The Texas Observer

Last updated
The Texas Observer
Texasobserverlogo.png
CategoriesPolitics
FrequencyBimonthly
FounderFrankie Randolph and Ronnie Dugger
Founded1954
CompanyTexas Democracy Foundation
CountryUnited States
Based in Austin, Texas
LanguageEnglish
Website www.texasobserver.org
ISSN 0040-4519

The Texas Observer (also known as the Observer) is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. [1] The Observer is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3) [2] nonprofit organization, the Texas Democracy Foundation. It is based in Austin, Texas. [3]

Contents

On March 27, 2023, it announced that it was ceasing publication. [4] However, on March 29, it was announced that publication will continue following a successful crowdfunding campaign by staff. [5]

History

The Observer was founded by Frankie Randolph and Ronnie Dugger in Austin in 1954 to address topics often ignored by daily newspapers in the state, such as those affecting working people and concerning class and racism. [6] [7]

According to Texas Public Radio (TPR), the early Observer "represented the liberal wing of the once-conservative Democratic Party" that was dominant in Texas. During this period, the Observer was critical of conservative or moderate Texas Democrats, including Lyndon B. Johnson during his Senate tenure and Governors Allan Shivers and John Connally. [8] In the 1970s, Molly Ivins served as the Observer's co-editor and a political reporter. [9]

In 2010, the Observer published an exposé on then-Governor Rick Perry's "Enterprise Fund". The report found that 20 recipients of the 55 grants available through the fund were given to Perry campaign contributors or contributors to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) after he became chairman. [10] [11]

In March 2023, the board of the Observer's parent organization, the nonprofit Texas Democracy Foundation, voted to close the publication and lay off its 17 employees, including 13 journalists. [4] A crowdfunding campaign to save the publication raised over $300,000 in two days, spread mostly through word of mouth via Mastodon. [5] [12] The campaign was successful. [13]

Notable staff and contributors

Notable Observer staff and contributors, past and present:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Ivins</span> American newspaper columnist

Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins was an American newspaper columnist, author, and political commentator, known for her humorous and insightful writing, which often used satire and wit to critique political figures and policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Perry</span> American politician (born 1950)

James Richard Perry is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015 and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bell (politician)</span> American politician (born 1959)

Robert Christopher Bell is an American politician, attorney, and former journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and South Texas College of Law. Bell served five years on the Houston City Council from 1997 to 2001, followed by one term in the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 25th Congressional District in Houston from 2003 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Texas redistricting</span> Controversial redistricting of Texass districts for the U.S. House of Representatives

The 2003 Texas redistricting was a controversial intercensus state plan that defined new congressional districts. In the 2004 elections, this redistricting supported the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's federal House seats for the first time since Reconstruction. Democrats in both houses of the Texas Legislature staged walkouts, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the changes. Opponents challenged the plan in three suits, combined when the case went to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Texas gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Texas

The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor of Texas. The election was a rare five-way race, with incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry running for re-election against Democrat Chris Bell and Independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, as well as Libertarian nominee James Werner.

Bobby Jack Perry, known as Bob J. Perry, was a Houston, Texas homebuilder, owner of Perry Homes, and major contributor to a number of politically oriented 527 groups, such as the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth and the Economic Freedom Fund.

Aaron Robert Schwartz, better known as A. R. Schwartz or "Babe" Schwartz, was an American politician, lawyer, and lobbyist who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1955 to 1959 and in the Texas Senate from 1960 to 1981, representing his native Galveston, Texas. He was known for being a liberal "yellow-dog" Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sharp (Texas politician)</span> American politician

John Spencer Sharp is an American Democratic politician from Texas, who has served since 2011 as the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. From 1991 to 1999, he was the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. From 1979 to 1987, he was a member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature. From 1987 to 1991, he was one of the three members of the Texas Railroad Commission. In 1998 and 2002, he was the Democratic Party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

Charles Albert "Chuck" Wolfe is the CEO of The Chiles Group, founded by Ed Chiles, the son of late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles for whom Wolfe worked for seven years. The Chiles Group operates several restaurants, an organic farm, aquaculture farm and bakery, and holds many real estate properties across Florida Gulf Coast. Wolfe had previously been a consultant to the Group. Collectively the business are focused on local and sustainable food practices. Wolfe took on this role in 2018, leaving a consulting firm he had founded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kickstarter</span> US-based crowdfunding platform

Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of February 2023, Kickstarter has received US$7 billion in pledges from 21.7 million backers to fund 233,626 projects, such as films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games, board games, technology, publishing, and food-related projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Perry 2012 presidential campaign</span> Presidential campaign

The Rick Perry presidential campaign of 2012 began when Rick Perry, four-term Governor of Texas, announced via a spokesman on August 11, 2011, that he would be running for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governorship of Rick Perry</span> Rick Perrys tenure as the 47th Governor of Texas

Rick Perry, having served as the Lieutenant Governor of Texas for one year, succeeded to the office of Governor of Texas on December 21, 2000, when Governor George W. Bush resigned to prepare for his presidential inauguration. Perry became the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as governor. Perry was a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association. Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 and 2011.

The MOLLY National Journalism Prize is awarded annually by the Texas Democracy Foundation dba The Texas Observer. The award is intended to recognize superior journalism in the tradition of Molly Ivins.

Louis (Lou) Dubose is an American journalist. He has been the editor of the independent political periodical The Washington Spectator since 2007. Under Dubose's editorship, the Spectator has covered Washington politics and dateline stories from places around the United States ranging from Helena, Montana, to Shelby County, Alabama, to Port Arthur, Texas. Dubose has written a number of high-profile articles for the Spectator, including a June 2013 report that broke the story of the potential toxicity of consumer plastics used in baby bottles and cups and an interview with a former Guantanamo inmate, Murat Kurnaz.

Jason Stanford is an American author and writer. He was the communications director for Austin mayor Steve Adler. Previously, he was a Democratic strategist, commentator and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a syndicated columnist with Cagle Cartoons and also a regular contributor to the Austin American-Statesman.

Rosemary Lehmberg is a former District Attorney of Travis County, which includes the capital city of Austin, Texas. She began working in the District Attorney's office in 1976. She headed many Divisions of the DA's office, establishing the Travis County Children's Advocacy Center, and was called "The Best Lawyer for Children's Issues" by The Austin Chronicle. In 2009, she became the first female District Attorney in Travis County. Lehmberg served eight years as Travis County’s district attorney before retiring in January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Perry veto controversy</span> 2014 prosecution in Texas, United States

On August 15, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury, but has since been cleared on all charges. The first charge of the indictment was abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors department. The second charge, which has since been ruled unconstitutional, was coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony, for seeking the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she was convicted of drunk driving and incarcerated. Lehmberg was a district attorney in Travis County, Texas, and the Travis County DA's office managed the Public Integrity Unit's operations. The veto was seen as retribution for Lehmberg not stepping down. Perry pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Ronnie Dugger is an American progressive journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Perry 2016 presidential campaign</span> Presidential campaign

The 2016 presidential campaign of Rick Perry, the 47th Governor of Texas, was officially launched on June 4, 2015. This campaign constituted Perry's second consecutive bid for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Perry announced on September 11, 2015, that he had suspended his campaign.

References

  1. ↑ Patoski, Joe Nick (1 July 2001). "Liberalism Lives!". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Texas Democracy Foundation". Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Contact" Archived November 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . The Texas Observer. Retrieved on May 6, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Chan, Sewell; Formby, Brandon (27 March 2023). "Texas Observer, legendary crusading liberal magazine, is closing and laying off its staff". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 Chan, Sewell (2023-03-29). "Texas Observer will continue publishing after staff crowdfunds more than $300,000". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  6. ↑ "About Us". The Texas Observer. Archived from the original on 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2006-04-20.
  7. ↑ Moyers, Bill (2005-11-21). "The Texas Observer at 50". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  8. ↑ Chan, Sewell (2023-03-27). "Texas Observer, legendary crusading liberal magazine, is closing and laying off its staff". TPR. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  9. ↑ Minutaglio, Bill; Smith, W. Michael (2009). Molly Ivins : a rebel life. Internet Archive. New York : PublicAffairs. ISBN   978-1-58648-717-1.
  10. ↑ MacGillis, Alec (2017-01-03). "Rick Perry's Texas Giveaways". ProPublica. Retrieved 2023-03-29. In 2010, the Texas Observer reported that 20 of the 55 Enterprise Fund grant recipients up to that point had contributed directly to Perry's campaign or the Republican Governor's Association, of which he became chairman in 2010.
  11. ↑ Liebelson, Dana (2013-03-20). "Rick Perry's $487 Million Corporate Slush Fund Doesn't Need Your Stinkin' Audit". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  12. ↑ Wong, Julia Carrie (2023-03-29). "Texas Observer journalists raise $270,000 in bid to save publication". The Guardian . Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  13. ↑ "We Did It, Y'all! Texas Observer Will Remain Open!". The Texas Observer. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  14. ↑ "Jake Bernstein". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  15. ↑ "Molly Ivins". The Texas Observer. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  16. ↑ "Aug 12, 1960 Issue | Texas Observer Print Archives". issues.texasobserver.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.