How are you spending the Fourth?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

As a kid, I never minded that it was hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July. Independence Day was the best holiday, hands down. My favorite cousins came over, and we played 2-on-2 tackle football until we were ...

Inspirational story springs from the Fatal Funnel

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Ordinary people sometimes do extraordinary things when faced with circumstances that push them to their limits. Or perhaps they're already extraordinary people who just  didn't get the recognition they deserved before. In Sunday's second chapter of "The Fatal Funnel," you'll ...

When should we release a user's IP address?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

The Advocate's ethics board had a special meeting after being alerted by a state investigator that we would receive a subpoena for the computer records of someone who posted what could be considered a threat against Victoria District Attorney Stephen ...

A good weekend for your hometown paper - Texas Press Association awards

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Our "Law and Disorder" coverage appears far from over, but we received some positive reinforcement regarding our 2007 coverage during this weekend's Texas Press Association annual convention. I'm pleased to announce the Advocate won eight awards during the convention and ...

Did you notice what else was going on this week in Victoria?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

As the beautiful music thundered over me Friday night, I wished all of Victoria could have shared in the moment. I'm not much of a classical music lover, but the power of Verdi's "Requiem" floored me. The choir and the ...

How do you keep track of all the accusations?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Two or three weeks ago, Scott Hanson hung up on me after I became exasperated by his criticism that the Advocate wasn't digging hard enough into Victoria District Attorney Stephen Tyler. We're doing all we can, I told Hanson, also ...

What knits together the fabric of a community?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

A newspaper contains much more than news stories or photographs. Perhaps just as important is the central role it plays in bringing together its community. I thought about this today because of a letter to the editor criticizing the Advocate ...

Why would an unwed father be featured on Father's Day?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Quite a few readers reacted strongly to Monday's B1 feature on two new fathers. The story idea was to find a dad whose child was born this Father's Day. As it turns out, both of the fathers at DeTar Hospital ...

What is a personal attack?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

It sounds like a simple question. But moderating an online forum is anything but simple. During a heated local election, the challenge is even more difficult. If an anonymous poster debates the point made by a previous anonymous poster and ...

Wouldn't Victoria make a grand home for a third Disney park?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

While on vacation last week with my sister and my family, we enjoyed a boat ride down the River Walk. The colorful captain told us a story about how San Antonio missed out on Disney World back in the 1960s. ...

Do you want to be an Advocate columnist?

By ChrisCobler in Your Advocate: an editor's blog

Many think they can write a regular column. Almost as many fail. It's tougher than it looks to put yourself out there daily, weekly or monthly for readers. You can't afford to have too many bad efforts, or you'll lose ...