By Josie Duckett
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN TX The Texas Tribune was
founded by former Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith local venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran Texas political journalist Ross Ramsey to promote civic discourse on policy politics government and statewide matters as the newspaper industry began to freefall in 2009. The model is working" The Texas Tribunes Editor and CEO Evan Smith tells the members-only crowd at the two-year anniversary party.
Its a Wednesday night party at Malverde bar in avant-garde Austin Texas Americas #1 Big Boom Town" according to Forbes Magazine this year. The place is reserved tonight for Austin elite a happy hour to toast this online news site that is viewed as a possible prototype for nonprofit journalism. Smith and The Tribune reporters mingle with the crowd of lobbyists Capitol staffers media types and philanthropists working on margaritas as Occupy Austin continues just across the street.
After two years the model is still a test case one that paradoxically seems to be on a fast track inside a vanishing institution. Thirty-year Texas political media veteran Mark McKinnon thinks The Texas Tribune has quickly become a leader in public policy coverage Theres a revolution going on in journalism and everybody is trying to figure it out. Its a bold experiment with a lot of success much of that is because of engaging with the community."
Thanks to the joint fundraising and professional network Smith Thornton & Ramsey have within the state the website launched with roughly $4 million in the bank and reputable reporters snagged from traditional outlets.
As mainstream newspapers and magazines struggle to keep circulation and the advertising revenue generated from their print product nonprofit online sites are using inventive strategies to collect and retain readers. Similar to other online nonprofit news sites like the Bay Citizen the ChiTown Daily News or the St. Louis Beacon The Texas Tribune has devoted resources to cutting-edge web technology
business development beyond philanthropy nonpartisan coverage and hyper-local" focus on one geographic region.
According to the Knight Foundation The Texas Tribune averaged 395800 unique monthly visitors in 2011 higher than any of other comparable online models.
So what is working here in Austin that can be replicated elsewhere in public-service journalism? The Texas Tribune has built a solid community for engagement.
Three key strategies are at play:
- Frequent and extended reader interaction through the online platform;
- Tangible community-based events; and
- Leadership of a compelling editor & CEO.
Online Platform for Engagement Interactive Forum
The changing digital landscape means traditional news outlets will need to adapt with technology and culture. With the rise of laptops tablets and smartphones the consumer is king picking up news when and how they like it. The Texas Tribunes online platform is geared to the news consumer and can be easily accessed on-the-go and free of charge.
Emily Ramshaw a former Dallas Morning News reporter who now serves as The Tribunes Deputy Editor thinks their platform spurs engagement Its close to home its interactive its easy to repost easy to retweet easy to share with a group of other people who care about the same issue. There is a sense nationally that people dont care. But that is just not true. They just havent been given the proper forum to engage. We make it easy for them."
Data shows readers are both viewing and staying at the site. The Tribunes Director of Technology Niran Babalola reports the site has earned 61791621 page views since launching in November 2009. An October 2011 Knight Foundation study of nonprofit news models found The Texas Tribune scored highest in average monthly time on site at roughly four minutes likely because of the online database applications.
Being based in the nations second most populous state with over 25 million people The Texas Tribune has a natural advantage in terms of target market. In a 2010 survey the Tribune found their readers are 58 male 63 were ages 25-54 98 were registered to vote and 58 made $100 thousand or above annually.
With 16 fulltime reporters The Texas Tribune is not large enough to replace political coverage across the state but it is a powerful supplement - targeting a niche audience and growing a sense of community through steady coverage on civic affairs.
The Texas Tribune has built online features catering to political junkies. Using the platform to its advantage The Tribune has custom-built 35 interactive searchable government databases. Readers can search all Texas government employee salaries Governor Perrys campaign donations political district maps census data Texas prison inmates Texas food stamp distributions and much more from their computers.
The Tribune utilizes multimedia reporting says Elise Hu a former Tribune staffer with a television background who now works at NPR The Tribune was constantly trying to give a better understanding through multimedia: videos audio podcasts slideshows animations and television partnerships. We believed in the social web and what it affords us as journalists crowd-sourcing useful conversations building
trust." She still thinks theres room for improvement One shortcoming I saw was that from the beginning the organization was imagined as a multi-platform news source but except for me the editorial side was filled by people from print organizations. The effect is a certain way of thinking that is inherently print-oriented and not more imaginative."
Community Engagement Funding Operations & Bringing The Texas Tribune to Life
As a true business news requires diversified revenue streams to persevere. And as a nonprofit media outlet The Tribune is largely dependent on membership contributions corporate and event sponsorship.
Beyond their website The Texas Tribune started Triblive" a set of events to promote public dialogue and civic engagement across Texas. The Tribune brings the website to life through the events" says Tanya Erlach Director of Events for The Texas Tribune who was hired directly by Evan Smith after handling large-scale events for The New Yorker magazine. Shes been busy. Since starting at The Texas Tribune Erlach has managed 73 Triblive membership events around Texas through four major event series - The Texas Tribune Conversations The Texas Tribune College Tours The Texas Tribune Festival and Trib Screenings. Triblive events are free apart from the Festival.
Texas Tribune Conversations are the most frequent events showcasing elected officials in a town hall setting moderated by Evan Smith with member Q&A at the end. The Trib Screenings are normally in Austin and based on a deeper political issue. The Texas Tribune College Tour is a grassroots effort to reach readers outside Austin Dallas or Houston.
In September 2011 The Tribune hosted its first-ever Texas Tribune Festival a two-day gathering with panel discussions and debates on Texas politics and policy. The event cost $125 for members to attend and generated half a million dollars in revenue for The Tribune.
The Texas Tribunes Chief Operating Officer Barbara Knaggs believes the events set her organization apart These events are a real differentiator. Thats not something that other media organizations are doing in Texas." Next year The Texas Tribune hopes to increase revenue from events by twelve percent going from 8 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2012.
The Texas Tribune says they have already diversified revenue streams strategically to improve the product and elevate the brand. In 2010 most of the revenue came from donations through membership with the rest coming from private philanthropy corporate sponsorships events and specialty publications.
This year The Tribune has 3000 members and they expect 10000 members by 2013.
Maggie Gilburg The Texas Tribunes Development Director believes building the donor base takes patience and planning but pays off in creating a broad cross-section for engagement For organizations starting up most of your money will come from individuals a nice chunk will come from foundations a bit will come from corporations and that stream can be developed over time but its not gonna be
initially a large amount. Every one of these people helps create your sense of community."
Leadership Engagement The Texas Tribunes Readers Value Evan Smith
Before he heads out to headline another Austin event that evening Evan Smith tells the crowd Keep supporting us. Support us with your wallet. Support us by being at our events. Support us by getting out on the site and telling the world about what we are doing."
The Texas Tribune staff says he could sell ice to an Eskimo; a personality trait proving beneficial in the nonprofit media landscape so dependent on contributions from readers.
Evan Smith is ubiquitous in Austin often hurrying from one public event to the next. Mark McKinnon describes Smith as Part shadow mayor of Austin part Chamber of Commerce this gives him the platform to engage. He engages but it doesnt compromise his journalistic ethics or responsibilities."
A native New Yorker turned Texan Smiths craft is interviewing. After earning a masters degree in journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern he spent 18 years at Texas Monthly magazine. Aside from his work at The Texas Tribune he hosts Overheard with Evan Smith" which airs nationally on PBS stations and online.
Under Evans leadership significant editorial collaborations have added value to the product. The Texas Tribune began collaborating with The New York Times and producing two pages of content in the weekend edition with stories running simultaneously at
www.nytimes.com. The collaboration is an instance of how the new and traditional media may align in the future as nonprofit models become additive to the established media.
Will the good times last?
Its a celebration tonight but the hard work is ahead to keep this community engaged online and in-person while steadily attracting new membership and major donors. There are no real rules no recipe and no roadmap for online nonprofit journalism.
The sparks from this experiment in-progress should offer hope to an industry in crisis.
Josie Duckett is a journalism graduate student at Georgetown University researching The Texas Tribune in Austin Texas for a course on reinventing journalism.
