The Austin Monitor joins forces with the Texas Tribune 

Today we’re humbled and honored to share the next chapter of our mission: The Austin Monitor has joined the Texas Tribune in a strategic acquisition designed to expand local news coverage in Austin. This partnership will combine the Monitor’s deep roots in Austin reporting with the Tribune’s award-winning journalism and infrastructure. Together, we’ll build a new, rebranded local newsroom that reaches more people, engages more deeply and better informs you and your neighbors about the forces shaping our city.

Local journalism is undergoing a profound transformation. Once anchored by legacy newspapers, the local news ecosystem has faced decades of disruption – from the collapse of traditional business models to the explosion of digital and social media that further muddies that waters on what constitutes news. And yet, amid all this change, one thing has remained constant: the public’s need for trustworthy, relevant reporting about the places they call home.

The Austin Monitor has been a steady hand through this historic period of transformation. With roots that stretch back to the mid-90’s and our launch as a nonprofit in 2013, we’ve seen it all. We’ve endured because our news coverage, focus and quality has never waivered and because we serve a community that is uniquely curious and committed to making Austin a great place to live. 

The Texas Tribune is a pioneer in nonprofit news, and their award-winning reporting and growth strategies have inspired countless newsrooms across the country. Following the launch of their local news network initiative last fall, we opened up a series of conversations with the Tribune team, all rooted in two key questions: What kind of local news ecosystem does Austin need? And how do we build it together? Throughout our talks we continually found common ground in both values and vision, and in the belief that we can be better together than we are apart.

This strategic acquisition will:

• Allow for civically engaged Monitor readers to stay in the loop about City Hall and the ramifications of local government decisions.
• Enhance the new newsroom’s coverage by dedicating more resources to help Austinites better understand how local policies directly impact their daily lives and how to get more involved in their community.
• Create more opportunities for direct engagement through public events that contextualize local news.
• Provide Austin-area residents with a new ability to have questions answered about local systems and institutions that shape their lives
• Leverage technology to give residents more ways to discover and connect to local issues through video, audio, and data journalism 
• Allow for deeper partnerships with other news outlets and community organizations, unlocking collaborative solutions to our most pressing challenges.

As integration and development of a new newsroom moves forward, we will continue delivering our daily local coverage and creating journalism that directly responds to residents’ needs. Your readership and support of our work and mission is just as important and valued now as it was yesterday. The Monitor’s nonprofit is still active in this period of integration and our reporting will not stop. 

Behind the scenes, the Texas Tribune will provide vital support in areas like fundraising, human resources, technology, legal and operations — so we can focus more of our energy on reporting and serving you. Editorially, we’ll expand on the enduring foundation the Austin Monitor has built with an ongoing commitment to reporting on local issues. 

This is a big move for the Austin Monitor. But the Monitor has a history of big moves from launching as a nonprofit in 2013 to removing our paywall in 2021. Our measure for success has always been how well we serve our readers, and we view this moment as an inflection point and a chance to double down on our mission and build something that serves residents for many years to come. Simply put, we want to help make Austin the most informed and engaged city in the country, and this next chapter is a huge step forward in making this a reality. 

This ambitious vision is only possible with you. We’ve been doing this for a long time and have deep insights and understanding of our city – but, with your help, we want to go even deeper. In this spirit, you’ll see more updates coming from us about  how you can add your voice and help  create a locally-focused, mission-driven, top-tier news organization. 

To everyone who has supported the Monitor over the years by reading, subscribing, donating or simply caring: We want to say thank you. Your trust and engagement are what made this next step possible. We’re proud of our history and even more excited about our future. And we’re honored to take this next step forward with you.

Additional Information:

• Read more about the acquisition on the Texas Tribune’s site here.
• We’ve created a list of FAQs about this exciting development for the Austin Monitor

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.