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Elise Hu

Elise Hu’s staff photo

Elise Hu was a political reporter at the Tribune, focusing on multimedia projects, from 2009 to 2011. She previously worked as the state political reporter for Austin's ABC affiliate, KVUE-TV, from 2006 to 2009. She was recognized by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters three years in a row for her beat reporting on state politics and was named Best TV Reporter Who Can Write by The Austin Chronicle. Before arriving in Austin, she held reporting positions at television stations in Waco; Greenville, S.C.; and Columbia, Mo. She's an evangelist for social media and multimedia journalism — her Political Junkie blog was listed as one of WashingtonPost.com's top Texas political blogs. A native of Plano, she has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri.

Past Contributions

  • Perry: I Work 24/7

    By Elise Hu

    In the face of criticism from his opponent, Gov. Rick Perry said he works 24/7 — despite his official schedule showing he worked about seven hours a week in the first half of this year. Full Story 

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  • Sunset Grill

    By Elise Hu

    Physician fraud investigators inside the troubled Division of Workers' Compensation say state examiners failed to uncover serious problems there — and then recommended changes that would take key decisions away from trained physicians and give them to bureaucrats. Full Story 

    Division of Workers' Compensation Commissioner Rod Bordelon and the Sunset Advisory Commission, May 26, 2010.
    Credit: Justin Dehn/Todd Wiseman

  • HuTube: Texas Congressman Warns of Terrorist Babies

    By Elise Hu

    U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, isn't the only Texas congressman making headlines in Washington. Citing a "retired F.B.I. agent" as his source, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, said on the floor of Congress last week that terror cells are plotting to breed future terrorists inside the United States. Full Story 

    U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler.

  • Is Rick Perry Transparent?

    By Elise Hu

    His campaign was criticized this week for failing to detail its expenditures. But Craig McDonald, who filed an ethics complaint on behalf of liberal watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, says there's a larger issue at play: the Perry administration's overall lack of openness. Full Story 

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  • Scott McCown vs. Talmadge Heflin

    By Elise Hu

    The executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, debate the best way to dig out of Texas' multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Full Story 

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  • Face-Off: The Shortfall

    By Elise Hu

    While the right and left don't agree on much, both sides stipulate that the state's budget mess is a multibillion-dollar problem. In the debut of our new video series, the executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities, former state district judge Scott McCown, and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, debate the best way to dig us out of the hole — and how we got into it in the first place. Full Story 

    Scott McCown and Talmadge Heflin
    Credit: Justin Dehn