sets. Instead of loading film onto developing reels in the dark we’re now uploading video onto websites.

Those changes have brought plen-ty of challenges as well — challenges

we’re now wrestling with as we seek to discover the best methods to deliv-er our product in a rapidly evolving digital world filled with all sorts of portable communication devices.

Yet many of the more personal aspects of our business have changed little over the years.

Reporters still need an inborn curiosity and the ability to develop sources, get facts right, and craft sen-tences that stir emotions.

Good salesmanship skills, whether selling print ads or marketing our product online, remain vital to keep-ing revenue flowing, our doors open and our websites up and running.

Camera phones are ever-present in today’s society, but consistently getting great photos that grab our readers’ attention and tell a story requires much more than simply pushing a button.

Having learned to type when elec-tric typewriters were just coming into their own, I was momentarily surprised a few years ago when a young new employee told me she didn’t have any idea about how to operate a typewriter.

But that’s OK, because she has been able to do more on a computer than anyone could ever make happen with an old clunky typewriter.

And while my long-tenured sports-writer may still type — or keyboard — with two fingers, he has an amaz-ing talent for keeping track of every sport, every coach and every player that ever came through any of the six high schools in our coverage area. He has become something of a local sports legend himself.

Technology has certainly trans-formed the tools we use, but it still takes good people with good skills to get the job done right.

RamblingRussel SkilesTPA PRESIDENT2012-2013

Digital vs. DinosaurOFFICIAL PUBLICATION

OF THE

Texas Press Association718 West 5th Street

Austin, Texas 78701-2783(512) 477-6755 phone

(512) 477-6759 faxtexaspress.com

2012-2013TPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERSPresident Russel Skiles, Lamesa Press-Reporter; First Vice President Greg Shrader, Lufkin Daily News; Second Vice President Randy Mankin, Eldorado Success; Treasurer Glenn Rea, Cuero

Record; Chairman Chad Ferguson, Banner Press Newspaper

BOARD MEMBERSElected: Bill Crist, Snyder Daily News; Sue

Brown, Pleasanton Express; Rochelle Stidham, Stephenville Empire-Tribune; Brandi Guy,

Thorndale Champion; Brett McCormick, Vernon Daily Record; Chad Engbrock, Wylie News

Appointed: Jeff Berger, Hondo Anvil Herald; Mark Henry, Mexia News; Melissa Perner, Ozona

Stockman; Ken Esten Cooke, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post; Roger Estlack, Clarendon

Enterprise; Randy Keck, Community News; Hank Hargrave, Normangee Star

Regional Presidents: Susan Reeves, Mount Vernon Optic-Herald, NETPA; Amanda Rogers, The Canyon News, PPA; Jason Jarrett, Westlake Picayune, STPA; Murray Judson, Port Aransas South Jetty, TGCPA; Mark Engebretson, Lake

Country Sun, WTPARegional Vice Presidents: Mark Engebretson,

Lake Country Sun, NETPA; Wanda Brooks, Moore County News, PPA; Cyndy Slovak-Barton, Hays Free Press, STPA; Danny Reneau, Silsbee Bee, TGCPA; Lisa Davis, Wise County Messenger,

WTPA

MESSENGER STAFF

PublisherMicheal Hodges

EditorLaura King

Advertising ConsultantDiane Byram

Volume 87 — Issue No. 9SEPTEMBER 2012

Subscription rate $6 per yearSingle issue 50 cents

© Texas Press Messenger, 2012 (ISSN 1521-7523). Published monthly by Texas Press Service, a business affiliate of Texas Press Association.

Periodicals postage paid at Austin, Texas, and additional mailing office, USPS 541-440.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Press Messenger, 718 West 5th Street, Austin,

Texas 78701-2783. Printed by Hood County News in Granbury, Texas.

MESSENGERTexas Press

OF

The Texas Newspaper Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2013 class of honorees to be inducted into the TNF Hall of Fame. Visit texaspress.com or tnf.net to download a nomination form.

DEADLINE: OCT. 15

HALL FAME

MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012 3

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Transactions and Consulting

Postal ruling favors direct mailer over newspapers

The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved a three-year contract between the U.S. Postal Service and one of the largest advertising mailers in the country, Valassis Communica-tions Inc. The agreement, authorized on Aug. 24, gives Valassis discounted prices on new mail volume if the com-pany mails at least one million new pieces in the first 12 months.

From the PRC’s opinion: “Newspa-pers have a de facto monopoly on the weekend advertising of national retail-ers of durable and semi-durable goods. Naturally, they would like to retain that business. The Postal Service has long been in the market for the distri-bution of such advertising, but has not competed effectively. The (agreement) is designed to attract volumes not cur-rently in the mail. The newspapers have provided no explanation demon-strating that they would be precluded from competing effectively by adjust-ing their advertising rates and/or ne-gotiating different rates for delivery.”

The National Newspaper Associa-tion and the Newspaper Association of America have released statements expressing disappointment with the PRC’s analysis. NAA has called the agreement “anti-competitive and dam-aging.”

“The nation’s newspapers and the Postal Service share a long history of working together to keep Americans informed and connected with one an-other,” Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO, said in a statement.

“The Postal Service should focus on cutting costs and getting the mail delivered on time — and not on us-ing rates to confer a significant and unwarranted advantage on one com-petitor at the expense of an entire in-dustry. This special arrangement calls into question whether the Postal Ser-vice should offer these types of deals in the first place.”

In a press statement the PRC said: “The Postal Service already provides significant benefits to periodical pub-lications. It has a long-standing policy of providing reduced rates for the editorial portion of periodical publica-tions, and Congress has mandated an additional preference for small, local (in-county) newspaper postage rates. While the Commission is sympathetic to the claims of market disruption, the

policies of the (Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act) do not shield newspapers from the consequences of fair competition.”

Wise County Messenger changes management

Roy J. Eaton has returned as presi-dent and publisher of the Wise County Messenger in Decatur, replacing Phil Major who is no longer with the paper. Eaton retired in January 2009 after serving as publisher of the paper for almost 35 years.

Bob Buckle, publisher of The Azle News and The Springtown Epigraph for more than 20 years, has been named executive editor of the Mes-senger. Buckle joined the Messenger staff in April as special projects man-ager and editor of This Justin, the Mes-senger’s community newspaper that serves Justin. He is a graduate of Lub-bock Christian University.

Kristen Tribe, who began her career at the Messenger as an intern when she was a student at Alvord High School, has been named news editor. Tribe, a Texas A&M University graduate, has been a full-time member of the staff since 2008 and covers Wise County government for the newspaper.

Brian Knox, who has been editor of the Messenger since 2007 and a mem-ber of the newspaper staff since 2000, has been named special projects man-ager. He will be in charge of the daily update, serve as editor of This Justin, and handle editorial copy for special sections. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Mount Pleasant paper goes a.m.

The Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune will convert to a morning publication schedule for weekday editions on Sept. 1.

“We are excited to be able to offer our readers coverage of local evening news and sports in a morning newspa-per,” Publisher Bob Palmer said in a statement.

The five-day daily has been an af-ternoon paper plus Sunday morning since 1968. The new schedule includes Tuesday through Friday morning edi-tions and a Sunday morning edition.

The Freedom of Information Foun-dation of Texas has introduced a pi-lot program to help newspapers save money on requesting open records rulings, related materials and written arguments from the Texas Attorney General’s office.

The new program is a “personal hand-delivery” service in Austin that provides a cost-effective alternative to the $30 eFiling option currently re-quired by the AG’s office for electronic filing.

“The Freedom of Information Foun-dation of Texas applauds the impor-tance of Texas newspapers and the value they provide in keeping the public informed while holding govern-ment accountable,” said Keith Elkins, FOIFT executive director. “As a public service, we are hopeful this new ser-vice will help defray some of those es-calating costs associated with obtain-ing public records.”

The AG’s office does not accept doc-uments by fax or email, which means

newspapers that do not have an office in Austin take on the cost and inconve-nience of filing requests through other methods, such as First Class Mail or the eFiling System.

But now newspapers can submit filings to FOIFT via email. The AG’s office does not charge for filings that arrive in paper form. FOIFT will print submissions at the FOIFT office and deliver them once a day in a single batch to the Open Records Division on West 14th Street in Austin during nor-mal business hours Monday through Friday. (Submissions will be delivered the same business day if received via email prior to 1 p.m.)

The program begins Sept. 1 and is available for present and new con-tributors to FOIFT whose annual con-tributions are at or above a minimum level of $75 for individuals and $250 for organizations. There is no separate charge or fee for this service.

Contact FOIFT at foift@foift.org with questions or requests.

News Briefs

National Newspaper Week is right around the corner

Newspapers are the cornerstone of a community, and it’s time to remind your readers! Let your community know that the local newspaper is there for them by promoting National News-paper Week, Oct. 7-13. NNW materials,

including logos, crossword puzzles, word searches, editorial cartoons and columns, are available for download at www.nationalnewspaperweek.com, courtesy of Newspaper Association Managers.

FOIFT to offer e-filing service for AG’s open records rulings

4 MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

Amanda Kimble was named editor of the Glen Rose Reporter.

Kimble is a longtime journalist with a degree in mass communications in print journalism from Southwest Tex-as State University.

For the past seven years she has worked as a reporter for the Stephen-ville Empire-Tribune (a sister paper to the Reporter), covering city and coun-ty government, schools and the court systems.

Kimble was named Journalist of the Year by the West Texas Press Associa-tion in 2009 and 2010.

Amanda KimbleGlen Rose Reporter

Jane WilliamsCox Media Group

Jane Williams, publisher of the Aus-tin American-Statesman, was named senior vice president for parent com-pany Cox Media Group’s television markets.

A native of Atlanta, Williams moved to Austin to join the American-States-man as publisher in January 2011. She has returned to Atlanta to lead a new broadcast portfolio — the company plans to add four television stations to its broadcast group and close several radio stations by the end of the year.

Cox Media Group will announce her successor in the coming months.

Newsmakers

Jim Wilson was named publisher of the Waco Tribune-Herald, effective Sept. 10.

Wilson has been in the journalism business for 33 years. For the past five years he has been publisher of the Bry-an-College Station Eagle, where he also served a stint as an Eagle advertising manager in the ’80s.

Wilson has worked at a few of the state’s largest newspapers, including the San Antonio Express-News and the Dallas Morning News.

He is a sixth generation Texan, born in Houston and raised in Corpus Christi.

Jim WilsonWaco Tribune-Herald

Crystal Dupre, publisher of The Me-ridian Star in Mississippi, was named publisher of the Bryan-College Station Eagle, effective Sept. 10.

Dupre was an advertising director before becoming publisher in 2002. She received a Master of Business Ad-ministration from Mississippi State University.

Dupre will replace Jim Wilson, who was named publisher of the Waco Tri-bune-Herald. Both newspapers were bought earlier this year by Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hatha-way Inc.

Crystal DupreBryan-College Station Eagle

Laura Zamora joined the Cleburne Times-Review as a news reporter. She will cover the Johnson County beat and the city of Burleson.

Zamora comes from a family of jour-nalists. Every member of her imme-diate family is a journalist or teaches writing, the Times-Review reported.

Zamora grew up in Brownsville and previously was a sports reporter for The Brownsville Herald.

She graduated from the Univer-sity of North Texas in May 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in news editorial writing.

Laura ZamoraCleburne Times-Review

Jake MienkCHNI

Jake Mienk joined Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. newspapers in East Texas as regional sales manag-er for the Jacksonville Daily Progress, the Athens Daily Review and the Pal-estine Herald Press.

A native of Gladwin, Mich., Mienk has worked in Texas for seven years as a sales executive with the Tyler Morn-ing Telegraph. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood University in Michi-gan.

Mienk is married to Teena Mienk. The couple has two sons.

Amy Brocato PearsonJacksonville Daily Progress

Amy Brocato Pearson was named editor of the Jacksonville Daily Prog-ress, a Community Newspaper Hold-ings Inc.-owned newspaper in East Texas.

Pearson’s career in journalism spans almost 20 years and has included jobs at the Petersburg (Va.) Progress-Index, Killeen Daily Herald, Beaumont Enterprise and Tyler Morning Tele-graph. Most recently, she launched IN Magazine in Tyler and served as editor for more than three years.

Pearson is a native of Richmond, Va. She has two sons.

Jenna DuncanHouston County Courier

Jenna Duncan joined the Houston County Courier in Crockett as a news reporter.

Duncan recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston. There she managed a staff of about 40 contributers as editor-in-chief of The Huntingdon News, Northeastern’s stu-dent newspaper.

She also worked as a full-time edito-rial assistant and a part-time city desk manager for the Boston Globe, as part of Northeastern University’s Coopera-tive Education program.

MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012 5

Print shop dinosaurs find new home in WacoBy Terrie GonzalezCherokeean Herald

Some lost dinosaurs of the hot type printing era have a new home at the Waco Tribune-Herald, representing what is believed to be one of the most complete collec-tions of its kind in the Southwest.

“The Alto Room,” as it is affec-tionately called, was dedicated Saturday (June 3) with a group of approximately 50 civic leaders from Alto and Waco.

Saturday was also declared “Alto Day” by Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr.

Clifton Robinson and his son Gordon Robinson, owners of the Trib, agreed in May 2011 to accept the antique printing equipment from Cherokeean Herald own-ers Marie Whitehead and Terrie Gonzalez and to add it to the news-paper’s existing printing museum.

They offered a large gallery

adjacent to the existing museum to display the complete contents of the Alto Herald’s print shop.

Attending the ribbon cutting was Linda Weimar, whose father Frank Ed Weimar, was the last “hot type” publisher.

The centerpiece of the collection is a 1919 Miehle press, which was first used by the Rusk Cherokeean before it was sold to Mr. Weimar.

Unusual pieces include a Fairchild engraver, which etched photographs onto a plastic matt, and a casting box.

The museum also contains two Merganthaler Linotypes and a Kluge press for commercial job printing.

The dedication ceremony was emceed by Ann Roznovsky, cura-tor of the museum.

“Our museum was started in 2000 for fourth graders in Central Texas to tour as they study the Constitution and ‘Freedom of

Speech and the Press.’ This is by far our most historic display; in fact we call it The Alto Room, the History of Printing.”

Mrs. Gonzalez added a final piece to the collection which was stored at the Rusk newspaper and not included in the shipment.

She presented an oak swivel chair used by previous newspaper publishers at the Alto Herald. It had a brass plate with the Alto Herald’s publication dates: 1896-1978.

The final issue’s dateline was July 28, 1978. When Mrs. Whitehead and her husband Emmett Whitehead bought the paper on Aug. 1, 1978, they imme-diately converted the paper to “cold type” using offset printing technology.

The printing equipment sat untouched for 33 years, as civic leaders tried and failed to create a print shop museum in Alto.

When the Miehle press was reassembled on the second floor, the page counter was reset to 1,978 to commemorate the date of the last newspaper published on the press. Photo by Terrie Gonzalez/Cherokeean Herald.

A 1919 Miehle press was transported to the Waco Tribune-Herald in Aug. 2011 and disassembled on the ground floor last January. Each piece was photographed, cata-logued and cleaned before reassembly on the second floor in a museum gallery. The chassis (the two black side rails at the top of the photo) and the rest of the press weighed almost 19,000 pounds. Photo by Terrie Gonzalez/Cherokeean Herald.

6 MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

By Joel AllisTPA Periodicals Consultant

E f f e c t i v e May 9, U.S. Postal Service will allow paid electronic sub-scribers to be included on PS Form 3526, Statement of O w n e r s h i p . The next fil-ing of your Statement of Ownership is Oct. 1. The updated electronic form on PostalOne! will not be available until 2013. The updated hard copy form is not currently available, but informa-tion will be sent out as soon as this new form is made available. The final Federal Register rule relating to this

change is available on Postal Explorer under the Federal Register Notices tab, effective May 9. This change has been in the works for several years and is largely the result of efforts by the National Newspaper Association. Max Heath, NNA’s postal chair, wrote a full-page article describing the changes and requirements relat-ed to this topic in NNA’s June 2012 Publisher’s Auxiliary.

Including paid e-subscribers on the Statement of Ownership is optional.

Postal regulations require that more than 50 percent of a newspaper’s total distribution go to paid subscrib-ers. Under this new rule, at least 40 percent of the newspaper’s paid distri-bution must consist of printed copies. This would allow 10 percent of the paid distribution to be paid e-subscribers.

Reporting less that 60 percent total paid subscribers on your Statement of Ownership could trigger a USPS

circulation audit of your publication. That has been the case for many years. Under the new rule, if you claim less than 60 percent paid circulation, and claim electronic subscribers, you will be responsible for obtaining an out-side circulation audit to be conducted by a certified audit bureau. This could be a considerable expense.

A print subscriber that is given free access to the electronic version of your newspaper does not count as a paid e-subscriber. To count as a paid e-subscriber, the electronic sub-scriber must pay more than a nominal rate for the electronic subscription. Nominal rate is understood to be at least 30 percent of the basic annual rate. This would require the publica-tion to establish a basic electronic subscriber rate. (For example: $30 a year — subscribers paying at least $9 a year for an electronic subscription would count as paid e-subscribers.)

If you submit your Statement of Ownership via PostalOne! you will have to use the old form and will not be able to claim e-subscribers for 2012.

The updated PS Form 3526 is sup-posed to be available the first week of September. If you are not claim-ing e-subscribers, you can use the old form.

Please send a copy of your complet-ed Statement of Ownership to Texas Press Association. You can fax to 512-477-6759; email to jallis@texaspress.com; or mail to TPA, 718 West Fifth Street, Austin, TX 78701.

There will likely be some confusion in the first year of filing under these changes, especially since the updated hard copy form may not be avail-able until the last minute. Remember, claiming paid electronic subscribers is voluntary. If you have any ques-tions please contact Joel Allis at 512-413-4122 or jallis@texaspress.com.

Statement of Ownership deadline is Oct. 1

ALLIS

MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012 7

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-30-Don Chandler(1924 — 2012)

Don Chan-dler, a long-time assistant publisher for The Brenham Banner-Press, died Aug. 4 in Brenham. He was 88.

Chandler’s 51-year career in the news-paper indus-try included more than 20 years with The Banner-Press, the paper reported. He joined the newspaper in 1979 and served 14 years as assistant publisher. He re-tired in 1995 but spent another eight years working on a part-time basis for

the newspaper before retiring fully in 2003.

Chandler worked for The Galves-ton Daily News from 1953-58, then for publications owned by Hartman Newspapers in Texas City and Bay-town from 1958-75.

During that 17-year period, he was an award-winning artist in advertis-ing layout and design and worked his way up the ranks from advertising salesman to manager to director of advertising for the Texas City Daily Sun.

In 1975 he accepted a position as general manager and co-owner of the Alvin Advertiser. When the Chan-dler’s Alvin home was flooded by a tropical storm in 1979, he and his wife, Wilma, sold their newspaper interests and moved to Brenham.

Chandler was a World War II vet-eran. He was born in Brady.

Burl Osborne(1937 — 2012)

Burl Os-borne, former p u b l i s h e r of The Dal-las Morning News, died Aug. 15 in Dal-las. He was 75.

Osborne be-gan his career as a reporter with the Asso-ciated Press in West Virginia and rose through the ranks at AP to become managing editor of its world-wide news operations in New York. He left the AP in 1980 to take a posi-tion as vice president and executive editor of The Dallas Morning News.

Later, he was named publisher of the paper and an executive officer of the Morning News’ parent company, Belo Corp., from which he retired in 2001.

Osborne had reconnected with AP in 1993 when he joined the coopera-tive’s board of directors, and in 2002 he became chairman of the board. He served as chairman until 2007.

He would later become a director and interim CEO of Freedom Commu-nications.

During his career, he supported numerous non-profits and trade as-sociations as a board member, officer or trustee, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Press Institute, the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, the Newspaper Association of America, the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and many others. He also co-chaired the Pulitzer Prize Board.

CHANDLER

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OSBORNE

8 MESSENGER VOL. 87 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

to surrender to local law enforcement and barricaded himself in his father’s home on Main Street, the Wildcat reported.

Mitchell called for backup, fled to a nearby yard and took cover between two homes, where he was found by officers and Emergency Medical Service volunteers. He was taken by ambulance to Reagan Memorial Hospital just a few blocks away.

Mankin and his family followed the ambulance to the hospital. He decided it was time to call Marla Daugherty, who was editor of the paper at the time, for help in covering the story. Daugherty was on her way to San Angelo when she got the call.

“In my mind – and she said in her mind – the whole thing was going to be over before she was able to get back to town,” Mankin said.

Daugherty arrived on the scene and was able to secure a spot on the roof of an adjacent home, a position she was able to hold even as local law enforcement began to push people back. She spent about five hours lying on the roof that night, surveying the scene and taking photographs, and was back up on the roof the next morning, Daugherty said.

Meanwhile, Mankin stayed at the hospital with his family. Mitchell was to be taken by helicopter to a hospital in San Angelo, but there were com-plications. He died at the Big Lake hosptial on Aug. 1.

When Mankin and his fam-ily returned to the scene later that day, they were allowed inside the perimeter and positioned themselves between two fire trucks parked on the corner of the block.

Early in the standoff, Reagan County officers entered the home to find Madison. Madison allegedly opened fire, gunfire was exchanged

and the officers left the house, the paper reported.

After that, the Texas Department of Public Safety took over and by the next morning, two armored personnel carriers and a SWAT team from Austin arrived on scene.

On the morning of Aug. 2, law enforce-ment attempted to determine Madison’s location inside the house but were unsuccessful. About 11 a.m. the SWAT team started deploy-ing tear gas and concussion grenades.

“It’s kind of wild sitting there feel-ing the earth shake underneath you,” Mankin said.

Mankin admitted he had doubts up until that point about whether Madison was still alive – a rumor had been circulating that he was injured in the first raid on the home.

“Then someone said over the scan-ner that he was about to be at the front door,” Mankin said. “He came out the front … massive head wound. They directed him to lie down after they got him to the driveway and he lay down. That’s when he was arrested.”

Mankin said the gunshot wound was reported as self-inflicted. Madison died five days later at a hos-pital in San Angelo.

“I like taking pictures. It’s what I do and it just kept me busy and made me feel less helpless,” he said. “I had the camera on him that whole time. I worked my way up the street as they took him to the ambulance. I was just shooting as quick as I could. I could see something was wrong with this guy. Once I got my camera back and looked at the photos, it was just hor-

rifying.”The Wildcat was one of the few, if

not the only, news organizations to get a shot of Madison surrendering. Most of the media was not allowed inside the perimeter. They were restricted to 12th Street, beyond the command post, he said.

“I think being as involved as we were gave us the access to the spot we were sitting in,” he explained. “When we were sitting there by the fire trucks, several of our fire department guys had their scanners and they had some channels programmed that we weren’t aware of. There was plenty of radio traffic and word of mouth from everybody talking to each other.”

The photo of Madison surrender-ing was immediately posted online by The Wildcat and attracted a lot of attention, but the paper chose not to publish it in print.

“I just wanted to show a different part of the story on the front page – it had already been a week,” Mankin said. “It did sink in a little bit that the man does have family here. Of course it weighed on my heart, but every decision that was made here was run through my father, who is our pub-lisher, and I always say that if he’s comfortable with it, then I trust his

judgment 100 percent.”Mankin and Daugherty both

expressed gratitude for the support provided by friends in the newspaper community, including Mankin’s par-ents, Randy and Kathy Mankin, own-ers of the Wildcat and The Eldorado Success; Melissa Perner, editor and publisher of The Ozona Stockman, who helped them keep their readers informed by updating The Wildcat’s Facebook page; and Amanda Leija, reporter and photographer for the Brownwood Bulletin, who covered the funeral for the staff.

“Big Lake and Ozona are only 40 miles apart,” Perner said in an email. “We often help each other out in emergency situations. When J.L. called and told us what all was hap-pening, we didn’t hesitate to help. Getting information out on Facebook and Twitter was our way of keeping both communities informed.

“By working together we were able to provide the best and most accurate information to our communities. We also appreciate the work Brownwood did. Social media was utilized well between all three newspapers and the coverage was fantastic. It just shows that great news coverage can be achieved by working together.”

From PAGE 1

Marcos “Mark” Madison, the primary suspect in the shooting of Reagan County Deputy Sheriff Josh Mitchell, sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his face prior to being taken into custody by a Texas Department of Public Safety SWAT team. Photo by J.L. Mankin/The Big Lake Wildcat.

Tragedy strikesThe Big LakeWildcat