Austin, TX

Statesman executive editor to step down, take top editor role at Houston news outlet

Published

8 months ago

March 15, 2024

Statesman executive editor to step down, take top editor role at Houston news outlet

Austin American-Statesman

American-Statesman Executive Editor Manny García will step down this month to take the role of editor in chief at the Houston Landing, a digital nonprofit news organization.

García’s last day with the Statesman will be March 29. Gannett, the Statesman’s parent company, will conduct a nationwide search for a successor.

“A career highlight for me has been leading the Austin American-Statesman for the past three years,” García said. “It is among the strongest and most talented news teams in all of Texas. No one can tell the story of Austin and Central Texas better than our award-winning newsroom. Period.

“The #MightyStatesman has a great future because of the talented bench of journalists that we have and the top-shelf leadership team that is in place.”

García joined the Statesman in 2021. The February 2021 winter storm caused a major power crisis and disruptions to water systems across Texas, including in Austin, two weeks into his tenure. García drove his truck in the snow to pick up Statesman journalists stranded in their homes and take them to the newsroom, which had power and water.

The newspaper’s “defining moment,” in García’s words, came more than a year later, when a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.

Under his leadership, the Statesman became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service in 2023 for “unflinching coverage of local law enforcement’s flawed response” to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas history.

García won the Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation in 2022.

Judges who chose García for the top honor cited his decision to publish a video obtained by Statesman journalist Tony Plohetski that showed multiple law enforcement officers stalling in a hallway at Robb Elementary for 77 minutes before a U.S. Border Patrol SWAT team confronted and killed the gunman. The footage disproved early claims by law enforcement and government leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, that officers had rushed in heroically to save lives.

After a federal review of the shooting, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 18 in Uvalde called the police response the “most significant failure” and said a Justice Department report concluded that had police rushed to confront the shooter, “lives would have been saved and people would have survived.”

A special Texas House committee impaneled to investigate the shooting released its report in July 2022 but would not have a Spanish version of the document for weeks, it said. For Uvalde — a community with more than 80% Hispanic or Latino residents and where half the residents age 5 or older speak a language other than English at home — García got to work to get Spanish speakers the House’s shooting report sooner.

García led the translation effort through a collaboration with Spanish-speaking journalists from USA Today and across the U.S. and in Mexico. The Statesman printed 10,000 copies of the report, and staffers, including García, distributed them for free in Uvalde at churches, restaurants, convenience stores, the library and other locations.

“The Statesman is so fortunate to have had Manny García leading our team and helping us become better journalists,” Managing Editor Courtney Sebesta said. “It’s an honor to help lead the Statesman and support the colleagues I’ve worked alongside for 22 years during this transition. Our Statesman journalists are extremely dedicated to their community and will continue to steadfastly report on issues that are important to Central Texans.”

García has previously held leadership roles at the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald, The Naples Daily Herald, USA Today and the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative. He has also served journalism through the Investigative Reporters and Editors, the News Leaders Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

“We sincerely appreciate Manny’s contributions and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors,” said Kristin Roberts, chief content officer of Gannett. “We are excited about the opportunity to find an Austin American-Statesman executive editor to serve the community and create the growth plan for the No. 1 source for Austin and Texas breaking news, politics and business.”

Source link

Click to comment

Austin, TX

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

Published

6 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas had a strong showing on OpenTable’s 2024 Top 100 Restaurants with 10 establishments making the list.

What You Need To Know

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users

The Lone Star State had the second-most restaurants on the list, tied with Illinois, behind California, which had a whopping 19 restaurants featured.

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list.

Aba – Austin
J Carver’s
Jeffrey’s Restaurant
Red Ash Italia
Sammie’s Italian
Uchi Austin
Uchiko Austin

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list.

Steak 48 – Houston
Signature – San Antonio
Hudson House – Lovers Lane – Dallas

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users.

According to OpenTable’s website, restaurants with enough reviews are automatically considered and are evaluated by their ratings, percentage of five-star reviews, number of alerts set, percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches.

Source link

Austin, TX

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

Published

14 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

AUSTIN — Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald made his mark in the Longhorn secondary on Saturday.

McDonald recorded his first career interception, and it was one for the books.

With five minutes left in the first half as Texas led 14-7, Kentucky had possession. The crowd went wild as McDonald dove for the ball to get possession back to the Longhorn offense. Commentators described the play as a “Superman” performance.

WENT FULL SUPERMAN FOR THIS PICK 👀🤯@TexasFootball x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/ZV5AxOSWo7
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 23, 2024
Advertisement

McDonald’s teammates also had their takes on the play.

“Superman…I mean everybody knows how athletic Jelani is, we’ve been talking about that all season, and even tied back to last season,” Michael Taaffe said. “He’s so athletic. I’m glad he finally got to show that and for you all to see, because we’ve known that forever.”

McDonald has totaled 22 tackles this season, playing in every conference and two non-conference games.

While he’s not a name on everyone’s mouths, like Quinn Ewers, Isaiah Bond, Taaffe or Kelvin Banks Jr., McDonald proved once and for all his impact on the team. McDonald could very much have a breakout season in 2025, and this play, which recorded Texas’ 16th interception of the season taking the national record, opened up the doors for his campaign.

That pick could even be awarded play of the year.

“I’ve been just happy to see him grow and get better as a player,” Anthony Hill Jr., who played with McDonald in the Freshman All-American game, said.

“He was playing corners, so I was like ‘Who’s this guy,’ and then one the game, he’s playing linebackers, and at one game he’s playing safety,” Hill said.

McDonald has one more shot to showcase his talent in the regular season as Texas faces Texas A&M next Saturday. But with two years left of eligibility, the sky is the limit.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Texas Longhorns Final Regular Season Test vs. Texas A&M Aggies Could Be Toughest Yet

MORE: Texas Longhorns Survive Slow Second Half to Take Down Kentucky Wildcats

MORE: Gunnar Helm’s Two TDs Gives Texas Longhorns Halftime Lead vs. Kentucky Wildcats

MORE: Quinn Ewers Returns vs. Kentucky Wildcats After Exiting Medical Tent

MORE: Texas Longhorns QB Commit Dia Bell Sends Message After Serious Leg Injury

Source link

Austin, TX

No. 3 Texas ends UK’s bowl chances

Published

23 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

AUSTIN, Tx. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Wildcats (4-7, 1-7 SEC) ended their SEC slate with a 31-14 loss on the road against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 SEC). For the first time in eight seasons, UK will not be bowl eligible.

Junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff started the game for the Cats, going 3-7 for 51 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The staff opted to once against start true freshman Cutter Boley in the second half. The LCA alum wet 10-18 for 160 yards and an interception in the loss.

The Wildcats went 1-2 in the red zone and just 2-12 on third down conversions.

Senior inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson had a 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and also led the defense in tackles with eight.

Texas junior QB Quinn Ewers went 20-31 for 191 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns.

The season concludes next week as Kentucky hosts the Governor’s Cup game against Louisville at Kroger Field. Kick-off is set for noon on the SEC Network.

Source link