A New Front Page: The Launch of the Texas Tribune

By
Glenn W. Smith
– November 3, 2009Posted in: Media, Politics

the front page poster1 210x300 A New Front Page: The Launch of the Texas TribuneEditor’s Note: The Texas Tribune launched today. The launch of a brand new, online news organization is itself big news. In the interests of balance, DogCanyon presents two views of The Texas Tribune, my own, and my friend and former Capitol Press Corps colleague Jim Moore’s. As with most things in politics and media, the more we talk, the better it will be. Please follow each of our pieces on the jump.

The arrival of the Texas Tribune could be the best thing that’s happened to Texas political press coverage since the old Cedar Door bar moved from 15th Street at San Antonio and away from Michelle’s Massage Parlor.

As Bill Maher says, I kid. But an aggressive new venue full of journalistic talent might just make state politics sexy again.

For too many years now the state’s newspaper and TV editors have been as disinclined to run state political stories as Capitol press habitués of the Cedar Door were to sneak next door to Michelle’s. What we’d find in the massage parlor might be entertaining, but it sure wouldn’t be news.

The trouble is, covering state politics isn’t always entertaining, but it produces news of great importance to the lives of Texans. Its decline is troubling, to say the least. Skilled and committed reporters continue to pound the beat, but there are far fewer of them, and they’re not given space and time for their work. Today’s news is more like we imagined we’d find in the massage parlor: tarted-up old tricks that aren’t going to change anyone’s life.

The Tribune is the brainchild of John Thornton, a savvy businessman and investor who cares deeply about public interest journalism and the future of Texas. Editor in Chief Evan Smith has guided Texas Monthly brilliantly for years. Managing Editor Ross Ramsey is unequaled in fairness and in knowledge of state government and politics.

Thornton believes the era of new media has doomed the old for-profit news model. So he and his colleagues have put together a non-profit model for public interest journalism. Financially speaking, their goals are modest. Compared, say, to the $20 million Texans give annually to ballet troupes, they don’t need much. Art is important to democracy, but independent journalism is essential. I can imagine a democracy without Swan Lake.  We can’t have a democracy without independent journalists.

The Tribune folk believe in the power of transparency, and they are walking the walk. They are up-front about the Trib’s finances. They have already spent a good deal of time and money putting together public interest databases (campaign contributions; legislative voting records) of use to reporters and interested citizens. They are offering their work free to media outlets everywhere.

It is coverage of state politics that’s suffered most from the decline of the news business. In a state big as Texas, the consequences are tragic. Studies show that more than 75 percent of what citizens know about state issues comes from paid political ads. I’ve made such ads. Believe me, you don’t want to bet your future on their objectivity.

In January, Governing Magazine published a story about the collapse of statehouse reporting. “Newspapers that once sent five people to cover state government are down to two and are pruning the space they get on the page; smaller papers have bailed out entirely,” wrote Rob Gurwitz.

Texas has been hit particularly hard, and I know from months of talking with Thornton, Smith and Ramsey that they launched the Texas Tribune to help solve this problem. All of them recognized the consequences for Texas of a poorly-informed citizenry. They couldn’t have better intentions, and they couldn’t have put together a better team to carry out those intentions.

We launched DogCanyon.org for much the same reason, though we have far more modest goals and come at the problem differently (and with a lot less money!).

There’s something essentially Texan about the Tribune. Its cause is noble and its manner entrepreneurial. They are, in a sense, journalistic wildcatters. They are open-range journalists. If they succeed, we will all be a little better off. Newspapers may once again give space, time and resources to the talented political reporters still in their employ. Competition will drive increased coverage, and increased coverage will mean Texans make better political judgments.

I have the luxury of not needing to decide whether a for-profit online news model is more viable than the Tribune’s non-profit model. I just want more reporters, more editors, more stories. The Tribune’s going to give me that.

One last thing. All writers ought to be happy there’s a new venue paying real money for their toil. It’s a small pool at the moment, but if it succeeds, there will be others. I know too many reporters and writers who are struggling to make ends meet. Publishers have gotten off cheaply, because most journalists love what they do. Publishers act like that love is some kind of perk they give their writers, when really it’s that love that made publishing a success.

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About Glenn W. Smith

Glenn W. Smith has spent the past 30 years in journalism and politics, where he’s made a name for himself as a writer, campaign manager, activist, think tank analyst and, as Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas says, a “legendary political consultant and all-around good guy.” “There’s no one like him,” says author George Lakoff. CNN commentator Paul Begala says, “He has unmatched experience, a graceful pen (or pixel nowadays) and deep insight into the best and worst of us.” Novelist Sarah Bird speaks of his “lucid and lyrical” prose. And, she says, he’s fun. Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington says Glenn writes with “grace and abundant humor” and “uses his colorful experiences in Texas to enlighten us all.”

Smith led Ann Richards’ successful 1990 campaign for Governor of Texas. He worked for former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Earlier, Smith was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. He’s coordinated national campaigns for groups such as MoveOn.org. In 2004, he authored the highly acclaimed book, The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction. He also wrote Unfit Commander, a book that detailed George W. Bush’s mysterious disappearance from military service.

In 2004, Smith was featured in the film, Bush’s Brain, a documentary about Karl Rove. Smith provided commentary on Rove’s role as then-President Bush’s senior advisor. He has made numerous media appearances with Chris Mathews on Hardball, Joe Scarborough, Brit Hume, and many others. He writes a regularly for top national web sites, including FireDogLake and Huffington Post.

As a senior fellow at George Lakoff’s prestigious Rockridge Institute in Berkeley he studied, wrote and taught on the power of metaphor and narrative in political communications. He also lectured on religion and politics at the Starr King School for Ministry in Berkeley. As a sponsor and organizer, he has pulled together numerous national events with progressive religious leaders. He also organized a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at Riverside Church in New York City as well as “Freedom and Faith” bus tours, which was a nationwide campaign for social justice and progressive values.

Smith’s play, Double Play, which explored American Western myths and legends, was held over to sold-out audiences. He’s even written and performed songs in the Americana tradition, such as his best-known song, “Helping Marty Robbins,” a tribute to his hometown, Houston.

Most recently, Smith is the creator of DogCanyon, a political and cultural web site covering state, national and global issues from a Texas perspective. DogCanyon is an exhilarating and unique site that gets the connections between politics and culture and explores both the personal side of politics and the ups, down, craziness and beauty of “life its ownself,” as humorist Dan Jenkins would say. DogCanyon offers heartfelt personal essays, hard-hitting political analysis, and, most importantly, laughs.

As Paul Begala said, Smith writes in “the finest, firmest, fearless tradition of Texas essayists like Molly Ivins.”