The Texas Observer
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 | |
| Categories | Politics |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Founder | Frankie Randolph and Ronnie Dugger |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Company | Texas Democracy Foundation |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Austin, Texas |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| 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]
On March 27, 2023, it announced that it was ceasing publication.[4] However, on March 29, it was announced that publication would continue following a successful crowdfunding campaign by staff,[5] and its publication has continued since.
History
[edit]![[icon]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (March 2023) |
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 2000, the Observer published a major investigation[10] by Nate Blakeslee into a drug bust in the town of Tulia, which led to criminal exonerations. The story was later expanded into a book.
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.[11][12]
In 2015, the Observer won a National Magazine Award[13] for its series by Melissa del Bosque with the Guardian titled "Beyond the Border."[14]
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.[5][15] The campaign was successful.[16]
The Observer since continued publication. In 2025, it exposed a federal immigration prosecutor as the operator of a white supremacist social media account[17], prompting a congressional response, and in 2026 it published a cover story uncovering school districts with the highest arrest rates of students under 13 years of age.[18]
Notable staff and contributors
[edit]Notable Observer staff and contributors, past and present:
- Jake Bernstein[19]
- Billy Lee Brammer
- Minnie Fisher Cunningham
- J. Frank Dobie
- Ronnie Dugger
- John Henry Faulk
- James K. Galbraith
- Dagoberto Gilb
- Lawrence Goodwyn
- Jim Hightower
- Molly Ivins[20]
- Larry L. King
- Maury Maverick Jr.
- Larry McMurtry
- Willie Morris
- Americo Paredes[21]
- Alan Pogue
- Eileen Welsome
- Nate Blakeslee
- Melissa del Bosque
- Naomi Shihab Nye
References
[edit]- ^ Patoski, Joe Nick (July 1, 2001). "Liberalism Lives!". Texas Monthly. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ "The Texas Democracy Foundation". Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ^ "Contact" Archived November 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Texas Observer. Retrieved on May 6, 2010.
- ^ a b Chan, Sewell; Formby, Brandon (March 27, 2023). "Texas Observer, legendary crusading liberal magazine, is closing and laying off its staff". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Chan, Sewell (March 29, 2023). "Texas Observer will continue publishing after staff crowdfunds more than $300,000". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "About Us". The Texas Observer. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2006.
- ^ Moyers, Bill (November 21, 2005). "The Texas Observer at 50". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- ^ Chan, Sewell (March 27, 2023). "Texas Observer, legendary crusading liberal magazine, is closing and laying off its staff". TPR. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Minutaglio, Bill; Smith, W. Michael (2009). Molly Ivins : a rebel life. Internet Archive. New York : PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-717-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ "Jun 23, 2000 Issue | Texas Observer Print Archives". issues.texasobserver.org. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ^ MacGillis, Alec (January 3, 2017). "Rick Perry's Texas Giveaways". ProPublica. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
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.
- ^ Liebelson, Dana (March 20, 2013). "Rick Perry's $487 Million Corporate Slush Fund Doesn't Need Your Stinkin' Audit". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS 2015 WINNERS ANNOUNCED". www.asme.media. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ^ team, Guardian US interactive; Ryan, Mae; Cage, Feilding; Popovich, Nadja; Powell, Kenton; Harris, Rich; Davis, Kenan; Bosque, Melissa del (August 6, 2014). "Beyond the border: the US's deadly immigration crisis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (March 29, 2023). "Texas Observer journalists raise $270,000 in bid to save publication". The Guardian. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "We Did It, Y'all! Texas Observer Will Remain Open!". The Texas Observer. March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Monacelli, Steven (February 19, 2025). "ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account". The Texas Observer. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ^ Lee, Josephine (July 13, 2026). "In Texas Schools, a Crisis of Arrests of Kids as Young as 10". The Texas Observer. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ^ "Jake Bernstein". The Texas Observer. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Molly Ivins". The Texas Observer. August 26, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "Aug 12, 1960 Issue | Texas Observer Print Archives". issues.texasobserver.org. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- O'Connell, Chris (March 28, 2023). "Fighting for Life, Texas Observer Close to $200K Goal After One Day". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-best-little-magazine-in-texas-olsson
- https://tupress.org/9781595340016/fifty-years-of-the-texas-observer/
- https://www.texasobserver.org/the-phones-are-still-ringing/
External links
[edit]- Official website
- "The Texas Democracy Foundation". Internal Revenue Service filings. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
