T-Squared: It's All About Impact

Much has been said in the last week (not all of it by us!) about the fifth anniversary of the Tribune's launch. It was a fine opportunity to reflect on how far we've come with the generous backing of foundations, corporations and individuals — including and most importantly our members. Community buy-in was always an essential element of the plan we hatched for a citizen-supported digital media organization, and it remains crucial to our success today. If folks all over the state are engaged by and with our news reporting, data journalism and suite of editorial events, then we're living up to our mission.

One measure of that engagement — maybe the best, and straight from the public media playbook — is their willingness to kick in a few bucks to help pay our freight. We've signed up thousands of members at a variety of levels since November of 2009, from college students ponying up $10 a year to higher-end types who pledge $5,000 a year for three years or more. Today, as we kick off our fall membership drive, we hope to corral a bunch more, and the argument for supporting us couldn't be clearer.

In a word, it's all about impact. For five years we've delivered on our promise to cover public policy and politics with ambition and moxie — giving average citizens more reliable access to nonpartisan information, holding elected and appointed officials accountable and providing the greatest possible transparency into the inner workings of government. We really do believe that educating our friends and neighbors about the issues that affect every one of us will make them more thoughtful and productive in their daily lives. We really do believe that smarter Texans equal a better Texas.

If you agree, click here to learn how we put your member dollars to work. Then click here to give! We have amazing things in the works for the next five years, and with your help, we'll accomplish all of them and much more.