Raycom Media Inc. and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. have agreed to merge, forming one of the nation's largest privately owned media groups.

Raycom Media owns or operates 65 television and two radio stations covering 44 markets in 20 states. CNHI owns more than 110 newspapers, websites and niche publications in 22 states.

Under the merger agreement, CNHI will operate as a Raycom Media subsidiary.

A large percentage of SNPA's members were affected by historic Hurricane Irma. They managed to report the news amid power outages, flooding and dangerously high winds that struck most of Florida and parts of South Carolina and Georgia.

This was a storm that made landfall on the west coast of Florida but blasted the east coast. The eye moved through the center of the state. Initially, delivering a newspaper was difficult if not impossible, but websites could be updated constantly.

What follows are some of the newspapers' own stories.

Sun Coast Media Group, the parent company of Sun Newspapers, has announced a million dollar disaster relief program for local businesses. For any business closed due to storm damage beyond Monday, Sept. 18, Sun Coast Media Group is offering a "Get Back on Your Feet Program."

When Hurricanes Harvey and Irma carved their destructive paths across Texas and Florida within a week of each other, Cox Media Group's keen focus on preparedness and collaboration across markets and media platforms ensured that its audiences continued to count on CMG for the critical news and information they needed during the disasters. CMG had round-the-clock, emergency coverage in eight Texas and Florida markets – providing a vital link to communities during the critical window before, during and after these hurricanes.

The newspaper industry has been phenomenally successful in adopting and adapting and embracing new technologies and becoming multi-media organizations, Bob Provost executive-in-residence/consultant with The Marketing Provost, told attendees at the SNPA-Inland Annual Meeting.

But, he says the industry hasn't created the perception of success. Instead, he said our public image "has been shaped by default – not by design. And, that's criminal. Negative news such as circulation declines, layoffs or buyouts, will reach the public eye and awareness without any effort on your part. However, no one else is going to get out in the market and promote your award-winning news coverage, our success as a public watchdog, our efficacy for local advertisers, and our relevance to younger adults."

He emphasized: "Please do not let your image be shaped by your competitors and your critics."

Building on the strength of successful sports coverage of the SEC and Big 10 Conferences, Cox Media Group has launched DieHards.com as a hub for college sports news and information. This new national site fuels fans' interest in the top college sports conferences, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 10 Conference, the Big 12 Conference, PAC-12 and the Southeastern Conference.

By Temple Northup, director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston

As you know, this has been an incredibly challenging time for the entire city and region. I am reaching out to communication programs and professionals around the country with information about how you can make a direct impact in the lives of communication students here at UH. If you could please share this with colleagues in your area, I would greatly appreciate it.

I have created an emergency scholarship fund for our students. We have about 2,000 majors in the school, and almost all of them work at least part time to support their education. Under normal circumstances, paying tuition and other associated costs can be hard. For some, Harvey has made it that much harder. By supporting this fund, I hope that we can reduce the need to choose between continuing college and acquiring basic necessities.

Even the judges noted that loose dogs in southern Dallas "might not seem to be an important issue." But, they said, Sharon Grigsby's editorials for The Dallas Morning News showed otherwise.

Grigsby, an editorial writer and columnist, is the winner in the over-50,000 division of the 2017 Carmage Walls Commentary Prize. She has been hounding city leaders on the subject for years.

The Seguin Gazette, a five-day newspaper with a daily circulation of 3,500, is the winner in the under-50,000 division of the 2017 Carmage Walls Commentary Prize. Editor and Publisher Jeff Fowler and Managing Editor Travis Webb won for a series of editorials and a column criticizing what they described as "extravagant" spending on the part of the members of the Seguin Independent School District board of trustees.

Far from the sky falling, North Carolina's legal advertising and independent contractor-newspaper carrier climate remains intact. The leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly acted responsibly, with encouragement from the North Carolina Press Association and many SNPA members, to leave N.C. law unchanged.