Yvonne Mintz, editor and publisher of The Facts in Clute, Texas, is an additional finalist in the under 35,000 circulation category of the Columns category of the Carmage Walls Commentary Prize competition.
Mintz has spent her entire career at The Facts, starting as a reporter in 1997 and moving her way up the ranks to editor and publisher. During that time, she has nurtured a relationship with readers partly by speaking with them on the editorial page.
At times of crisis, she has provided reassurance. In times of celebration, she has been a proud voice. And, when the situation requires tough talk, she is direct, honest and firm.
Her contest entry includes three of her columns.
First column:
Learn to be comfortable with life's changes
In this column, Mintz talks about how strength is found in navigating the winding road of change. “Even more,” she wrote, “it’s about being brave enough to leave the comfortable for something better.”
She wrote about how the paper closed its press last September,
shifting printing to its sister paper in Galveston. Next came listing its building for sale. “We simply don’t need this big of a footprint anymore, and it’s clear by the quick interest in the property that others can use it for its highest and best purpose now.”
She wrote: "“As the prospect of a building sale looms closer and we eye another couple of properties as The Facts’ next home, I think about the publishers who came before me who moved the paper from its first offices in Freeport to the current space in Clute and who faced changes in technology just like The Facts does today. Every leader of this paper before me had tough decisions to make. They led their staffs through change and continued to serve their communities. That’s a model I want to follow, and you don’t do that by standing still or staying comfortable.”
Second column:
Nothing reckless in reporting about Judge Pfeiffer
In this column, Mintz wrote that Judge Pfeiffer had made a “serious allegation against this newspaper that I must refute. He alleged, via Facebook comment on his own page, The Facts page, and my personal page, that we were reckless in using the word ‘ensnared’ in describing his involvement in a prostitution sting in Pearland.”
Third column
Tax breaks still benefit county
This column focused on an unpopular opinion: “Tax abatements, in most cases, are a good thing.”
“Yes, our personal property values are high, and nobody likes to pay taxes,” Mintz wrote. “It irks us when huge companies that make tons of money get tax breaks and we don’t.
“But as every speaker at the Economic Alliance for Brazoria County’s industry update luncheon alluded to in thanking local officials last month, development incentives play a huge role in where a company decides to invest and grow.”
Among the comments made by contest judges:
