Posted by My friends and former colleagues at The Texas Observer have raised more than $200,000 in an attempt to save the famous magazine after the magazine’s board announced it would close Friday. My position is that the magazine can be saved with some pare-downs and conversion to an all-electronic version.
The news coverage has been fast and furious and I wanted to make this clarification about some of my statements.
Some published accounts quoting me have been interpreted as stating that the Texas Observer ran into cash flow problems because the Tejemos Foundation, headed by Lynne Dobson and Greg Wooldridge, did not fulfill their grant commitment. The grant was designed to be match based, and was intended to drive fundraising and build a long-term financial viability.
The Observer did not follow the correct protocol in applying for distribution of the 2023 portion of the grant. We made incorrect funding assumptions. Any notion that the Tejemos Foundation caused the Observer problems is wrong. The Tejemos Foundation has been steadfast in its support for the Texas Observer at all times.
Robert R. Frump,
Former Special Advisor
Texas Observer