The Texas Observer’s demise amid dangerous digital waters

Plus anti-LGBTQ forces strike back. [San Antonio Express-News - Header Logo]( [View in browser]( [“Nobody likes the bringer of bad news.” –Sophocles]( Thirteen years ago, I dragged [The Texas Observer]( kicking and screaming into the digital age. I was the new managing editor and understood delivering news electronically was the future. I horrified the reporters by demanding they post their stories on Twitter. The non-profit Observer had over 5,000 print subscribers and a few hundred website visitors monthly. We grew online visits to 50,000 a month. But I resigned after a year and a half, dispirited by a dysfunctional board of directors and a chaotic newsroom culture. Subsequent editors couldn’t solve the Observer’s problems either. The board didn’t raise money, and while the journalists won awards, they couldn’t attract enough readers. On Sunday night, [the Texas Tribune broke the news that the board was closing the 69-year-old institution for good](. Since then, hundreds of journalists have praised the Observer, which inspired The Village Voice in New York and dozens of other alternative weeklies. [The staff is raising money online to keep going](, but news organizations cannot survive on desperate, last-minute pleas for help. They need readers willing to pay for reliable online news because advertising and print subscriptions no longer cover the bills. Good journalism is expensive, and financial losses have cut the number of journalism jobs in half over the last 25 years. News organizations must adopt new business models. Print editions of the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News have shrunk as Google and Facebook have sucked up advertisers. My columns are behind a paywall because that’s how Hearst pays my salary. Luckily, we’re growing our digital-only subscribers and plan to provide more news online. A lot of people get their news from social media or from free websites. By now, we all recognize how many of these sources are laced with propaganda, misinformation and biased information. Perhaps as a result, [Americans have become dramatically more pessimistic, divided and disillusioned over the last 25 years](, according to a Wall Street Journal/NORC poll. We’re less patriotic, less religious, less civic-minded and more money-obsessed. We are also far less tolerant and much more self-centered. COVID, political demagoguery and disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have certainly contributed to our poor national mood. But the loss of trust in independent journalism has contributed, as we’ve sought voices that reinforce our preconceived notions. It may be too late to save the Observer; hopefully, it's not too late to find unity by embracing facts delivered by reliable outlets. [Chris Tomlinson Headshot] Chris Tomlinson Business Columnist What Else I'm Writing [Story photo for Mitchell Foundation pushes cutting edge energy]( Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer [Mitchell Foundation pushes cutting edge energy]( Mitchell Foundation supports transforming Texas oilpatch workers into climate change warriors in advanced energy jobs. [Story photo for Generator company could boost grid reliability]( Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photographer [Generator company could boost grid reliability]( Enchanted Rock provides a fabulous example of how demand response from small, distributed generators can provide affordable, reliable power. What I'm Reading Must Read: Renewables beat out coal for electricity generation for the first time in US ([Houston Chronicle]( and [San Antonio Express-News]() Should Read: Texas lawmakers have dueling plans to lower your property tax bill. Here's the difference ([Houston Chronicle]( and [San Antonio Express-News]() Interesting Read: [Guardian owner apologizes for founders’ links to transatlantic slavery]( Know your history, and you realize the source of your privilege. (The Guardian) Technical Read: [Volatile Commodity Prices Reduce Growth and Amplify Swings in Inflation]( Profits from speculation do not lead to market efficiency. (International Monetary Fund) Fun Read: [A German Taqueria Is Leading Europe’s New Taco Revolution]( I love tacos. I love Germany. But I’ve never loved tacos in Germany. (Texas Monthly) Question of the Week "What do you spend more money on subscriptions to journalism websites and newspapers — or subscriptions to entertainment sites like Netflix or Hulu? Reply directly to this email and tell me your thoughts. Mailbag Last Week’s Question: Do you think the private sector could educate all Texas children? “I don't think the private sector can educate all Texas children; however, it seems we are teaching to the lowest common denominator in our schools. I sent my children to private, parochial schools run by our churches, all from k-12, and they were quite successful, and now my grandchildren are being educated likewise in these same schools. The problem with public schools is the 'woke' ideology of so many schools and individual teachers that did not exist when I grew up in HISD during the 1960s. Forget all this pronoun and gender nonsense and teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the small children as any other nonsense is beyond their comprehension.” –Royal Lunsford, Houston “No, the private sector has a profit agenda and will not want to even try to educate all children – only those that make it look good. Profit motive is ruining all sectors of the country.” –Vicki Schmidt, Boerne “If public schools were invariably producing well-educated students, there would be no reason to pursue alternatives, but …” –Willis Dunkum, Houston “Having been educated in both public and private schools and have taught in public schools, my answer is ‘no.’ … There is no perfect solution to the problems that exist in Texas's public schools just as there has been no completely successful cure for poverty, mental illness, or domestic and gun violence, all of which affect our Texas children. Our schools have too often provided what help there is for children suffering from any one or all of these.” –Alice Lively, Houston The Takeaway No liberty is more precious than choosing an intimate partner and, with it, the right to express an authentic gender identity. No government authority should regulate what happens in someone’s bedroom. A decade ago, I naively believed this was settled once and for all. [Polling shows most Americans accept LGBTQ people, and a vast majority support the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage](. Republican politicians, though, have found [attacking transgender rights specifically, and LGBTQ rights generally, to be a way to score points with conservative voters](. Last year, Abbott’s campaign adviser Dave Carney said persecuting the parents of transgender kids was “a winning issue” that the governor would pursue. I fear laws attacking transgender rights and banning queer books are the beginning of an authoritarian movement. [At a legislative hearing on Tuesday](, [Mary Elizabeth Castle of the conservative group Texas Values Action]( asked state lawmakers not to remove an unenforceable law that makes homosexual sex a felony. If the Supreme Court reverses itself, the law will become enforceable again, which is why so many want it repealed. People are fighting to impose their values and roll back fundamental civil rights. [Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem First They Came]( has become a cliche about how authoritarians start oppressing the most marginalized and work toward the center. But it’s a cliche for a reason. Share With Your Friends Do you know someone who would like Tomlinson's Take? For the Houston edition, [send them here to sign up](; for the San Antonio edition, [send them here](. Sign Up Express Briefing Catch up on everything you need to know to start your day in San Antonio with our Express Briefing newsletter. [Sign Up]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [TikTok]( [Unsubscribe](list_name=SAEN_TomlinsonsTake&list_display_name=Tomlinson%27s%20Take&b=sa_saen) | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Notice]( [San Antonio Express-News - Footer Logo] San Antonio Express-News PO Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297 © 2023 Hearst Communications