Reporting Texas is based in Austin, but as its name conveys, its journalistic reach goes beyond the state capital. And its mission is greater than gaining exposure for the University of Texas journalism students who write for the site.
“Reporting Texas is the University of Texas’ investment in the future of journalism,” said Tracy Dahlby, the UT professor who founded the site after receiving a grant from the Carnegie-Knight Foundation. That investment has expanded from giving students the opportunity to practice their craft to providing content to publications across Texas. We’d like to become a state feature wire that complements local coverage. Sometimes, the goals intersect – a feature about a Texas State professor was picked up by the San Marcos Mercury.
The journalism students, most of them in the master’s professional track, feed the site with enterprise and features about a variety of subjects. This semester, we’ve written about the controversy over chicken industry in Central Texas, the water lily expert in San Angelo, Alzheimer’s disease and the barefoot running trend. Our work also mirrors the news cycle, with pieces about the state’s new climate normals, a story suggested by and published in The Austin American-Statesman; the increase in Bastrop home sales since the fires and the link between the Occupy movement and Bank Transfer Day.
All these articles, which are professionally edited, are available to media in the state. There’s no charge, but that’s not because we don’t value what we do. We’re a startup, and we want to get the word out about our product.
If you want use our features (and the multimedia with it) or want to suggest a story for your publication, contact me or Mark Coddington, the web editor of Reporting Texas. Our main requirement is that the reporter gets a byline and Reporting Texas shares credit. ([email protected]; [email protected])
If you’re interested in newsy features (how flu shots are made), evergreen pieces (an Austin version of storage unit wars) or hidden stories about the state (a multimedia piece on rodeo clowns), look to Reporting Texas. We also distribute a weekly budget via e-mail, so let me know if you’ve like to receive it. We’re proud of our reporting, and we think your readers will enjoy reading it, too.