Last updated September 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 published by Dispatch Platforms, LLC, which also publishes Texas Talks, Titans of Texas and forthcoming Dispatch sites in Austin and Houston. Our largest shareholder is Michael Searle, principal of Searle Strategies, an Austin-based strategy firm. The Texas Dispatch was formerly the Lone Star Standard but no longer has any affiliation with that site or the companies currently operating that site. We state this plainly because many of our readers work in and around the Texas Capitol and deserve to know who publishes what they read.
How we report
Our standards: fact-based; original sources; claims attributed; numbers checked; corrections made promptly and noted in the story. Our research and first drafts are produced by AI systems we built. Every story is edited and published by a human editor.
News and opinion
Our news coverage is straight. Our editorial board is slightly right-of-center – where Texas is – and its view appear only in labeled opinion. Op-eds reflect their authors’ views, not the views of the Texas Dispatch.
How we are funded.
Subscriptions, advertising, and sponsorship.
- Rates are available and identical for every buyer.
- Sponsorships may be purchased directly or through any authorized agency. Searle Strategies is one of them, on the same terms as every other agency.
- Sponsors receive no editorial input, no preview of the coverage, and no veto.
Corrections
We correct errors quickly and visibly. If we got something wrong, write to editor@thetexasdispatch.com.