Last updated July 2026
Why The Texas Dispatch exists
99% of what happens in Texas government never makes a headline — not because it doesn’t matter, but because no newsroom was built to cover it. Of the thousands of bills filed each session, only a few hundred ever get press. The Texas Dispatch was built to cover the rest: the legislation, rulemakings, agency actions, and public business that shape Texas.
Who owns The Texas Dispatch
The Texas Dispatch is the flagship publication of Dispatch Media Group and is owned and operated by Searle Strategies and Pipeline Advisors, Austin-based strategy and investment firms. We state this plainly because our readers — many of whom work in and around the Texas Capitol — deserve to know who publishes what they read. We believe transparency about ownership, paired with real editorial standards, is a higher standard than nominal independence with hidden interests.
How editorial decisions are made
News coverage is directed by our editorial standards, which holds final authority over what we publish and how it is framed. Our reporting standards are simple: policy not politics; fact-based; original sources; claims attributed; numbers checked; corrections made promptly and noted in the story.
Some of our reporting begins with AI-assisted research and drafting tools built by our team. Every story is reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication.
How the Dispatch is funded
The Texas Dispatch is supported by sponsors — organizations that fund this newsroom because they value what it covers and the audience that reads it. Our sponsorship model is simple and the same for everyone:
- Sponsorship is open to anyone. There is no inner circle. Any organization may support this newsroom on the same terms.
- Sponsorship buys support for the newsroom — not the newsroom’s judgment. Sponsors receive no editorial input, no preview of coverage, and no veto. Stories are published because they meet our standards, and for no other reason.
- Opinion is labeled. Op-eds and commentary are identified as opinion and reflect their authors’ views, not the newsroom’s.
Corrections
We correct errors quickly and visibly. If we got something wrong, write to editor@thetexasdispatch.com.