Chris VassChris Sherrill Vass, Chattanooga Times Free Press public editor, has been named president of the Tennessee Press Association.
Vass becomes president of the 129-member TPA (which includes 23 daily newspapers) at a crucial time for the newspaper industry. Among her challenges at TPA, Vass said, is to be an effective advocate for the newspaper industry in the Volunteer State while also promoting transparency in government at all levels.
“Newspapers are fair game now,” said Vass, who is the fifth woman to be named TPA president. “We have to fend off attempts to close public access to records, to meetings, to what the law says we have access to.”
Vass said Tennessee’s newspaper leaders should seize the industry narrative from naysayers and emphasize the essential watchdog role that newspapers provide.
“There needs to be better salesmanship about the value of newspapers, the mission we fulfill,” she said.