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Austin is considered among
the most competitive political news environments
in the country and its newspaper participants
already form a crowded field. Now the Texas capital
press corps has a relatively new addition to its
ranks, but rather than compete in print, Capitol
Inside (www.capitolinside.com), is testing whether
political news online can be a self-sustaining
business.
The Web site, edited and
published by Mike Hailey, is credited with breaking
news ahead of the pack, including a series of
stories in 2003 about Democratic state lawmakers'
departures from Texas to prevent a new congressional
redistricting map from being approved by majority
Republicans.
The site is read widely
by Texas capital power players, including lawmakers,
lobbyists, journalists, state government workers
and others, said Jay Root, capital bureau chief
of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I
think it¹s really taken off," he said.
The Web site includes
much information that might be of interest only
to insiders and not to a general audience. "I
think you can get away with stuff in an online
newsletter that you can¹t necessarily get
away with in print," Root said.
Capitol Inside is available
by subscription, and Hailey won¹t reveal
the current subscriber numbers. But he said there
are more Republican subscribers than Democrats,
a situation that is not surprising since the governor¹s
office and both branches of the legislature are
controlled by Republicans, the first time in Texas
since Reconstruction.
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| Mike
Hailey |
While economic woes across the
nation have led to a decline in advertising revenue
for many newspapers, the economics of running a
political news Web site are still being worked through.
But without the same production
costs as a print product, many consider Web sites
less sensitive to national economic downturns,
particularly in a company town like Austin where
inside political news is always sought after.
Hailey brings an insider¹s
perspective to the site. He was longtime reporter
for Austin American-Statesman and the Houston
Post. He took a turn through the revolving door
into government when he signed on as press secretary
for the late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock (D), and then
into partisan politics at the communications office
of the Texas Democratic Party. He returned to
journalism in 2003 when founded Capitol Inside
as a business venture.
David Mark |
