For those of us who willingly quit good jobs with big media companies to join an untried journalism start-up with an untested business model, this site, this thing, is the expression of our ideals, the realization of our dreams, and the validation of our faith. We’re enormously proud, every one of us, of what we’re doing and why. We’re awed and cowed by what we’ve been able to produce so quickly and on a relative shoestring (relative, that is, compared to the budgets we lived within and among just a few months ago). And we’ve barely gotten started.
T-Squared: Day One
Posted inState Government
The Chairman Speaks: Why We’re Nonprofit
The provider of most public goods is government. But even though the U.S. ranks somewhere between Burkina Faso and Uranus in our per capita federal spending on public media, Congress will not come rushing to the aid of capital-j journalism anytime soon. There are simply too many competing priorities, and the deficit hawk in me recoils at proposing another one. Besides, obvious fox-in-the-henhouse issues arise—to mix animal metaphors—from government watchdogs funded out of government coffers. So with both commercial and governmental fixes in serious question, maybe that leaves you and me.
Posted in
Politics
El Paso shuffle
State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh’s decision not to run for reelection in 2010 sets the stage for Democratic showdowns among El Paso politicos.
Posted in
Health care
Disabled students restrained, injured in public schools
Texas educators routinely pin down students with disabilities to control them, according to state data. Disability rights advocates say the restraints point to a crisis in special education, and that teachers are resorting to physical violence because they aren’t properly trained.
Posted in
Demographics
Shuffling the deck
State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh’s decision not to run for reelection creates many opportunities for El Paso politicians, but in this Democrat-dominated city, the cards are stacked against Republicans.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Permanent School Fund Rebounds. But Will Schools Benefit?
The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring. Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education.
Posted inState Government
Welcome to The Texas Tribune
What we intend to accomplish with the Trib — what we mean to do on an ongoing basis — is right there in our stated mission: to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern.
Posted inState Government
Introducing The Texas Tribune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCnXdR0SmDQ Credit: Elise Hu Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Posted inState Government
A conversation with Dan Bartlett
Former White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett sits down with the Tribune’s Evan Smith to talk about Rick vs. Kay, what Texans should think about health care reform and troop levels in Afghanistan, and the GOP’s missed opportunity to reach out to Hispanics.
