Media Honored by Local School Districts

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2008
Contact: Barbara Williams, 800.580.8272, ext. 6418

(AUSTIN) — Media representatives from over 400 Texas newspapers and radio and television stations were named to the 2008 Media Honor Roll by their local school districts. Sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the Media Honor Roll program recognizes media representatives statewide who deserve recognition for fair and balanced reporting of news about public schools.

Criteria for the district selection included the media representative’s efforts to get to know the superintendent, board president, and the district’s mission and goals; report school news in a fair, accurate, and balanced manner; give a high profile to positive news about schools; visit the schools; and maintain a policy of no surprises by sharing information with school officials.

“Districts across Texas appreciate these reporters for their balanced and accurate approach to sharing both the challenges facing our schools and the successes achieved by local teachers, students, and school boards. Their work aids local communities in focusing on the goal of providing the best public schools we can for every child,” said Renard Thomas, TASB president.

In most cases, district school boards passed a resolution to add names of media from their communities. Personalized certificates were created for presentation at the local level. The 2008 Media Honor Roll nominees are posted on TASB’s Web site at www.tasb.org, Services, Communications & PR.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve 4.6 million students.