Palestine Herald-Press

About Palestine Herald-Press

In 2020, the editor of the Palestine Herald-Press won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing — for "Death Without Conviction," a series on inmates who died in Texas county jails, many of them pre-trial detainees never convicted of a crime. It was the crowning moment of a newspaper founded in 1849 as the Palestine Advocate — 177 years of continuous publication in Palestine, Texas, the daily of Anderson County, East Texas. Owned by CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.) since 1998. Publisher Jake Mienk, editor PennyLynn Webb, circulation 1,880 (2023), from 519 Elm Street, Palestine — distributed Tuesday through Friday mornings with a Weekend edition Saturday. The Palestine Herald-Press still publishes daily at palestineherald.com.

1849: the Palestine Advocate

"Founded in 1849 as the Palestine Advocate" — the original publication on which the newspaper is based, established the year after Anderson County's seat began to grow. The Advocate was Palestine's paper through the antebellum years, the Civil War and Reconstruction. In 1902, W.M. and H.V. Hamilton "returned to Palestine, Texas from Monterrey, Mexico, and established The Palestine Daily Herald" — June 4, 1903 by the company's own account — "which has been Palestine's leading paper for over thirty years."

1903: the Hamilton merger

"The Palestine Daily Herald came about following the Hamilton family's 1903 merger of the Advocate with the Palestine Press and Palestine Daily Visitor." The Hamiltons had also established the weekly Anderson County Herald just before the daily. In 1935, H.V. Hamilton sold his interest to Van A., Lamar and Lester Hamilton, the sons of W.M. Hamilton — the paper stayed in the family for decades.

1966: the Patrick family adds "Press"

"The name 'Press' was added under the Patrick family's ownership in 1966" — creating the Palestine Herald-Press. The Patricks owned the paper for 32 years, through East Texas's late-20th-century transformations, before selling.

CNHI: 1998

"That family sold the paper in 1998 to Alabama-based CNHI" — Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., one of America's largest small-market newspaper companies, which "owns it today." Under CNHI, the paper continued as Anderson County's daily — seven-day publication in earlier years, now "distributed in Tuesday through Friday mornings and a Weekend edition delivered on Saturday mornings."

The 2008 embezzlement scandal

"In 2008, the manager of the Herald-Press was accused of embezzling over $100,000 from the paper" — a painful episode for a small-town daily, and one the paper itself had to cover.

The Pulitzer: 2020

"In 2020, Editor Jeffery Gerritt won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for an editorial series titled 'Death Without Conviction.'" The series "focused on a record number of inmates who died while in custody in county jails across Texas and compiled information obtained from Texas Public Information Act requests. Many inmates who died were pre-trial detainees who had not been convicted of crimes and were awaiting trial." A small East Texas daily winning American journalism's highest honor — for holding power to account on behalf of the powerless — is the Herald-Press's defining modern achievement. The paper's own statement of principle: "an independent newspaper which supports what it believes to be right and opposes what it believes to be wrong."

The Herald-Press today

Publisher Jake Mienk and editor PennyLynn Webb lead the daily from 519 Elm Street, Palestine, Texas 75802 — circulation 1,880 as of 2023 — covering Anderson County: local and regional news, opinion, sports, community events, plus quarterly magazines (Palestine Magazine, the Herald-Press Endzone Magazine), an electronic edition and palestineherald.com. "Serving Anderson County for over a century... a primary source of journalistic record for the region."

177 years of the Herald-Press

From the 1849 Advocate through the Hamilton merger, the Patrick family's "Press" and CNHI's ownership to the 2020 Pulitzer, the Palestine Herald-Press has published for 177 years — East Texas's daily, still publishing. Its official website is palestineherald.com.

The Hamiltons: 1902–1935

"In 1902, Messrs. W. M. Hamilton and H. V. Hamilton returned to Palestine, Texas from Monterrey, Mexico, and established The Palestine Daily Herald" — "which has been Palestine's leading paper for over thirty years." The Hamiltons had founded the weekly Anderson County Herald "just previous to the establishment of The Daily Herald in 1901"; it "was published for about fifteen years and suspended when commercial printing department required much of the time of the editors." In 1935, "H. V. Hamilton sold his interest in the paper to Van A., Lamar, and Lester Hamilton, the sons of W. M. Hamilton" — the paper passing to the second generation. The Hamilton era built the Daily Herald into East Texas's paper.

The paper's own statement of principle

The Herald-Press carries a formal statement of its creed: "The Herald-Press is an independent newspaper which supports what it believes to be right and opposes what it believes to be wrong. It has no affiliations, political or otherwise, which can interfere with its editorial policy or its handling of news." And its corrections policy: "Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation of any person, firm or corporation which may appear in the columns of this newspaper will be corrected upon being brought to the attention of the publisher." It welcomes letters — signed, with address and phone, 500 words maximum, thirty days between published letters — at 903-729-0281. The 2020 Pulitzer editorials were this creed in action.

East Texas's Pulitzer paper

The Palestine Herald-Press — "a consolidation of the Palestine Daily Herald founded June 4, 1903, by W.M. and H.V. Hamilton, the Palestine Press and Daily Visitor, founded 1898, and the Sunday Herald-Press, established in 1849," on the foundation of "the Palestine Advocate, founded in 1849" — is "a CNHI newspaper": Jake Mienk, publisher; Jeff Gerritt, editor (at the Pulitzer win); PennyLynn Webb, editor today. It publishes "local, regional, and national news, opinion pieces, sports, and community events," plus quarterly magazines — Palestine Magazine and the Herald-Press Endzone Magazine — an electronic edition, and palestineherald.com with "online news articles, classifieds, and digital archives." Distributed Tuesday through Friday mornings with a Weekend edition Saturday, from 519 Elm Street, Palestine, Texas 75802. One hundred seventy-seven years from the Advocate — and a Pulitzer on the shelf. Its official website is palestineherald.com.

"Death Without Conviction." The Pulitzer series remains the paper's defining achievement: editor Jeffery Gerritt's editorials "focused on a record number of inmates who died while in custody in county jails across Texas and compiled information obtained from Texas Public Information Act requests." Many of the dead "were pre-trial detainees who had not been convicted of crimes and were awaiting trial" — men and women who died awaiting justice, in jails the state barely monitored. That a daily of 1,880 circulation produced journalism honored with American journalism's highest prize testifies to what community papers can do: the records requests, the database, the moral accounting — all from 519 Elm Street, Palestine, Texas.

177 years and counting. From the 1849 Palestine Advocate through the Hamiltons' 1903 merger, the Patrick family's 1966 "Press" and CNHI's 1998 purchase — through the 2008 embezzlement scandal and the 2020 Pulitzer — the Palestine Herald-Press has published for 177 years. It is Anderson County's daily, East Texas's Pulitzer paper: "an independent newspaper which supports what it believes to be right and opposes what it believes to be wrong." Still publishing, Tuesday through Friday and Saturday, at palestineherald.com.