The Austin Bulldog

The Austin Bulldog is an independent nonprofit online news outlet founded in 2010 to provide government accountability reporting and a source of investigative reporting for central Texas. The publication was started by experienced local journalist, editor, and publisher Ken Martin to provide more watchdog coverage of the region. The outlet publishes primarily on its website. The Austin Bulldog reports on local government and politics using investigative reporting methods,, and launched with significant coverage of inappropriate municipal spending and violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Reporting projects are published semi-regularly as investigations are completed, and the outlet also provides election coverage and additional reporting on contributors. The Bulldog’s focus is coverage of government accountability issues at the municipal, county, and state levels, drawing on public records requests and analyzing data to cover wrongdoing by public officials and government agencies. In recent years, the outlet also launched the Government Accountability Project, which collects public records filed by multiple government agencies in an organized website easily accessible to the public. The Bulldog has announced a partnership with the Austin Free Press to continue hosting the project. The Bulldog was founded with an initial grant from the John S. Knight Foundation, and primarily relies on individual donations as the main source of revenue.