Transcript
Speaker: This is Mission Texas.
Speaker: Today, we're joined by Katie Serrano, a Dallas-Fort Worth political correspondent for Courier, Texas. Katie has lived in Texas for a couple decades now. and She has both bachelor's and master's degrees in editorial journalism and news narrative writing.
Speaker: At Courier, she reports on North Texas politics, education, housing affordability. That's a real thing, not a hoax. Women's issues and stories shaping everyday life across DFW with a particular focus on making local journalism accessible and engaging for younger audiences.
Speaker: Katie, welcome to Mission Texas. Thank you. Excited to be here. Yeah. Well, one of the first things we love to do with our guests right out the gate is... um whether it's your radioactive spider or your ship from Krypton, we want to know your your origin story. How did you find yourself talking to us today? How did you become a political journalist?
Speaker: What got you involved? Because people who consume political media in general are kind of odd ducks. Yeah, and thank you for that intro. You covered a lot. um I forgot that I had that bio on on our website. um Yeah, so I've lived in Texas for about 20 years, um and covering politics in Texas is is quite a beast. But I remember in my... So yes, I got my undergrad and master's degree in journalism at the University of Arkansas, Wu-Pay,
Speaker: And I remember in my news 101 class, we all went around and asked what type of journalism we would like to cover, what would be our ideal beat. 18-year-old Katie, I was pretentious, and I think I was of the only ones who said, oh, I want cover politics. Fast forward little bit.
Speaker: 10, 11 years. but But why? Why did you want to cover politics, though? That's yeah that's what I want to know. Yeah, I think that, um I mean, it's just especially today. i mean, the same could be said a decade ago. um You know, I think journalists are just true watchdogs for our our government, for whether that's on a local or statewide level um or federal level.
Speaker: And mean it's just, it's so important to hold individuals in power accountable and media is a way to do that. And I also, I never say this quite as eloquently as I hope, but I find journalism as um kind of the the highest form of education a lot of adults and everyday people get um you know, current events, ah just being informed. um To me, that's a form of of education that doesn't stop after high school, after college. um And it's so important. i
Speaker: To me, ignorance is one of my biggest fears. um i You know, and it it can be overwhelming to be so informed, to be tapped in all the time. i get it. I get people have news fatigue, but I just find it to be so important, um especially in today's political landscape. sure So wait, tell me. The tension that we're facing. yeah was there like an actual, like, was there like a life event or was there like, for me, well so much of this I could trace back to a movie I saw. Like, okay I wanted to play football because I saw Remember the Titans, right? Like, I wanted to play...
Speaker: um hockey after you know watching a certain sports movie. Mighty Ducks. Basketball after Space Jam. and yeah might might it was Exactly. It was Mighty Ducks. I think more... so like I don't know if there's one like really kind like...
Speaker: kind of like It's probably not as deep as this, but even i was in newspaper in high school and covering of the election, even as a high schooler. Which one was that? true Make us feel old. I don't want to expose myself. Like back when Wendy Davis. That was my first paid campaign. Yeah. Wendy Davis twenty fourteen that's a big year for me And so i just like seeing even just young people on that level or in college, um you know, talking to people, seeing what issues matter to them and how we can amplify it. And then seeing, you know,
Speaker: talking to politicians, seeing the work at the end of the day, they are public servants and they are meant to better the lives of their constituents and help them. And just, and I think talking to whether seeing that as a high schooler in college, um, um,
Speaker: just seeing people get politically involved and civically engaged, which is a huge mission of Courier, was just so cool to see. And I just knew I wanted to be a part of it. And I think as a journalist, we can all agree, like there's nothing like covering the then election season or an election night, like that's our Super Bowl. And it's just, it's, it there's of course, you know,
Speaker: deeper things I could probably dive into, but it's just, it's, but I find it so fun and engaging. And it's, I think it's a really fun kind of mission to get other people to care about it, which is really what we're trying to do through our reporting.
Speaker: Well, may I ask, does it coincide, though, with the 2016 election? i mean, somebody pretty important became president who needed accountability in that year. Yeah, yeah. It was, you know, even at a huge amount of accountability. Yeah, even, yeah, even again, a decade ago, it seeing that was was stunning and seeing the polling that, you know, we didn't, I didn't and On a college campus, you're with young people. they you know You tend to be even in a state like Arkansas. I was around progressive people. I was in the newspaper. I wasn't going to out you as a University of Arkansas grad, but here you go. say i know No shame around it. That's okay.
Speaker: it's it So it it was stunning to see. And it yeah, it said, okay, wow, this this happened. you know Maybe mean we didn't people didn't see it coming. Maybe they did. The campus bubble was kind of in its own ecosystem, its own yeah echo chamber. And they thought this couldn't happen.
Speaker: With young people. um Yeah, so so certainly, certainly. i mean see And then to just to see what has happened since then, of course, it has only um sparked, you know, more of a desire to truly enter this field and, you know, be a part of it and try to thrive in it.
Speaker: Well, then can I ask, how did you end up at Courier and tell us more about Courier? Yeah, so Courier is- Especially because you used the word mission twice already. And I love that as a career mission co-host of Mission Texas. Yeah, um so we're a mission and values-based newsroom. We're certainly based in fact, but we have a point of view and we're very open to it. We're open about that. We ah cover progressive politics in you know battleground states, states like Texas, states that lean more red or historically red. And we really, ah you know, our main goal is to civically engage our readers through our reporting. If someone reads my piece and ends up going to even just a school board meeting after reading it, you know, I find that to be a success and aligns with the mission and what we're we're trying to achieve. um i
Speaker: before working ah Before starting at Career, I've been here for about two years. I worked as a newsletter editor for a small digital marketing agency, publishing agency. So I've always kind of had my hand in creating accessible, digestible journalism that kind of meets people where they are, because that's so important. But what was really cool and exciting to me about her year was that, so in grad school, I wrote my master's thesis about the concept of, is objectivity even kind of possible at this point in time? And again, that was 10 years ago, um you know, when you have a
Speaker: president like Donald Trump, who you know, ah we know that he's kind of had a war on on journalists, and he coined fake news, and that that was going on while I was in college. And so my thesis is just kind of this case study on talking to to journalists and saying, you know, is there a way to create journalism? um that, you know, has a social impact? And is that okay? And so when I saw the job listing for Courier, I was like, oh, this sounds perfect. Like this is, they are a newsroom that is values driven, but they're still creating good reporting. um And so that was just really interesting and incredible to me that they are newsroom that follows this model and they're thriving and they're growing. um And i I thought it would be a perfect fit and was lucky enough to to interview and be a part of a very small, scrappy Texas team that is continuing to grow. um
Speaker: But it's been, yeah, going on two years and it's it's just a joy to get to do the work that I do. I feel very lucky. Well, from one scrappy Texas team to another. kind know. Keep it coming.
Speaker: Yeah. could Could you help us understand, like translate the gap between... what I would say like institutional political coverage, kind of like the old guard and what this new organization is ah hoping to accomplish in terms of reaching younger and less news seeking audiences, right? Because like I mentioned, people who look for political media, we're kind of odd ducks. So we kind of need to go find them. It's like we're going fishing almost to go get people who aren't doing it and get them involved.
Speaker: So ahead how do y'all go about that? Yeah, so one thing that's really special and interesting about career is that we are fully digital and social first. We know that attention spans are ah not what they used to be. We know that um people are picking up a newspaper. They aren't probably even logging onto a website to read an article. If they do, they're probably not getting past the first 300 words. um And so we know
Speaker: The Courier model is that we have to meet readers where they are, and we certainly want to engage with young people. um And so any coverage point that I do, I'm still writing articles, of course. That's, you know, the the crux of journalism. um But anything that we do, we're always the very first thing is how.
Speaker: How is this going to be packaged on social media? And how is this going to engage with our audience? And how is it going to reach further? We're not looking for a viral moment every time we you know post our content and our coverage. um But we do always say, okay, if I wrote an article, I know that, again, people...
Speaker: the the majority of a person isn't going to read a 1200 word article about a local election, unfortunately. So how can I take a video clip from that interview, put it on our socials, find the moment that I think is really going to engage with people and have that have you know, 20,000 views. That's the goal. That's what we're trying to, to get people to engage with. And again, just care about the reporting that we're doing. Um, so it's, and it's career is also, um, you know, to me, very new. Um, and especially the Texas team, um, the Texas publication, we're growing very quickly. How fresh are we talking?
Speaker: We launched in 2024 and I believe it was summer 2024. And we started out with a hub in DFW. We're fully digital remote. We don't have any like brick and mortar offices. So when you came and reported um the ah largest ever debate watch party in Dallas history at the Angelica, that would have been like really right after y'all got started.
Speaker: is that right? Yes. Yes. Because I know we we met back in, and that was i September, October, 2024. yes, it I hit the ground running. I started... um I started the beginning of September. And, you know, we know campaigns picking up just hit the ground running, had a lot had a lot to cover just starting out, which, again, was so fun. um Yeah, so context, dear listener. ah yeah The Dallas County Young Democrats had a debate watch party between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Speaker: It was so well attended, we had to get like a second overflow theater for people to sit in. it was a lot of fun. We had so much of a good experience with that. we did ah ran it ah back with the debate between Colin Allred and Ted Cruz. And that's actually where I met Katie for the first time. she She interviewed me right after the debate to kind of get my my my thoughts on it.
Speaker: And so full disclosure. probably um Yeah, and was probably on the job for about two weeks at that point. Oh, I had no idea. Yeah, probably. So hopefully it didn't come across that way. No, it didn't. No, thought...
Speaker: Very professional. but Just to get to get back to kind of the the mission of of Courier, we are very digital, social first. We'll always do interviews on camera. um How can we package graphics in a visually striking way? um How can we take data and, again, just put it on social media, get people to care? Finding these topics that um you know yeah may seem bogged down boring or just broad and overwhelming to to read about and creating it in a way that will be just accessible, digestive but digestible for any any Texan who's scrolling on their Instagram feed.
Speaker: Yeah, not necessarily people who are already wearing the blue jersey, who are already signed up as a committed partisan Right. though Though we talk about the one in 10 Texans who actually shows up to a party primary and during a midterm.
Speaker: We're putting this all into context, right? We have the rise of traditional news media and it's declined people not trusting it. And also the rise of independent independent media sources like yourselves. We're also sort of an independent media source in a way. So I'm just curious, like, how are you finding people engaging with your content? Is it in social media? Is that where you're mostly able to, because, you know, you're not turning on the television and watching CNN. People are now scrolling through their phone and digesting it in small, even just a very visually small format. So like where are you finding your audience most?
Speaker: Yeah, definitely social media. um And I think what's cool about Career, because again, we're we're new and we're growing and we can really kind of tap into the topics. We can see directly on social media and hear from our audience through comments, through DMs, um what their thoughts and what's resonating with them, what isn't, seeing what's becoming engaging, see what isn't. and tailor our coverage to that. um you know we can
Speaker: One thing that's great about, i think, local news is that we can continuously, we're a small team, there's only two of us in Dallas, but when we find a topic that we know are um our audience cares about, we create this kind of constant drip of coverage. We're, you know, we're not going to abandon a topic if we know our audience is engaging with it and cares about it. And we'll share out, you know, ah a piece about, you know, data center moratoriums in their local community. We know that's what people care about right now. um And so certainly social media, you know, it it makes us accessible. It makes our audience accessible. And I think it's really helpful um when you can utilize social media. We do a lot of, um you know, presenter led videos where we're on camera. And I think that builds trust with our audience. When we are out in the community, they will see me at a city council meeting, a commissioner's court meeting you I can talk to them and they see that we're there in the community, integrating ourselves, talking to people. um And I think that definitely builds builds trust to show that you know we're we're here. We are if we are with you you know in in this fight and covering these topics and amplifying these voices. And I think that that is also very important in in the coverage that we do.
Speaker: So you mentioned you have like a two-person team. But there's like a broader Courier Texas team. Is that right? Yes. So there's two of us located in Dallas, um myself and then our newsletter editor. And then we also have a Houston political correspondent and then a political editor. Yeah.
Speaker: And then we also have um a social strategist who's based in Houston as well. But when it comes to reporters, we have a newsletter um and political individual in Dallas and a newsletter editor and political reporter in Houston. So it's...
Speaker: Big, big state. and There's yeah four of us. So it's there's never, have never a dull day, never a shortage of coverage, obviously. um i mean, Texas is, again, just such a beast. um Do you ever consider like how like as a state we're like the size of France?
Speaker: And so really your state team is like, it's a national team in a way. Yeah. And I was just literally, I was just talking to a friend and I was like, I read somewhere that it's DFW has the popular, like a larger population than some states. yeah all More than like all, but like 12 or so. states Yeah. And that was, I was, you know, and it's, it's crazy. And I even say, you know, it's, We try to cover as much as we can. We don't want to spread ourselves too thin because even I'm based in Dallas proper. um And, you know, we we try to cover as much of Fort Worth as we can. and um but and even, you know, those are two separate worlds, like even just Fort Worth and Dallas. Um, and so it's, yeah, there's, there's just no shortage of, of things to cover and communities to engage with. And we try to tap in as much as we can. um
Speaker: I only mentioned it because Courier is, it's, it's got like this kind of funnel, right? Like you are here at the ground level in Dallas, but you're part of Courier, Texas, which just for reference, like on Instagram has like 87,000 followers.
Speaker: which is a lot. Yes. There's also courier national and courier, according to its, it's a kind of caption here is the fastest growing news brand in America has like 1.1 million followers. so How does that work? how does it How does it kind of go from Dallas to to state to national? Yeah. And Courier is growing incredibly fast. Again, the model that we're using is working because so many media companies are downsizing, closing, having cuts, layoffs. And Courier as a national brand had, ah i believe, 10 state newsrooms last year. And now we are at, I believe, 19 or 20. So we've doubled in size within the last year. And Courier is kind of like parent brand is how explain it. um But we we do always try to kind of stress that Courier, Texas, our publication, our newsroom that i work in, We are our own entity. um We are focused on local news. We will collab with, we will collaborate with our national team. um You know, every state Florida. you explaining to our audience what collab means. on social media. We'll share posts with them. We'll share their content. They'll share with us because, you know, of course, when you're a state like Texas, you know, ah James Tallarico, Ken Paxton, they're going to make national news. It's not just local statewide coverage. And so we are kind of
Speaker: kind of It's certainly not like independent to the Courier National brand, but we do, we are local and we do cover things in a bit more of ah a different way than they do. Just on a more, again, local level, we do more...
Speaker: I wouldn't even say in-depth reporting, um but we know we're just really integrated into our communities um and they cover things on a very national scale. um And we, again, we have Texas is just one local newsroom. We have a newsroom in Arizona. Michigan, New York. We've, again, we've, we've expanded um so rapidly, which is, is very exciting. So we definitely, we, we collaborate with them and work with them when it makes sense. And when we can help each other grow, they certainly help us grow again. Yeah. They, they are killing it on social media. I think just on Instagram, they have over a million followers. I don't even think that counts their, their TikTok and other social ah platform growth. Yeah. May I ask one of the things I want to kind of take a thousand foot perspective, like our the mission of Mission Texas and probably similar to yours is ours is flipping the state and we want to elect Democrats in some way. And I think that the reason why we're talking to you is because media has such an impact in people's, as you're saying, educating people, information, digestion. People for a long time have been getting their news from sources like Fox and other places. which now, again, like lost in a defamation suit. So we know that it's not exactly truthful.
Speaker: And they have a an extreme bias. And a lot of it, and you know maybe this is the reason, is that they have shareholders and corporate overlords in a way, and they have perspective and they also want to make money, right? And so I'm i'm wondering how does like a a newsroom like Courier stay independent and how is it growing? like How is it funding itself to then like ward off those issues?
Speaker: In my two years, there's never been a story that I have have pitched or that our team has ah reported on or said we need we want to delve into this and cover it and have had to worry about any of that.
Speaker: What drew me again to Courier is that, yes, we values-based and we have a point of view um and we you know we're open about we are covering progressive politics and you know, and framing it in a way of we need this to combat, ah you know, authoritarianism and fascism that we are seeing in in our country. Well, certainly conservative like counterparts don't apologize for being conservative counterparts. Tell us more about your chain of command, though. I have an editor. um Again, he's the political, the Texas political editor, um and he is based in Houston. And we, the Texas team is very collaborative. um You know, we've
Speaker: meet multiple times a week. What are you working on? Do you have ideas? what What are you seeing in your community in Houston that could still be relevant in Dallas? um And we certainly, um you know, there'll be times when there's a massive story, whether it's on a local level, ah statewide level, that we, you know, will be assigned. i'll ill I'll be assigned something from my editor. But again, with Texas a midterm election year, there's no shortage of coverage. I am constant, you know, I, I always have something to pitch. um And I think I've, I'm lucky enough to have a lot of trust from my editor and just,
Speaker: Texas team as a collective to where we really trust each other's news judgment and what what we decide to cover. You know, i'm not saying that it's, oh, it's just entirely up to me. um But i'm I'm very lucky to work in such a collaborative environment to where we can always bring ideas and it will typically come to fruition. and i also, um shameless plug, I cover, I write and author a weekly education-focused newsletter. It's free. It comes out every Wednesday, delivered straight to your inbox. You can sign up at couriertexas.com. But i when I cover education,
Speaker: <unk>s There's absolutely no shortage of of coverage there. It's such a topic and an issue of for Texans right now. We have assignments. I will sometimes have assignments coming from my editor. We are just such a collaborative team and I'm very lucky. um And it's a little crazy to just always have so much to cover. Yeah. Well, may I ask, can we switch gears maybe a little bit to some of these news stories? Because there's, as you mentioned, so much has happened. But as we gear up for the general election, and you're reflecting back on this last year, what or what has been the top news stories, like what do you think are the things that are going to be top of mind for our voters going in? Like what news issues do you think are the ones that have resonated the most and will be an impact in this election.
Speaker: I'm biased, but I do think that when you look at what the candidates are running on and from who I've talked to in statewide and in our community here in North Texas, I do genuinely believe education and public schools and public education are truly going to play a role in in driving people to the polls. um You know, we saw a private school vouchers pass and that was Greg Abbott's, you know, number one priority in the legislative session last year. um So many districts are being taken over by the state here in North Texas, Fort Worth. this They're starting their school year um in a district that's been taken over and parents are upset. There's been a mass exodus of teachers. um There's been a lot of cuts. There's been campuses that have closed.
Speaker: ah You see there's the battle of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Our state board of education just made Texas the first state in the nation to make the Bible required reading in public schools. um there's no i I could go on and on about, i mean, just lack of funding. There's just not a lot of support behind public schools and public education and our teachers right now. And I think for a lot of just everyday Texans,
Speaker: public schools are such a foundation of the community. And it's something that we're talking about our kids, um, the future of Texas, the future of the country. It's, it's an important thing. And I think that, you know, I, I talked to, um a lot of parents, uh,
Speaker: It's, some may say, oh, you know, the Ten Commandments in classrooms, that's such a small thing. But when you pile it on top of so many other things, it's not that small anymore. Yeah. And so I i really do believe that. And starts in Texas usually doesn't stay in Texas, right? Yeah. I mean, Texas has 5.5 million ah public school students. That is a huge population that is is being impacted by by these things. um And I certainly... and just ah Another example of, I think, how it shows that it's going to impact the midterms is when you look at the special election that took place in January in Senate District 9 in Tarrant County. Taylor Romet, he flipped a historically red district, and I went and talked to ah moms and parents in that district after the race, and they straight up said they said education played such a role in this race.
Speaker: and why we showed up to vote because his opponent is an executive at Patriot mobile, which is a ultra conservative cell phone company, which is interesting. And they, when they and and they are known for investing in local school board elections and stacking these, uh, school boards with ultra conservative far right, uh,
Speaker: not even parents, but people in the community, sometimes not even in the community. um And they saw the direct impacts of that and said, of course, we're not going to vote for her when she was the face of that. um And I think that's just one small example of a direct um connection of how education will will play a role um play a role in in the midterms. Well, it's interesting you say that because i think On the one hand, if you went to social media and you saw what is really capturing, getting a lot of likes, getting a lot clicks, it isn't always the education topics. It's like Paxton and his many mistresses and his going to England and some of these other things. On the 4th of July, I know. I'm not for it. 250th anniversary of America. Very patriotic. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, i mean, I think you if you were like, oh, what is capturing people's attention? What are they going to go? But that's different than what people are actually voting for. And what and you're such a social media focused media company. It's like, how do you balance that kind of media with also social media?
Speaker: Yeah, and that's and it's interesting, and I'm glad you you brought that up, because, yeah, ah there's certainly a difference between what will, you know, get clicks or people riled up online or you know, oh, this is engaging, this is interesting, I'm going to engage with it on my Instagram feed, versus this is an issue that is going to impact my child every day. And, you know, both, I think both can drive people to the polls, um but it's certainly, and and I will say, yeah,
Speaker: We, again, kind of what I had previously mentioned at Career, um because we were new, kind of growing from the ground up, growing with our audience, building with it, were able to see what, and we do see a lot of engagement on our education coverage. We see a lot of engagement when we Talk about local communities fighting back against data centers, things like that. So it is interesting. And I think it' it's, you know, it also depends. We're at the mercy of these billionaires that,
Speaker: you know create these social media platforms, their algorithms. We might have a piece of coverage that we know is so important to our local community. um And you know maybe it gets 12 likes on on Instagram. And does that mean it's not important? No, we so we you know we we still want to show that we are covering important topics in our community. um it's it's just it's It's interesting. And I think it's it's still something that's like relatively new for media and journalists to see um how we how we engage with that. how much How much weight do we put in that? How much do we let if something um on social media you know doesn't take off, doesn't get thousands of views or likes? you know, how, where do we put the worth and the value in that? And so that is something I think that's, that's interesting when you have a social digital first model. um But we certainly know that our audience, um but there's, there's no shortage of coverage on Ken Paxton's corruption. And we know that our audience does engage with it. um And I think one thing that's interesting throughout our midterm coverage is trying to balance, you know, how much, how is our audience going to have fatigue or how interesting are they going to find it if our coverage is just Paxton, bad, Calarico, good. And, you know,
Speaker: And it's, I think it's hard to, I feel kind of in my own media bubble because for my job, I have to be so tapped in. So in my brain, my coworker's brain, we might think, okay, everyone knows that Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party. But that's not always the case. And so we have to kind of remind ourselves that, you know, it might feel like, oh, we're hitting X, Y, and z really consistently and really hard. And maybe, our audience is going to get fatigued by it. But again, because of the way that algorithms work, because of the way our audience interacts with their news, it's still going to be important to continuously hit on that. Because just because you know, in you're tapped in doesn't mean, you know, one voter that day who maybe has never voted or has never been engaged or you
Speaker: this new story, they'll learn about it. i think you're hitting on this and it's so true. Like we assume... that people know all this stuff. But again, we're odd ducks. The fact that we know any of this stuff. We're all beloved odd ducks, by the way. right. And we're making important decisions for the future of our state. We're the flying ducks. Flying V, we're more important.
Speaker: But listen, like it's true. And I feel so bad, honestly, for all these statewide candidates who every time they go into a new room, they basically have to introduce themselves yeah from the very beginning. And they need to do it because those people in those rooms might be hearing it for the very first time. Yeah. And so if you've been covering the same Tallarico stump speech or the same Gina stump speech or the same Vicky stump speech, like I'm sure it gets a little old. You probably can say it for them, but like they need to be doing that. That's exactly. we A really key example of this actually as like a, like a example of I'm clued in way more than the average person. I would say even more like than your average typical political person, because like,
Speaker: um like nationally, the people are like loving this Ken Paxton pen story of stealing the thousand dollar block pen from the Collin County Courthouse. And I'm like, as someone who like helped out on Justin Nelson's 2018,
Speaker: Yeah, he tapped into that. i love this story because I still have my Don't Let Ken Still This spin ah Justin Nelson pin, right? like This is a so is a story. It's old, This an old story, right? Coming back. And it's like, oh, this is a banger. I'm so glad people are learning about it for the first for the first time yeah no and I and I love that you you said that about like covering these rallies because we joke that yeah we can i can probably ah recite most of us you know Tallarico speech but it's not left versus right it's top versus but my southern bad just grandpa and my pawpaw
Speaker: I mean, I love God and love neighbor, and like all the things, right? You know, the, the suburban mom from Plano who maybe has always, maybe she's always voted Republican her whole life, but she's showing up to this rally or maybe she doesn't vote or maybe this is the first rally she's been to. Like, of course we have to remember just these, it's so important for these people to just, to just show up and get informed and learn about these, you know,
Speaker: these campaigns and what they're running on. So yes, well, like it can say, feel, Oh my gosh. like especially If you, if you're not the candidate who's been in statewide office for two, yeah three decades, right? Like a battle of of name recognition and right mean well, can you ah tell us more about your breaking news of Ken Paxton that we saw? I think it was like last week you, people were asking themselves, how does he have all these homes? He's got, multi-million dollars, ah but on a a modest salary as the attorney general. And you guys had a scoop that I saw not too long ago.
Speaker: It had come out that you you make, I think, around $150,000 as the Texas attorney general, which is you know a salary that most Texans would kill for. um But that doesn't really explain how he has amassed a $9 million dollars real estate portfolio, 15 homes. um And so math doesn a math yeah so went we went through um we went through public record requests and ah county records, ah real estate records, deeds. And for those who maybe don't know, a lot of his wealth is behind blind trusts. So that's hard to track. And where did this come from? How long has it been connected to him? So it was a lot of lot of verification. But we were able to find photos of all 15 of his properties. And we just thought it was a really visually stunning way to show the amount of wealth and the fact that a lot of the properties aren't, you know, you mentioned that he was in London for 4th of July, a lot of these properties aren't
Speaker: even in Texas, um you know, he has a multimillion dollar, I don't even remember off the top of my head, square feet, ah you know, lodge in Oklahoma, um you know, lots of lands in Hawaii, um you know giant plots of land in, I believe, ah Utah. And it's, it's just, doesn't have the the heart to keep his corruption in the state. And it's, And it's, it's just, it's stunning when, you know, i i can't afford a home in Dallas. I live in Dallas, in Dallas County, and I i can't afford a home in, in the the city that i ah cover. And, you know, I, um I write about and most Texans, you
Speaker: but I think that's the same for most Texans or, and I, I believe there's, um, I, I don't fact check me, but mo I think there was a recent study of, uh, Texas and Texas has like a state that, uh, they can't have like are behind on mortgage payments that Texas residents, it's, it's again, these little things that, that add up. Um, so that was one kind of side of it. And then the New York times, um,
Speaker: recently reported on ah kind of an insight on how maybe he has accumulated all of this wealth. And it's from a cell tower in Frisco, which, you know, again, that just what, like most people I feel like hear that and they're like, what, what does that even mean? I was the same way. And so i ah and the reporting from the New York times, it's, it's wonderful. Go read it. It's a great piece. It really dives deep. Um, but he, uh, started a cell phone tower company, um, back in 2003, uh,
Speaker: two thousand three ah so somewhere around that time frame. um And he was also on the board of a hospital that's now a Baylor Scott and White ah campus in Frisco.
Speaker: And so while he was on the board, he gifted and gifted himself a cell phone tower ah on the the property of the hospital and the board, you know, is, is part of those decisions. so he, you know, they said, Oh, what, as the board of the hospital, need, going to have a cell phone tower on our property. What should it be? you know, he said, well, why not mine? Even though his company had been around for about a year, experts have said, you know, it's very shocking and stunning that this massive,
Speaker: ah medical campus would pick that company over someone that is more established. um And it's, you know, he didn't, ah he didn't put this on any of his, his public like financial records. So again, it's, there are things that maybe be for the normal, a normal person to just say, you know, why, why does this matter? But when you Add everything up from something as small as, oh, he stole, well, $1,000 isn't small, but stole $1,000 pen to he got,
Speaker: yeah Not the kind of pin you can mistake as your own. yeah It's not like it's any other pin. It's a long funk, yeah. Yeah, something from that scale to he has a $9 million dollars real estate portfolio to he um you know gave a convicted sex offender one day in jail – Some things are very big, some things seem smaller, but you can't deny when you put them all together and see that coverage together.
Speaker: Just the the, like, again, I think I said there's no shortage of corruption that we've we've had to cover. um What I like about the Penn story is the simplicity. It's just so clear and you see his face on the the security footage and it's just so indicative of his character, right? Like, character is what you do when you think no one's looking. Mm-hmm. And so he took it because he thought he could get away with it. and And so if he will not be trusted with small things, just as scripture says, you can't be trusted with big things.
Speaker: And so i off screen, I was just looking up um this this New York Times story you were talking about. an investigative report by the New York Times reveals Texas Attorney General Ken Paxson has earned significant, consistent passive income since 2006 from a cell phone tower on the campus of a hospital where he once served as a board member.
Speaker: The deal, which generates substantial six-figure income, has sparked conflict of interest questions during his U.S. Senate campaign. It's interesting to see that juxtaposed with your other coverage of what other gifts or contracts have been given to people who have donated to, say, Donald Trump. Like we have, I think we just saw that the border wall contract with Big Bend National Park has been awarded to somebody who gave a a lot of money to Donald Trump.
Speaker: And so you just see these constant like insideing insider grifting stories, no-bid contracts. And we've seen that a lot with our candidates. ah The nominee for comptroller, Sarah Eckhart, talked to a lot about no-bid contracts. I think Gina Hinoza talks a lot about no-bid contracts. And that's kind of a phrase that you can kind of gloss over. But when you think about what it means, it's just somebody isn't being asked to be competitive, right? Like you don't have to bid for a contract. You just get it for whatever reason. And it's because probably you gave a lot of money to Greg Abbott or to Donald Trump.
Speaker: It's anti-market economics, anti-competition. Yeah, like how is this a free market? You talk about socialism. Yeah. yeah you talk And I'm just, we're seeing a lot with DSA and people calling liberals socialists. And yet there's been reporting on how Trump has purchased through the government shares of certain companies. You see these, again, these know big contracts where it's not a free market. So how is this capitalism through the republican party anyways i could go on and on um no and it's for our audience any sort of follow the money or again just corruption in general it's certainly something that our audience resonates with because it's it of course you know it's it's going to cause anger and frustration for an everyday person who's just struggling to to make ends meet
Speaker: Well, I'm curious also, i' i'm sure as part of your coverage in the last year, it's about the party and how much we've changed. I say we because I like to think that we're a part of the party. alex But I mean, I would imagine you have a perspective of what's gone on or at least covered or thought about what the party's been doing. And How do you perceive it right now as we gear up for this election? What I will say is from my coverage points, from what I've seen, Democrats in Texas, they're campaigning like they are in the community. And I think that is worth just just mentioning. So many Republicans are either they're they're counting on their name recognition. So they don't feel maybe that they need to show up to a debate not. campaign or go to go to a community, um go into the community. You know, Vicki Goodwin, I know she was ah recently on on your podcast. She was at a Fort Worth City Council meeting ah last week, two weeks ago, talking about data centers, despite being, you know, an Austin Democrat. She was at the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court a few weeks ago um when they wanted to slash polling locations by 45%. They're in the community. Gina Hinojosa was in the panhandle, Amarillo, ah talking to rural community members impacted by data centers. um And I think there's this momentum that they are riding on and they're showing up in the community they because I think they know
Speaker: They don't, you know, I'm sure the a not all Texans probably know who Dan Patrick is. You know, it's again, it's people are more tapped in, but I'm sure they certainly would recognize his name over Vicki Goodwin. And so they, you know, might be at a ah deficit that they're they're trying to catch up when it comes to name recognition. But I think it's just worth mentioning that they're running on issues that that Texans care about and they are in the community. They are campaigning. They are getting out there. They are talking to constituents, figuring out what will drive them um to the polls.
Speaker: And I just thought you're not seeing um in in Republican candidates, in my opinion. And i I think that's worth mentioning and just important to see them out in the community and and talking to people, um which, you know, is is great. And how campaigning and politicians should be. Republicans are running. Republicans have been in power in Texas for 30 years.
Speaker: What issue, if they're running on improving x Y, and who is to blame for that? it's theyve They're the ones that have been in power. um So it's it's interesting, the you know Republicans who are running on, we need to take back our state policy. from who you know um and and so true yeah and and so i think that's that's just you know just seeing democratic candidates running on not culture wars but true issues that are mattering to texans and not just running on them but going into these communities and talking to them um i think is is really important and you know we we will see
Speaker: what how that resonates and get voters actually turning up. But I do think they are putting in the work from what I've covered and people that I've talked to and just what I've seen.
Speaker: yeah it can't just be a blue wave. like It's not just a counter reaction to Donald Trump. like We are actively putting in the work through having a candidate on every ballot from our party chairman putting locations so all over the state. And so I'm glad, at least from somebody from a media perspective is seeing that. But before we go into our next and last segments, I'm wondering, where are the things that you think, though, that the party can improve? Like, how can we be better from your perspective? Is ah is there an area of vacuum that you think like, OK, Democrats, if you want to win, I think this is something you you might want to look at.
Speaker: Like certainly there are. why don why don If you're, if you're thinking about it, why don't you think about it and we'll do, we'll do our good news segment and then you can give us the last word yes and your last word can be what it is, especially between now and 2030, whenever we get this huge wave of population baked into our new redistricting, that's going to have to happen with the what the portion meant the census and all that.
Speaker: But first to give you some time to think. Okay. My favorite segment is good news, right? Republicans are not shy. They will spread their word. They are evangelical in that way. And we got to flex that muscle and get used to it.
Speaker: So what is something in your life, either personally or professionally, or just something you've read about? There's just such good news. You got to share it. On a for professional ah answer, I'm just very excited to say that my two-year anniversary at Career um is coming up. Again, just feel incredibly grateful um to get to do the work that I do. And then my one-year anniversary of my newsletter um is also approaching, which that has just been my favorite part of my job, getting to just author that, curate that. find a topic that really resonates with Texans. And I think the good news that I can attach to that is that the education coverage that I do and some recent reporting that I've done, I just i get to talk to so many parents um who are just really like fighting the good fight. Essentially, I was able to interview ah one of the Houston moms who's part of a new lawsuit against the Ten Commandments in classrooms. And talking with her, she said that she was so shocked by the amount of support she has received, whether that's in person or on on social media, with her name attached to this lawsuit. And she said that she was quite shocked that she would have so much support. support in her fight to to block this this law that she finds ah unconstitutional in Texas in a state that, you know, you're told is red and you're told is the Bible Belt and so just... white Christian values. um And so getting to talk to people like that, um I always just find, ah you know, uplifting and important in the coverage and kind of bright spots because we do cover a lot of like doom and gloom or just, it's just, it's like, oh, and one thing after the other that is negative. So getting to really talk to community members who are just involved and, and care and sharing, um,
Speaker: sharing these these topics out to to their peers and their community members, I think is is so important and definitely a bright spot. um And then on a personal level, um I'm like, I'm trying to think, what do I have anything? Yeah. You caught me right before ah right before I'll be going on PTO for a bit, which will be nice. I'm kind of gearing up for the craziness of the election. Yeah. Which, you know, it seems like a small thing, but I feel like with just the state of the world and craziness right now, I'll get to spend some time with family. And that's just like, just very important to me yeah at at this point. It's perfect good news. mean just You nailed it. Just just some some calm before the inevitable storm of really gearing into election season.
Speaker: Amazing. Well, I'll go My good news, I mean, I keep talking about my daughter. She's in pre-K, so in the public schools, Katie. So I think I'm to not talk about that because I think my good news has been that for like four weeks now. um But our listeners will know that Alex and I are on ah fitness journey. And so we both, I'm a working mom and it's really hard to fit in and we got a workout. And so for a long time, I've been working out at home because it was just the only way I could do it with a daughter And working. and But now I started my own law firm and I work mostly from home.
Speaker: And that means that I can, I don't have to work out at home now. I just started back at Orange Theory Fitness, which is around the corner. I've heard great things. Yeah. I've been doing it for a long time, but I took a pause for two years and now I'm back at it. And I'm so sore. Yeah.
Speaker: It is an incredible workout. We did burpees today. i am dying. so ah but it's been a great ah thing to get back into. And so gearing up for some more fitness goals this fall, including hopefully that half marathon out.
Speaker: But yes, I do want to run a half marathon with you, Kate. That'll be good. My good news, it's kind of awkward. ah It is good news for the state, though. So my good news is for those of you who have been following along, I have been counsel. I'm the lawyer for an organization I volunteer with called Veterans for All Voters.
Speaker: And we were very concerned that Greg Abbott was going to appoint a new secretary of state who would immediately abandon the defense of Texas selection Um,
Speaker: um and just agree with Ken Paxton that we should close the Republican primary in a federal lawsuit filed in Amarillo. um The court ordered the new Secretary of State, his name's Robert Howden, he's been like a long time muckety-muck for Abbott,
Speaker: to basically come on the record and give his opinion, to state his his position on the whole thing. And so we were all like worried. We were geared up. We were going to have to like file a motion to intervene in the case so that someone would be there to defend Texas law.
Speaker: So it's with mixed emotion that I tell you, dear dear listener, that Robert Howden came on board and said, The only thing that's different about this case is the name of the secretary. The defense continues.
Speaker: And that's good. The secretary of state's doing their job. Good job, Robert Howden. You're defending Texas's laws like you're supposed to. ah You're taking your job seriously, unlike Attorney General Ken Paxton. That's great.
Speaker: um That just means I have less to do. Right. I don't have a reason to intervene in the case and defend Texas law because someone's already doing it. um So I did a bunch of work over over a weekend for nothing.
Speaker: But ultimately, a good problem to have. Maybe you put pressure on them. so Yeah, exactly. We'll never know. i think I do think there actually is a lot to be said about people doing the right thing because they know.
Speaker: like a nonpartisan group of civically engaged veterans was keeping a watchful eye. So, all right, Katie, you've gotten time to think about it. As a media person with a perspective and a mission like ours, ah what do you think we have to do to flip Texas? What are your marching orders? Like not necessarily marching orders, but like your perspective as a person that is – Someone on the outside looking in what do you think we have to do Is there a certain candidate we have to push? Is there issues we need to push? Are we need areas we need to go to? Like, what do you think we really need to do?
Speaker: Yeah, im i you know I think it's just tap getting Texans to show up. And I know that that is so much easier said than done. um you know You hear all the time that Texas isn't a red state. It's a voter suppressed state. We saw the redistricting that happened. um And so I think, you know, Texas has a really talented slate of Democratic candidates in, you know, every on in every position on the ballot. um
Speaker: Statewide candidates who are really gaining momentum and um people are engaging with and are interested in. And I feel like that hasn't always been the case in in years past. um And just tapping into that, I think, and not getting stuck in our, ah you know, not getting stuck in your, whether that's a media bubble or your community bubble, you know, going out and having uncomfortable conversations with people who maybe you don't engage with every day. um You know, I think we have, there are,
Speaker: There are plenty of of left-leaning, Democratic, progressive, whoever, or even Republicans who just might be fed up with the state of Texas um voters in in Texas who just need to show up to the polls. And I think it's just capitalizing on the momentum that we've seen from these candidates. You know, I know I said that.
Speaker: Democrats in Texas are, they're just, they're campaigning hard and capitalizing on that, not letting that momentum falter and just investing in every voting block. You know, I know you said one thing that that the Texas Democrats can do better or to try and, you know, maybe in the future look towards if we do end up flipping Texas. You know, from one one thing that I will note when talking to constituents, to ah candidates, is that on, you know, the the main statewide ballot, we still, I believe there's maybe one
Speaker: person of color. And I do think that that's an important thing to address um because Texas is so diverse. um You know, it's, it's a beautiful state. Like people, I think people take Texas's, they, they overlook Texas's diversity um or they take it for granted.
Speaker: And I think just tapping into all communities and not letting the momentum dwindle and just engaging with them and doing whatever we can to get people to show up in November. Because you can, you know, someone who attended a rally in February, you know, maybe that was really great and exciting and fun for them. And but maybe they haven't done anything since. And how are we going to still get them to care and and show up. um So just just getting Texans to vote. And I you know i don't i don't have the answer on how how we can do that besides can just continuing to do what we're doing. um But just... just
Speaker: getting every like everyone you know text everyone you know to just be civically engaged and and and vote and to care um and I think that's kind of just the crux of what we're trying to do at courier is to get people to be informed and then you're informed and you know about it now continue to care about it i think is just what we need to need to keep doing I certainly share your hope for more diversity in general, ah though I would mention that beyond Gina Hinojosa, we also have Ben Flores and ah a couple of our nominees for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are also, yeah. So yeah I would also just, anyways. Well, and it's also geographically not diverse. As we've mentioned, I think on this podcast before, a lot of our nominees are coming from the Austin area. Yeah, Austin. Tallarico, Hinojosa, Goodwin, Eckhart.
Speaker: Yes. I think Clayton Tucker and John Rosenthal are outside of that area. Nathan Johnson here in Dallas. Nathan Johnson. yeah johnson oh We do have a lot of Austinites. Ben Flores. um Not to say that we don't like them, but it is a very Austin focused ballot. But anyways, we love them and we wish them the best, but I hear you on the future. Maybe we could get some nominees out of other areas and other more diverse areas. So, yeah um well, thank you, Katie, so much. We'll link your newsletter. i really want, I'm going to sign up for it myself. It's a great newsletter.
Speaker: Yeah. Especially in education. We'll sign off and say God bless Texas.
