Thank you, Texas liberals/progressives/Democrats — whatever you may call yourself!
Because of you, The Texas Signal has grown quickly in the four months we’ve been in business. 49,000 repeat visitors have stopped by our web site to check out our original reporting on Texas politics from a progressive but fact-based perspective. We’re grateful. As we said to Axios, Texas badly needs a progressive media outlet.
By the way, we’ve loved the catcalls from the Trump trolls deep in the bowels of Facebook labeling us “fake news.” Badge of honor. Thanks to them as well.
Of the 400 pieces of content we’ve produced since April, here are some highlights of our work.
- The Signal first reported on the signs that President Trump is having trouble in Texas, including his campaign’s record ad spending on Facebook. We’ve been outfront in banging the Texas-is-a-swing state drum. And it’s why we cover the 2020 presidential race heavily, with an emphasis on the two Texans in the race.
- Y’all love you some John Cornyn, one of our most popular topics. We were the first to report on the news that he supported the Violence Against Women Act before he voted against it, and we’re always up for amplifying Cornyn’s ties to the D.C. swamp, i.e., big drug companies and the gun lobby. And we’ve interviewed all the major Democratic candidates running to beat him.
- Although it’s exhausting, we’ve lasered in on the scandal, corruption, and policy incompetence of Texas’ extreme conservative types. We go where the facts and data take us –and that’s a dark place defined by voter purges, raw discrimination, and alleged bribery.
- In addition to regular stories on health care, immigration, and voting rights, we’ve explored feature pieces on women in politics, Russian misinformation campaigns and how Democratic candidates are using video.
- One of our signatures has become profiles of progressive leaders in Texas. Thanks to all of those willing to take the time for us to understand what motivates you!
- And, finally, guest opinion writers have submitted some great stuff, including Dr. Richard Murray, Manpreet Singh, Carroll Robinson, and Joe Bowen. And a big thanks to our podcast partner, the Texas Democratic Party, for their leadership.
Building a news outlet for Democrats from scratch is going to take a while, so we appreciate your continued patience. But we want to do a ton more stuff during the 2020 election cycle, from hiring more reporters across the state, to sponsoring debates and holding the first-ever progressive political festival in Texas. (Think TribFest but without Republicans.)
We welcome your feedback — good, bad, ugly — at editor@thetexassignal.com. Thanks for checking us out.
