The Dallas Morning News' Filing Day Coverage Is Incredible Journalism

by: Phillip Martin

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 11:24 AM CST

The Dallas Morning News, without question, has shown up for the 2010 election season with the best political coverage in the state. Between now and the primary, everyone else is playing catch up. They laid the gauntlet down on Day One, and it's going to take some seriously impressive efforts from other news organizations to match what the DMN has put forth on their first day.

Most major papers wrote a couple stories. The Austin American-Statseman, Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Antonio Express-News, and Texas Tribune all did a couple pieces. The Waco Tribune had some great local stories, as did the Amarillo Globe-News and others. But the Dallas Morning-News covered every angle, every kind of story, and wrote a lot every time. Most importantly, the Dallas Morning-News is covering this year's elections. If you picked up a DMN newspaper in twenty years, you would know exactly what is happening in Texas politics today.

Here's an overview of all their excellent coverage:

• Texas Gov. Rick Perry has toiled to steer clear of George W. Bush's shadow
  
  Wayne Slater -- who, along with Ken Herman, is probably the dean of the Capitol press corps going into the 2010 election cycle -- starts things off with a major piece on Rick Perry. For both Republicans and Democrats, Rick Perry is the defining figure of the 2010 elections, so it's fitting (and smart) to read a piece by Slater on Perry in today's paper. Slater writes:
  

  If Bush reflects the rise of the Republican Party in Texas, Perry represents its political dominance and recent populist shift.

  [...]
  

  Perry, who succeeded Bush in 2000, has become the state's longest-serving governor and has charted his own course. He has replaced all Bush appointees with his own. He tells voters he's a fiscal conservative and Bush was not. He has abandoned his predecessor's bipartisanship and pressed his own distinct agenda.

• Tough fights for Texas House shape up in Dallas area
  
  After the Governor's race, the biggest story this year will be whether or not Texas Democrats can re-take control of the State House and elect a Democratic Speaker going into the increasingly important 2011 election season. With eight competitive State House seats, Dallas County is a crucial battleground for next year's Speaker's race. Their coverage, accordingly, is very detailed.
  

• Texas Democrats optimistic they'll break string of losses in statewide races.
  
  Of all the state papers that wrote about the general filing up and down the ballot, the DMN was the only one that accurately portrayed both sides of the ticket. Whereas most papers -- especially the Statesman -- more or less dismissed Democrats' opportunities this election cycle, the Morning News did not. No one thinks it won't be an uphill battle, and the DMN acknowledges that. But they balanced Slater's piece on the Perry/KBH race with a great piece about how Democrats are in the best position to win in over a decade: 

  The party that has wandered in the political desert for 16 years without a statewide victory filled their primary roster with the optimism of a clean slate – well, as clean as any slate can be that includes humorist Kinky Friedman.

  Leading the lineup is the great hope White – former Houston Mayor Bill White, a man with a constituency, money-raising clout and executive experience. He will have to beat six others, including Houston hair products tycoon Farouk Shami, to take on the Republican nominee. 
  
  [...]
  

  The winners will face Republican incumbents, who all have reservoirs of political cash. And they will begin with an electorate tilted toward voting Republican.

  Nevertheless, those incumbents will have to defend lackluster performances, said Kirsten Gray, a Democratic spokeswoman.

  "We have an opportunity to restore real leadership after a decade of failed Republican rule and debilitating partisanship," she said, adding that Democrats have been rebuilding their party and gaining momentum.

  "When we win in 2010 and restore leadership for Texans, it will be the culmination of all that hard work," she said – with resolve.
  

  Texas Democrats have been building a resurgence in years, and it's no accident that we have fielded our strongest ticket with the most realistic chance to win in over a decade. It is nice to see a major paper discuss that progress -- and not simply dismiss it as a throway line -- both for Democrats' own political wishes, but also for the sake of journalistic accuracy.
  
  Do Democrats have an uphill fight in 2010? Absolutely. But are we better positioned then ever before? Absolutely. The DMN story treats that second part fairly, making it one of a few examples of reporters' setting aside their own political analysis and, instead, simply reporting on the state of Texas politics as of January 5, 2010.
  
  
• William McKenzie: White positioned to push judicial reform
  
  In an interesting op-ed piece, editorial columnist William McKenzie discusses the potential for Bill White -- as both a lawyer and businessman -- to potentially breach the judicial divide that separates lawyers (TTLA) and businesses (TLR) in every judicial, and most non-judicial, races in Texas. With nothing more than "good government" in mind, McKenzie writes:
  

  In case you haven't noticed, judicial candidates go around with hat in hand, asking for cash and votes. The only folks who really donate to their campaigns are lawyers and businesses, each of whom has an interest in seeing them elected. This is true whether we're talking about a local trial bench, appellate court or the Texas Supreme Court.

  Trial lawyers once dominated elections. Then, the business community did. The back-and-forth has fueled Texas' ugly judicial reputation.

  White is in a perfect place to change this perception, more than any other gubernatorial candidate, as both a successful trial lawyer and a businessman.

• No serious challengers for Texas' U.S. House delegation
  
  Oh yeah! Remember our Congressional races? The DMN actually covered them. What a welcome surprise.
  
  
• Dallas County Democrats gear up for decisive primary
  
  All the way down the ballot, now, the DMN even goes into great detail about local county races.

Perry and Hutchison Already Stretching Truth in Campaign Fight

by: Michael Hurta

Sun Aug 16, 2009 at 01:51 PM CDT

We all knew that Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison played keep-away from the  straight-up truth against Democrats, but that's just normal partisan politics.  Now they can't even keep it completely straight in a race against themselves.

The problem with politicians used to making arguments at such a high office without much consequences is that they get arrogant, and stretching the truth like this only becomes easier.  This is true with both Democrats and Republicans.  But in Texas, it is the Republicans that are effected by this phenomenon, and we need a change towards proper representation.

The primary battle between Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry will likely display that voters can't genuinely trust them anymore like we want to trust a governor.  Straight talk sometimes just works better, especially in Texas.

Texas newspapers share content: Capital Press Future Uncertain

by: Glenn Smith

Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 09:33 AM CDT

We may have seen the first evidence of new sharing arrangements this weekend. Emily Ramshaw of the Dallas Morning news ran a story Saturday morning about the notorious private prison company, GEO Group,taking over a private psychiatric hospital in Montgomery County. The company's prisons have a history of sexual abuse, riots and suicides.

Take a look at the Houston Chronicle piece, posted at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Texas officials wary of prison company contract
Copyright 2009 Houston Chonicle
July 11, 2009, 8:00PM

Did you catch that? "Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle."

No credit to the Associated Press, the normal avenue for stories taken from other papers. Maybe this was a copydesk error. However, word is that some editors have begun briefing their staffs on the new sharing arrangements.

Sources say publishers and editors have ratcheted up their efforts to come up with news while cutting staff. Additionally, word that Austin investment guru and innovative thinker and businessman John Thornton will soon begin publishing a Texas online newspaper has these same editors and publishers worried.

By sharing content, they hope to head-off competition from a well-funded, hard-hitting, aggressive, online news source that could do in Texas what Politico or Huffington Post have done nationally.

The distance between Austin and voters is already enormous. Layoffs and shrinking space for news in the troubled newspaper industry have meant a dramatic decline in coverage of state politics and government. Chasing distracted audiences, local television affiliates for the most part gave up on state political news long ago. Fires, wrecks, murders and sex are much more salable.

How many Texans even knew there was a regular session of the Legislature this year? How many know what happened? Damn few.

The fate of the dwindling capitol press is very much in doubt. Keep in mind that these are plum jobs, or were plum jobs. Typically, only the best and most responsible journalists were given a chance at the capitol beat. Lose them -- and we've already lost many great ones -- and Texas suffers.

If newspapers are already agreeing to share content, how long before they further reduce their Austin offices?

It's impossible to overestimate the importance of a large and diverse press corps. Not too many years ago, a major event in Austin would attract eight or more cameras and a dozen or more print reporters. Those multiple perspectives were key to accurate, broad reporting. Competition among journalists kept things lively.

We are in a Dark Age of state political and government news. Maybe it's just a transition period. But state blogs -- and there are many good ones like BOR -- have nowhere near the resources, the reporting experience or the reach of newspapers and local TV affiliates. There are high hopes that Thornton and maybe others will succeed in new era publishing. But it hasn't happened yet.

I don't have much sympathy for the corporatized ownership of newspapers. Their commitment to the public's right and need to know has long played second fiddle to their bottom lines. They've rationalized, downsized, and minimized their coverage of state news for years. Texans are paying the price, and that price could get much steeper in coming months and years.

Polls Shows Over 20% of Texans Believe Obama is a Muslim

by: Libby Shaw

Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:55 PM CDT

Meet the base of the Texas Republican Party, folks.

There is, of course, nothing actually wrong with one being a Muslim but the implication where seriously misinformed and low information voters are concerned is highly disturbing.  Do they honestly not know Obama's religion or do they choose to ignore the truth?

The bias against Muslims is bad enough and we have G.W. Bush and his fanatical right wing neonut base to thank in demonizing all members of this religion.  W.'s reckless and careless language about "Islamic Fascism" has served to paint all members of the faith as potential terrorists.  

From the front page of Raw Story.com.

The poll conducted this month by the University of Texas found that less than half the state's voters, a majority of whom support John McCain's candidacy, could correctly identify the religion of the Democratic presidential candidate. Obama has been a member of the same Christian church in Chicago for more than 20 years, and he faced controversy earlier this year when controversial statements from the church's former pastor appeared online.

When asked Obama's religion, 22.7 percent of the respondents said Muslim, while 45 percent correctly said Protestant.

Dallas Morning News Endorses Sam Houston

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 06:11 PM CDT

From their endorsement...

Democratic challenger Sam Houston has built solid reputation defending clients against lawsuits and would bring some new ideas to the court. He argues that no one likes lawsuits, but sometimes they are necessary to ensure justice, and that justice is good for business. Mr. Houston, 45, would bring some welcome - and not token - philosophical diversity to the court.

The incumbent in this race says all the right things about being fair and balanced, but Republican Dale Wainwright does not adequately answer criticism about his work ethic. In the last full year statistics were available, for example, he wrote just four signed opinions - the second fewest of any justice on the court and the lowest among the three justices seeking re-election this year. Two of his most recent opinions date to cases heard in 2004.

Justice Wainwright, 47, says there are complex reasons for this, but lives are often on hold waiting for these opinions, and such delays are unacceptable. Justice Wainwright, previously a district judge in Harris County, has a sharp résumé, but voters should send a message to the court that long backlogs will not be tolerated by electing the respected and fresh-thinking Mr. Houston.

Be sure to read the other endorsements (the Place 8 one is somewhat snarky). The DMN endorsed Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and Republican Phil Johnson for the Place 8 seat.

On the Web: www.samhoustonforjustice.com

New Media, New Methods: How Texas' Newspapers Report Politics Online

by: Phillip Martin

Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM CDT

This is an unofficial part of our "Shattering Blogger Stereotypes" series. The myth shattered -- that bloggers hate the traditional media. The following is a report on an extensive study I completed as part of my coursework at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. -- Phillip

In the early twentieth century, five Russian-born Jews living in Manhattan passed out some leaflets denouncing President Woodrow Wilson. They were accused of violating the Espionage Act. They were arrested for criticizing the government, and ultimately -- in Abrams vs. the United States -- the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the arrests.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his dissent, wrote that the leaflets created no real danger, arguing instead that they embraced one of the central tenants of the constitution: a "marketplace of ideas"

[...] The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas...that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution.

Today, in the early twenty-first century, information consumers seek a free trade of ideas much broader than what the market has traditionally offered. Print and television journalism competes with online journalism, where electronic leaflets travel much farther than the streets of Manhattan. YouTube videos, blogs, and Facebook messages are all relevant players in today’s marketplace of ideas.
 
Texas’ newspapers are adapting to the new online medium in noticeably different ways, especially when it comes to political reporting. An examination of the nearly 1,000 blog posts featured on the respective political blogs of the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, and Austin American-Statesman during the month leading up to the Texas primary shows that formal conventions of journalism often do not make their way from the paper pages to the web pages of Texas’ leading newspapers.

For those of us counting on the successful adaptation of Texas’ political reporting in the rapidly expanding realm of web-based media, the loss of formal convention may be a very, very good thing.

Introduction: About the Study

The purpose of the study wasn’t to determine which paper had the best online coverage – it was to examine what kind of coverage is out there in the first place. Reporters from each of these papers were interviewed for the original study; however, their quotes and input will not be directly attributed here, since the original study was conducted for academic purposes and to ensure their anonymity is respected. 

The study examined at length the methods and attitudes of three of Texas’ major newspaper political blogs, focusing on the time period after Super Tuesday (February 6) through just before the Texas primary (March 3):

• Austin American-Statesman: Postcards from the Lege
• Dallas Morning News: Trailblazers
• Houston Chronicle: Texas Politics

It should be noted that the Chronicle maintains several political blogs, including Texas on the Potomac, which has a national focus. For the purposes of the study, only the posts on Texas Politics, which has a Texas focus, were tracked, since most of the print reporters that cover Texas politics only blog on the Texas Politics blog. The study was completed for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government course, “Press, Politics, and Public Policy,” as taught by Professor Tom Fiedler, former Editor of the Miami Herald. As the general election approaches, similar studies will be conducted for comparison. 

Finding an Online Voice: The Choice between Formal and Informal Language

In 1961, Theodore White’s book, “The Making of the President: 1960” set the standard for political and campaign reporting. Ever since that time, political journalists have used White’s model – along with the very traditional “who, what, where, when, why, and how” formula – to create and sustain a formal language in their writing. The use of traditional, non-changing formal language signals a context of objectivity and authority for most readers.

However, many of Texas newspapers’ political blogs have abandoned traditional conventions in favor of a much more informal, opinion-based language. As Chart #1 shows below, the more posts that are written on Texas newspapers’ political blogs, the greater the chance that the language used will be informal.

For the purposes of the study, formal language is considered “traditional newspaper” writing, often in 3^rd-person. Informal language is considered “conversational-style” writing, which may combine first and second-person language and feature humor and/or editorializing. Mixed language-posts consists primarily of formal language but contain editorializing, humor, or a call for reader response not normally found with the use of formal language.

The Dallas Morning News reporters wrote nearly three times as many posts for their blog than their Houston Chronicle counterparts; not surprisingly, their language was much more informal. Strengthening the observed correlation, the Austin American-Statesman finished in the middle of each category.

There is much, much more to be discussed. Click on the "There's More" link below to read the rest.

Dallas Morning News Slams Voter ID

by: Project Vote

Fri May 23, 2008 at 11:33 AM CDT

By Nathan Henderson-James

Today the Dallas Morning News editorialized on the recent attempts by the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbot, to find any evidence of widespread voter impersonation fraud or illegal voting by non-citizens. Project Vote reported on his failure to find any evidence of organized or widespread fraud earlier this week.

Clinton Caucus Disruption/Vote Suppression

by: Glenn Smith

Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 10:06 PM CST

[Clinton caucus training material] goes on to say, "If our supporters are outnumbered, ask the Temporary Chair if one of our supporters can serves as the Secretary, in the interest of fairness.
"The control of the sign-in sheets and the announcement of the delegates allotted to each candidate are the critical functions of the Chair and Secretary. This is why it is so important that Hillary supporters hold these positions."

Now there can be only one purpose in trying to control the tally of votes under circumstances in which a campaign knows it's outnumbered, that it will lose an honest counting of the votes:  to alter the true vote. To cheat. To steal. To suppress the votes of Texas caucus attendees and subvert the caucus process.

The phrase, "if our supporters are outnumbered," means, in simpler language, "If we lose the vote, take control of the vote tally and change the numbers."

Place this alongside the Clinton campaign threats to challenge the Texas caucuses and you get a full picture of what Clinton is up to:  disrupt the caucuses at all costs. Steal votes, delay the reporting of honest vote totals, throw the process into chaos, do whatever it takes.

UPDATE -- There are other reactions, and links to perspectives on the Nevada caucus controversies involving Clinton campaign shenanigans, at DailyKos and Politico.

Dan Branch's Empty Gesture

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 08:12 AM CDT

Nobody opposes this first step.  The constitutional amendment passed 142 to 0.  The problem is, why only third reading?  Why stop here?

We are going to require the Secretary of State to spend millions of dollars to put an amendment into our growing state constitution (over 400 amendments and counting).  Instead of doing the minimum, our state must shine the spotlight at the heart of the debate.  As Mark Veasey pointed out, all the action is in the second reading. 

"Do we really want to ask the voters to approve something and then have an election process that's going to cost money, when most of the real debate is [over]?" said Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.

It's true.  The third reading of a bill is hampered with restrictions and barriers to debate.  To amend a bill in third reading it takes a 2/3 majority, but in second reading it only takes a simple majority.  Where do you think the amendment process happens?  Just think back to the long night we call the budget debate.  Democrats and Republican offered over 100 amendments until early the next morning all in second reading. 

As Karen Brooks pointed out at the Dallas Morning News:

Legislation is typically debated and voted on for two consecutive days. If a bill passes the preliminary vote on the first day, it's almost certain to survive final passage.

Bills rarely die on final passage, though it's not unprecedented. Last week, a bill that would have required anyone to give a police officer their name and address on demand - even those who weren't being arrested - passed easily on a voice vote on the first day of debate.

I need to give a nod to the Morning News because of their hard work on this issue.  The Dallas Morning News has been in the thick of this debate since 2003-- listening to Texans, law makers, and testifying.

Texans deserve to see the process and witness the debate.  They deserve time to see how their representative voted and why and encourage them to change their mind before third reading.

If we are going to take the time to educate voters on an issue, put HJR 19 on a ballot, and mobilize voters, let's go the distance.  Information is key to healthy democracy, and we need to outshine Dan Branch's empty gesture.

BLEH!

by: Sam Jones

Wed Jan 17, 2007 at 00:15 PM CST

I have quickly grown fond of the Republican and right-leaning readers of our site who have repeatedly displayed their intelligence and respect for democratic discussion.  I think many would agree that North Texas would benefit far more from reading our discussions than they ever could from the DMN.

Today's feature article says it best:

Sometimes history remembers you for just staying alive: Apollo 13, the Unsinkable Molly Brown and maybe, just maybe, political survivor Rick Perry.

Bleh!