After announcing plans to shut down, The Texas Observer — a small magazine for liberal viewpoints and investigative journalism in a red state — has raised enough money to stay in business.
According to the board president, the nonprofit owner of The Texas Observer decided on Wednesday, March 29, to revoke its intentions to lay off its employees.
“This is wonderful news,” Editor-in-Chief Gabriel Arana said in an article published Wednesday night. “The Observer is indispensable to Texas and to democracy.”
The magazine and website’s nonprofit publisher, the Texas Democracy Foundation, informed staff this week that it planned to cease publication on Friday, March 31, after 68 years.
Former and current employees protested the impending shutdown and attempted to prevent layoffs with a last-minute online fundraising campaign. Since Monday, March 27, they have raised over $318,000 from more than 4,000 supporters.
“The Texas Democracy Foundation has unanimously voted to rescind previous votes for layoffs,” the board said in a statement. “We have secured near-term pledges to bridge our immediate budget shortfall and feel confident that there is time for the Texas Observer to determine its future, thanks to the extraordinary success of the staff’s fundraising this week.”
The board also apologized to major donors, contributors, readers and supporters “for the abruptness of the layoff vote,” which the 17-member staff found out through another media outlet, and for how long it took the board “to provide clarity on our situation.”
In a separate statement, the president of the board of the Texas Democracy Foundation thanked the “stellar journalists” who were successful in their three-day fundraising effort.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to those who donated and expressed support for The Texas Observer, as well as gratitude to the Observer’s staff for stepping up and working hard to keep the publication alive,” Laura Hernandez Holmes said, per Texas Public Radio.
Hernandez Holmes also announced that she would step down as board president, saying her intent in voting for layoffs was never about closing down the publication.
“The actions I took as Board President were intended to allow space for the Observe to be reconstituted, and reimagined in a more sustainable form so as to develop a strong business model that could adapt to an ever-evolving media landscape,” she said. “However, this month it also became clear to me that new board leadership needed to emerge in order for the organization to move forward.”
Her resignation is effective Friday, March 31.
Founded in 1954, The Texas Observer is a progressive nonprofit news outlet and print magazine covering the Lone Star State. According to the publication, it focuses on communities whose stories are too often ignored or poorly told.
After announcing plans to shut down, The Texas Observer – a small magazine for liberal viewpoints and investigative journalism in a red state – has raised enough money to stay in business.