Texas Monthly is a monthly
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
headquartered in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Texas Monthly is published by
Emmis Publishing, L.P.Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
and was founded in 1973 by
Michael R. LevyMichael R. Levy is the founder of Texas Monthly magazine, and was publisher until retirement in August 2008.A native of Dallas, Levy's father was a plumber. Levy once drove a taxi, and also worked as a jailer at the Dallas County Jail. He is a graduate of St...
,
Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, writing on
politicsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, the
environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
,
industryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, and
educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
,
artArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, dining, and travel.
Circulation
Texas Monthly has a paid circulation of 300,000 and is read by more than 2,500,000 people each month—one out of seven Texas adults. Its audience comprises about an equal number of men and women, most of whom are between the ages of 30 and 55.
Former president of Texas Monthly,
Evan SmithEvan Smith is the CEO and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.Born in New York, Smith has a bachelor's degree in public policy from Hamilton College and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University...
, said in the September 16 2009 issue of the Dallas Observer, that:
"The magazine's audience is "middle-aged" and "elite. I knew I was serving the elites rather than the masses. Is it any wonder, then, that when we occasionally gave in to the temptation to pander to the masses, we almost always pulled up short?"
In September 2009, due to declining circulation, Texas Monthly had to cut 4.5 percent of its employee work force, a total of 13 positions.
Subject matter
Texas Monthly takes as its premise that Texas began as a distinctive place and remains so. It is the self-appointed arbiter of all things culturally Texan, with past articles on Texas BBQ, the Texas Rangers (including
Joaquin JacksonH. Joaquin Jackson is a retired Texas Ranger most notable for his appearance on the February 1994 cover of Texas Monthly magazine, after which he became the icon of the modern Texas Rangers. Nick Nolte is said to have modeled his character in the movie Extreme Prejudice on him...
's famous 1994 cover appearance), and Texas musicians.
Texas Monthlys annual "Bum Steer Awards" poke fun at Texas politicians and policies, odd Texas-related news items and personalities from the previous year.
Anna Nicole SmithIn 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
(prior to her death) was a perennial "winner". Other Bum Steer "Hall of Famers" include
Ross PerotHenry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
,
Tom DeLayThomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, and
Jessica SimpsonJessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
. It releases biennial lists with explanations of the "Ten Best" and "Ten Worst" Texas state legislators.
Since the establishment of the magazine, barbecue enthusiasts had been among the Texas Monthly
staff. The magazine's first article about barbecue in TexasBarbecue is a traditional style of preparing beef in Texas and is one of the many different varieties of barbecue found around the world. Texas barbecue traditions can be divided into four general styles: East Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas. The Central and East Texas varieties...
was published in 1973. The magazine often ranks what it considers to be the best barbecue restaurants in Texas. Calvin Trillin of The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
said in 2008 that East Texas barbecue often did not interest the Austin-based staff of the Texas Monthly, who were more focused on Central Texas barbecue.
Texas Monthly Staff
The magazine's current editor (as of 2009) is
Jake SilversteinJake Silverstein was born in California 1975.In 2010 Silverstein became the editor of Texas Monthly, an American magazine.In April, 2010 Silverstein, shared with Skip Hollandsworth and Evan Smith the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing for “Still Life,” the story of John...
.
President:
Elynn J. Russell
Deputy Editor:
Brian D. Sweany
Senior Executive Editor:
Paul Burka
Creative Director:
T. J. Tucker
Executive Editors:
Skip HollandsworthWalter Ned Hollandsworth , better known by his pen name of Skip Hollandsworth, is a journalist and screenwriter, and is one of Texas’ best-known writers. He is the Executive Editor of Texas Monthly magazine, and also writes for Glamour magazine...
,
Patricia Sharpe,
Mimi Swartz
Awards
The magazine has received ten
National Magazine AwardThe National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...
s:
- General Excellence—2009, 2003, 1992, 1990
- Public Interest—1996, for "Not What the Doctor Ordered" by Mimi Swartz
- Photography—1990
- Reporting—1985, for "The Man in the Black Hat" (part 1 and 2) by Paul Burka
- Public Service—1980, for "Why Teachers Can't Teach" by Gene Lyons
- Reporting—1979, for a three-part series by Richard West
- Outstanding Editorial Achievement in Special Journalism—1974
A full list of awards is on
Texas Monthlys website.
Archives
The complete archives of
Texas Monthly (1972–present) are located at the
Wittliff collectionsThe Wittliff Collections, located on the seventh floor of the Albert B. Alkek Library at Texas State University, was founded by William D. Wittliff in 1987...
of Southwestern Writers, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.
Texas Monthly Press
In the 1980s, Texas Monthly Press published such books as
Goodbye to a RiverGoodbye to a River is a book by John Graves, published in 1960. It is a "semi-historical" account of a canoe trip made by the author during the fall of 1957 down a stretch of the Brazos River in North Central Texas, between Possum Kingdom Dam and Lake Whitney...
and
Hank the CowdogHank the Cowdog is series of humorous children's mystery novels, written by John R. Erickson and illustrated by Gerald L. Holmes.The series began in 1982 with a couple of short stories about the proud but bumbling Hank, the self-styled "Head of Ranch Security"...
and authors such as Bud Shrake, Stephen Harrigan and Gary Cartwright.
Gulf Publishing CompanyGulf Publishing Company is an international publishing and events business dedicated to the energy sector. Founded in 1916, Gulf Publishing produces and distributes trade journals, industry research, databases, software, publications, conferences and events designed for the needs of the energy...
purchased Texas Monthly Press in 1989.
External links