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Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and Press
Secretary Mike Hailey - Texas Senate Photo 1997 |
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INSIDE INFORMATION
Capitol
Inside Brings Unique and Entertaining
Perspective to Texas Politics and Government
Information
is power - and that's what Capitol Inside is all about. Power.
Capitol Inside is an ideal source of news and information about Texans
who run government and what they are doing to lead. Capitol Inside
has received won national acclaim in Campaigns & Elections magazine
as a publication that's "breaking news ahead of the pack" in
one of the nation's most competitive environments for political news.
That was after our first year in business. As an encore to that we decided
to do even better.
Capitol Inside - as a result - has become
the go-to source of political news in Texas for people who want the real
story and what it all means. We take our readers between the lines with
coverage that's unique, entertaining and more analytical than any reporting
you will find on the Texas political scene. Capitol Inside is
updated daily with a refreshing blend of hard news reports and analyses,
special features and breaking news bulletins on our scrolling news ticker.
The web site is non-partisan - with a rapidly-growing
subscriber base that includes members of the Legislature and Congress,
statewide elected leaders, lobbyists, state and local agency officials,
political consultants, state and national party leaders, journalists,
professional associations, law firms, corporate offices, activists and
others who want to gain the competitive advantage that's needed to succeed.
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Mike
Hailey is an award-winning writer and editor who has been in and
around Texas government and politics for more than 20 years. Hailey
earned a reputation as one of the leading journalists in the state
while covering the Texas Capitol for the Austin American-Statesman
and The Houston Post. He joined the Capitol press corps
in early 1984 in time to cover the summer special session that produced
the historic public education reforms in House Bill 72. Hailey's
first experience on the statewide campaign trail came later that
year when he was assigned to travel with Democrat Lloyd Doggett
in his race for the U.S. Senate against Republican Phil Gramm. The
Austin newspaper turned to Hailey to cover the state budget crisis
that led to a record tax bill in 1987 - and by 1990 he was in the
thick of the wildest governor's race ever while traveling first
with Ann Richards and then with Clayton Williams until they crossed
the finish line.
Hailey crossed the line to the "dark
side" when Bob Bullock summoned him back to be his press secretary
in the lieutenant governor's office in the wake of the Post's sudden
demise one day in 1995. Hailey was on board for the last three years
of Bullock's legendary career and his final regular session, which
revolved on then-Governor George W. Bush's push for property tax
reform.
Hailey spent the next three years at the
Texas Democratic Party, rebuilding the communications office from
the ashes with a successful plan aimed at revitalizing the state
party's image and boosting its visibility across the state and the
nation. He designed an elections media strategy that put the so-called
Dream Ticket in position to gain national acclaim before falling
victim to Rick Perry and the Republicans in 2002.
Two months after that election, Hailey rolled
the dice on a creative vision and created Capitol Inside,
which made its debut online in January 2003. He declared from the
outset that the newsletter would be a non-partisan source of news
and information that would be fun to read and explore and valuable
to insiders as a professional resource and tool. The venture exceeded
all expectations from the start - and now Hailey's proud to say
that the subscriber base mirrors the percentages that Republicans
and Democrats have in the Texas Legislature and the state's delegation
to Congress as well.
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