The Texas Observer

American magazine

The Texas Observer

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.texasobserver.org
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 will continue following a successful crowdfunding campaign by staff.[5]

## History

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2023)

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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 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.[10][11]

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, spread mostly through word of mouth via Mastodon.[5][12] The campaign was successful.[13]

## Notable staff and contributors

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Notable Observer staff and contributors, past and present:

* Jake Bernstein[14]
* 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[15]
* Larry L. King
* Maury Maverick Jr.
* Larry McMurtry
* Willie Morris
* Americo Paredes[16]
* Alan Pogue
* Eileen Welsome

## References

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1. ^ Patoski, Joe Nick (July 1, 2001). "Liberalism Lives!". Texas Monthly. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
2. ^ "The Texas Democracy Foundation". Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
3. ^ "Contact" Archived November 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Texas Observer. Retrieved on May 6, 2010.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ "About Us". The Texas Observer. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2006.
7. ^ Moyers, Bill (November 21, 2005). "The Texas Observer at 50". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
8. ^ Chan, Sewell (March 27, 2023). "Texas Observer, legendary crusading liberal magazine, is closing and laying off its staff". TPR. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
9. ^ 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)
10. ^ 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."
11. ^ 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.
12. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (March 29, 2023). "Texas Observer journalists raise $270,000 in bid to save publication". The Guardian. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
13. ^ "We Did It, Y'all! Texas Observer Will Remain Open!". The Texas Observer. March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
14. ^ "Jake Bernstein". The Texas Observer. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
15. ^ "Molly Ivins". The Texas Observer. August 26, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
16. ^ "Aug 12, 1960 Issue | Texas Observer Print Archives". issues.texasobserver.org. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

## Further reading

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* 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.

## External links

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* Official website

Portals:

* Journalism
* Texas