INN would like to say "Howdy!" once again to Texas Observer, an Austin-based nonprofit news organization known for its investigative reporting, narrative storytelling and sophisticated cultural criticism about all things Texan.
Nonprofit Texas Democracy Foundation publishes the Texas Observer bimonthly magazine and texasobserver.org.
Since its founding in 1954, the Observer has covered issues that are often ignored or under-reported. Publisher Mike Kanin said the organization strives to expose injustice and to produce the kind of impact journalism that changes people’s lives for the better.
"Our thoughtful arts and culture coverage also recognizes the diversity and talent of Texas’ creative community," Kanin added.
How does Texas Observer operate? While all of its content goes onto texasobserver.org, magazine subscribers get a first read at its investigative pieces.
The editorial staff has also expanded its focus this year in two key areas thanks to two major grant-funded initiatives. Reporter Michael Barajas came aboard covering mass incarceration issues, criminal justice matters, LGBT rights, voter disenfranchisement and more. The second new initiative is the Rural Reporting Project, helmed by Chris Collins, a finalist for this year's Livingston Prize.
The Texas Observer's founding mission statement is as follows:
We will serve no group or party but will hew hard to the truth as we find it and the right as we see it. We are dedicated to the whole truth, to human values above all interests, to the rights of humankind as the foundation of democracy. We will take orders from none but our own conscience, and never will we overlook or misrepresent the truth to serve the interests of the powerful or cater to the ignoble in the human spirit.
The organization made the switch from for-profit to nonprofit back in the '90s.
"Our 2018-19 budget will be our largest ever," Kanin said. "We'll continue to seek ways to grow, and are happy to share whatever we learn."
Yee-haw and welcome!