The Texas Tribune, its future and its legend

We could call this "the trouble with the Trib," to riff on Star Trek, about its canning 11 editorial staff last week.

We start internally, as Trib tries to spin its editorial staff gutting. It is worth noting that part of the cuts are on podcasts; print and digital-print media that "pivoted" to podcasts a few years ago, in yet another version of the tragedy of the commons, oversaturated the market.

The Austin Chronicle has two posts about the layoffs at the Texas Tribune. The first is a big one, for multiple reasons. It notes that, first of all, there will be no more prisons and criminal justice desk at the Trib. However, there are six new hires — none in editorial. All in either general development positions or directly in sponsorship.

Three years ago, Evan Smith his own self sniffed that the Trib would get through COVID-related live event declines. Well, apparently, it's had others, and apparently, they started on the end of his watch, pre-retirement. I mean, this decline didn't happen in the last six weeks and Ev retired at the end of 2022. Laid off senior editor David Pasztor claims it's a pivot from the model of Smith and Ross Ramsey. I think, rather, that Smith at least had inklings in advance and retired when he did. Among its better-known alumni, Jay Root, now at the NYT, claims he was never contacted about troubles at the Trib. (Sounds like a Star Trek episode, eh?) Also interesting was a staff GoFundMe has been set up. It's gotten a few bucks, but far fewer than the "Save the Observer" did this spring.

Ev could have seen the podcast issues before he retired, as well as the dimming revenue stream. How much he dumped in Shah's lap while giving an "above the fray" statement in the first Chronicle speech is unknown but color me more skeptical than Pasztor. I mean, from memory, problems in the podcast world overall have been discussed within big media players for at least six if not nine months.

Personally, I was skeptical of the legend vs the reality of the Trib already at its five-year mark, following in the footsteps of Jim Moore. I was more skeptical at the 10-year mark, in part by doing judo on the Trib's own financials. And also at the five-year mark, I was already skeptical then about transparency issues with its sponsors and donors. (Note: I have long ago exchanged Tweets with Smith over some of this; his answers didn't impress me.)

And, in timely fashion, Nieman Lab writes about grants to newspapers. It notes that, despite grantmakers' stated preferences for nonprofits, more of their money still goes to for-profits. It also notes that conflict of interest issues are rising. And, Dick Tofel notes that more money is going to, well, folks like "field building organizations," which to put it more bluntly, probably include "incubators" like the one created of Mike Orren, late of the Snooze and of Pegasus News before that.