The Texas Observer

The Texas Observer was founded by Frankie Randolph, publisher, and Ronnie Duggen in 1954 as a progressive news outlet focusing on underserved communities across Texas, and to cover stories that weren’t being reported in mainstream newspapers at the time. The Observer publishes a bimonthly print magazine as well as online, via a weekly email newsletter, and on a variety of social media platforms, and provides coverage free for syndication. The outlet also hosts the annual Molly Journalism Awards, which recognize investigative reporting from American journalists, in memory of former journalist and co-editor, Molly Ivans. The Observer’s reporting includes a focus on investigative journalism, highlighting issues of race and class with a progressive lens, including politics and legislative coverage, labor, health, environment, border and immigration reporting, and cultural commentary, as well as reviews, poetry, photography, and essays. Since its founding, a number of notable journalists have worked at the news outlet, and reporting published in The Observer has won numerous awards. The outlet’s digital archives are available on its website. The Texas Democracy Foundation is the parent organization of The Texas Observer. The news organization’s revenue streams include philanthropic support such as donations and grants, as well as print and digital subscriptions. In 2023, the board of the foundation planned to cease operations, but a crowdfunding campaign was able to raise enough funds to enable the The Observer to continue publishing.