Social Work Journalism: A new way to serve your audience?

Fellow Journos, have you thought of ways to serve your audience beyond the formal reporting that hits the feed/airwaves/newspaper? Daily, we seek to empower, inform, find solutions, and foster conversation in our communities. But what about the interactions that never make it to a “byline?” All of those answered calls in the newsroom, texts, inbox…

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American, Korean journalists share insight at East-West Center dialogue in Hawai’i

We say “Mahalo” for the opportunity to bring East and West together through journalism. My Korea-U.S. Journalists Exchange came full-circle with a concluding dialogue in Hawai`i and included rigorous discussion of the challenges and opportunities in covering the U.S.-Korea bilateral relationship, the state of journalism in both countries, and the political landscape of the Indo-Pacific….

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A rare glimpse at life beyond the demilitarized zone in North Korea

From the world’s most heavily fortified border in the world, visitors to the Odusan Unification Observatory in South Korea can get a rare look at life across the Demilitarized Zone, inside North Korea. An unusually clear day on Tuesday provided crystal-clear views across the Han River, where workers were farming the land about a mile…

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KLTV’s Lane Luckie selected for journalism fellowship in South Korea

KLTV news anchor and reporter Lane Luckie has been selected to participate in the 2026 Korea-United States Journalists Exchange, a program of the East-West Center. The 2026 Exchange marks the continued importance of the Korea-U.S. relationship. With a focus on “Navigating the Evolving U.S.-ROK Relationship: Trade, Investment, and Security Cooperation,” this 18th exchange in September…

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NASA’s ‘successful failure’ still inspires a half-century later

On this day in 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 splashed down in the south Pacific Ocean after one of the most intense events in the history of space exploration. Known as the “successful failure,” an explosion on board forced NASA to circle the damaged spacecraft around moon without landing. I still think about how…

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Sight.org marks 10,000 eye surgeries in West Africa

An East Texas-based ministry is taking people from darkness to the light, restoring vision to more than 10,000 people through Sight.org’s mobile clinics in West Africa. Since Lewis Swann co-founded Sight.org in 2012 in Tyler, the organization says it’s also shared the Gospel with more than 50,000 people in Togo, a mostly French-speaking country of…

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Family history buried among the pages of hundred-year-old school books

What an incredible treasure! My grandmother, who turns 98 next month, is learning something new about her own mother who died 73 years ago. A relative recently discovered these more-than 100-year-old school books that belonged to my great-grandmother! Schooling in the early 1900s concluded with 6th or 7th grade. Throughout her adulthood, it turns out,…

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Never miss an opportunity to thank someone who believed in you

Since childhood, I’ve been astoundingly blessed to have had teachers and mentors who poured their time and encouragement into my personal development. One of them was a champion for developing an “attitude of gratitude,” acknowledging when doors are opened, successes are celebrated, when someone has the courage to extend “tough love,” or generously gives of…

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East Texas woman navigates grief by building wooden crosses

Everyone handles the loss of a loved one differently. Amber Acosta refused to let her father’s memory fade away after his death in 2016. It was inside his workshop that Amber says she unexpectedly found inspiration. “Someone can have such a large presence in your life. And to not have that anymore, it can take…

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Meet Christian worship music artist Reese Germany

A rising voice in the Christian worship music scene, Reese Germany’s songs bring encouragement to those who are hurting. Her lyrics and songs give life to powerful testimony about finding hope through suffering. “I feel like my life is a song,” Reese said. “I feel like God has written a story that only he could…

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Lane Luckie honored by alma mater as Distinguished Communications Professional

Journalist Lane Luckie, an alumnus of Northwestern State University, was recently recognized by the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts with a Distinguished Communications Professional Award during a luncheon and program on Friday, April 4. Luckie was honored alongside media strategist Valsin Marmillion and the late famed sportswriter Jerry Byrd. Created in 2021,…

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East Texas athlete defies cancer diagnosis to play college softball

Softball has become a type of therapy for 18-year-old Addison Babbs. The freshman from Nacogdoches County is finishing her first semester at Angelina College and earned a spot on the Lady Roadrunners softball team. Until recently, very few of her teammates knew about an inoperable tumor deep inside the right half of her brain. Competitive…

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Artist Robert Puschautz creates sacred art to elevate minds toward eternity

An East Texas artist is looking to his faith to bring beauty to the world. From his studio in downtown Tyler, Robert Puschautz is training aspiring artists to produce sacred art that inspires others. “There’s a need for new imagery, a need for beautiful art to occupy people’s hearts and minds,” Puschautz said. The Stabat…

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The future of Journalism and Communications is now

Aspiring communications professionals have never had more opportunities to pursue their passions for journalism and content creation. Schools like my Alma Mater, Northwestern State University, are creating pathways for students to thrive in a multimedia-driven workplace. The university’s Department of New Media, Journalism, and Communication Arts recently held its 51st Journalism and Media Day to…

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Andy Eaker’s journey from childhood coma to hospital chaplain

Nearly 30 years ago, Andy Eaker miraculously bounced back from a serious childhood brain injury. Today, the Longview native is using that experience to encourage and empathize with patients as a hospital chaplain. In June 1996, Andy Eaker was one of the first examples of extraordinary faith profiled in KLTV’s ‘Power of Prayer’ series. That…

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Last practices for 1944 D-Day invasion staged two weeks earlier at Tyler airport

Two weeks before the largest amphibious invasion in military history was launched on D-Day, the U.S. military coordinated an exercise involving air drops over Tyler. According to a May 20, 1944 report in the The Tyler Courier-Times, an afternoon newspaper no longer in publication, the maneuver would involve air-dropping 25 thousand pounds of equipment onto…

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German soldiers captured in World War II held in East Texas POW camps

As the unprecedented D-Day invasion in France got underway in June 1944, German prisoners of war were arriving in Texas by the thousands. According to the Texas Historical Commission, more than 50 thousand German soldiers were held at nearly 70 prisoner of war internment camps in Texas during World War II. Many were captured in…

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Longview HS Lobo Choir group takes final bow after week in Paris, France

The Longview High School Lobo Choir’s week abroad is winding down with a second day of immersion in the history and culture of France’s capital city. On Monday, June 10, their final day in France, the choir performed at La Madeleine Church, known for its atypical neo-classical architecture style that mimics the Pantheon. Originally intended…

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East Texas soldier tapped to wrangle wild horses ahead of Normandy invasion

The National Archives and Records Administration’s work to catalogue millions of photos from World War II has spanned decades. “The Second World War was documented on a huge scale by thousands of photographers and artists who created millions of pictures,” the agency stated on its website. The growing image archive continues to reveal fascinating details…

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Longview HS choir performs in D-Day Memorial Parade in Normandy

On Saturday, June 8, the Longview High School Choir made a visit to the Normandy American Cemetery, a day after their scheduled performance during a commemoration ceremony was canceled due to an unplanned visit by U.S. President Joe Biden. Students walked through the rows of marble grave markers and reflected on the lives lost in…

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