Ben Philpott
is a senior reporter for KUT-FM, Austin's National Public Radio affiliate. He has been covering state politics and dozens of other topics for the station since 2002, during which time he has been recognized for outstanding radio journalism by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, the Houston Press Club and the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters. Before moving to Texas, he worked in public radio in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Ala., and at several television stations in Alabama and Tennessee. Born in New York City and raised in Chattanooga, Tenn., Philpott graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in broadcast journalism.
bphilpott@texastribune.org
512-716-8685
Recent Contributions
A House committee heard testimony yesterday on whether or a lawmaker used the threat redistricting as a tactic to coerce a colleague into supporting Speaker Joe Straus. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the testimony — and what's next in the investigation.
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More jobs in Texas...but more people looking too.
Texas added almost 48,000 jobs from September to October this year according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Ben Philpott reports for KUT News and the Texas Tribune on the numbers below the job gains.
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More jobs in Texas...but more people looking too.
Texas' unemployment rate stabilized in October at 8.1 percent as the state added almost 48,000 jobs. That rate, the lowest we've seen in 2010, is 1.5 points below the national average. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the numbers behind the gains.
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photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman
Last week's election left the Republican Party, already in the majority, with an unprecedented advantage in the Texas House. But as Ben Philpott reports for KUT News and the Texas Tribune, even that new advantage isn't enough to guarantee passage of key legislation.
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Whatever the size of their majority in the Texas House, Republicans in the Texas Senate have to contend with the rule requiring two-thirds of members to agree to bring a bill up for vote. That's 21 out of 31 — and there are only 19 Republicans in the upper chamber. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some in the GOP want the rule changed.
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Monday was the first day that state lawmakers could file bills for the 2011 session. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the substance of the legislation is a reflection of conservative success on Election Day.
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The 2010 elections will be remembered for Republican victories and Democratic defeats, but as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, it was a notable year for two other political parties on the ballot.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
The group Hispanic Republicans of Texas at a news conference Nov. 3, 2010.
Republican victories in Texas House races included several by Hispanic Republicans. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, those freshman members may have to perform a bit of a balancing act in a party that seems likely to push hard-line immigration legislation.
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Tuesday's elections gave Republicans a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — and, with it, the power to do just about whatever they want in the next legislative session. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the party faithful are battling over who should lead the lower chamber.
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Candidates, campaign workers and election officials are all gearing up for an end to the 2010 election cycle — and tension is the order of the day. In Travis County, there's a battle brewing between the Republican and Democratic parties, with allegations of voter intimidation and illegal voting flying back and forth. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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While tens of thousands of people crowded the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday for the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, Austinites gathered at the Texas Capitol for a companion event. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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As the nation's shuttle program moves toward its scheduled end next year, observers are asking: What's next for manned space exploration? Ben Philpott reports on how federal funding changes for NASA will determine the answer.
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photo by: Caleb Bryant Miller
Voting signs in Austin during the 2010 election cycle.
With just a few days left in the 2010 campaign, political signs are littering streets across Texas. But are they saying something other than "vote for me"? Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune asked Brent Ladd of GSD&M's Idea City to demystify color and font choice and the decision to feature a candidate's picture.
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White has spent plenty of time reaching out to the Hispanic voting bloc as part of his strategy to oust Gov. Rick Perry. Republicans have launched their own PAC focused on bringing Latinos under the GOP tent. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the soon-to-be-majority population doesn't appear to be rushing to the ballot box.
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