One criticism we often hear is that Texas is viewed primarily through a political lens. Politics do matter tremendously in Texas — it’s a conservative powerhouse — but the stories we’re most interested in are often the ones that complicate people’s assumptions. Part of our job is to find those stories and explain why they matter beyond the state’s borders.
Another criticism is that our coverage of the state can feel monolithic. Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and McAllen share a common Texas identity, but they diverge in dramatic ways when it comes to culture, cuisine, economics and countless other aspects of life. Our challenge and opportunity is to capture that complexity.
What are the most memorable stories the team has covered so far?
Edgar Sandoval, our San Antonio bureau chief, did a great job covering the trial of the Uvalde police officer who was accused of abandoning or endangering children and ultimately found not guilty. David Goodman, the Texas bureau chief, and Lauren McGaughy, our Texas politics correspondent, have done incredible work covering James Talarico’s campaign in Texas and really tapping into what has made him so different from previous Democratic lawmakers. Jesus Jiménez, a reporter in Dallas, did a great story looking at the restaurant industry in Texas, and how the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented labor has affected restaurants across the state.
Why is it important to have reporters living in the places they cover?
There’s a certain level of sincerity and lived experience that you get from having staff based in the state. We are writing for an audience that’s bigger than Texas, but a lot of that audience is still in Texas as well. So to have people based in these cities is crucially important, because Texans are nothing if not capable of spotting people who don’t take their state or their culture seriously.
What do we need to be covering more of in the state?
There has long been this assumption that Texas equals affordability, that people from the coasts migrate there because they can save so much money. That remains largely true, but with a giant asterisk that has started to become bolded. Texas has no state income tax, which means local governments rely heavily on property taxes to fund schools and services. When you add in property taxes, soaring insurance rates and rising housing costs, the bigger question becomes whether Texas is still the bargain America thinks it is.
I have to ask: Where is the best barbecue in Texas?
One of my favorites is Blood Bros. BBQ, which is not far from me in Bellaire. It fuses traditional barbecue techniques with some Korean influences. It’s phenomenal.
