Texas Tribune Reaps Praise and Great Reviews

A New Lone Star State Nonprofit News Site Makes a Big Splash Online

Nov 12, 2009

The Texas Tribune is the project of venture capitalist John Thornton. Fixated on "the death of newspapers," Thornton was in a position to do something about it.

"Keep an eye on Austin, Texas," Martin Langeveld wrote at Nieman Journalism Lab in July. " With a bankroll that includes $1 million of his own cash . . . Texas venture capitalist John Thornton is launching a nonprofit online journalism venture, the Texas Tribune."

Thorton's new venture has now been introduced to great reviews. The Neiman blog calls it "an impressive launch that feels web-native," and praises its "slew of innovative features" and its "unique content-sharing plan."

Mallory Jean Tenore at the Poynter Institute said that the Tribune's "searchable data bases, polling center, and an iphone app" are just some of the good things; a gradual rollout is planned, CEO and Editor-in-chief Evan Smith said, so that a trickle of new features will entice people into the site, rather than overwhelm them with everything at once.

And in Texas where the new site is being watched from many corners, blogger Robbie Cooper gave the Tribune a definite thumb's up. "I'm impressed," wrote Cooper at his Urban Grounds blog. He finds the new site "feature and content rich." As a self-identified conservative, however, Cooper remains skeptical of Tribune's promise to be truly non-partisan.

Is the debut of an online news site really "news" in an era characterized by citizens who are increasingly turning to the web for what they need to know? What does the launch of a new startup – especially one with the somewhat specialized focus of Texas politics – have to teach the world of journalism?

In addition to its impressive features, its experimental nonprofit funding, and its quick launch – 3 months from concept to beautifully-designed, fully-functional website – the Texas Tribune may prove to be a model for the future of journalism. It seems to harness, in one comprehensive news package, all the assets that are the Internet's great advantage over traditonal media. These include:

And of course blogs. In addition to four major stories on the site, and TribWire which links to a dozen or more stories from other news sources, there are staff-written blogs including a data and documents blog, a 2010 election blog, the newsroom blog, polling blog, and four more.

Rounding out the front page features are the Trib's TweetWire with links to the Twitter posts of every Texas politician who posts at Twitter, a box with links to two dozen Texas bloggers reflecting various political viewpoints, and a menu bar across the top with links to

"The funny thing is, we are releasing things gradually," said Editor-in-chief Smith. We have a lot more stuff to put out there. "

Databases to be Shared With Citizens and Media Alike

The goal is to make the databases – on such topics as federal campaign finances, gubernatorial appointments to name two – interact with each other so that readers can see how the information is related, said Tribune reporter Matt Stiles. A corresponding goal is to share the data with whatever news organizations, bloggers, or citizen journalists might want it. Stiles has created a video showing readers and fellow journalists how to understand and use these databases.

"It's not enough for us to just dump the databases on our site," Evan Smith said. "We'll provide the databases and drill down and offer perspective, but we'll also give people a way to use them. "

The Trib may also be a model for the future of the news business in its lean staffing and its nonprofit business model. The work of the 12 reporters and editors producing the Texas Tribune every day are augmented by a 4 person technology team, one polling expert, and a general manager.

The site is being underwritten by tax-deductible donations, In addition to the $1million from Thornton, it has received foundation grants from Houston Endowment and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Thornton is both the site's founder and its chairman. He is a successful businessman, not trained in the news business, but drawn to it as "a public good." He told the New York Times recently that he believes journalism "is too important to be left to market forces."

The copyright of the article Texas Tribune Reaps Praise and Great Reviews in Online Publishing is owned by Kathlin F. Sickel. Permission to republish Texas Tribune Reaps Praise and Great Reviews in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.