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Brandi Grissom

Brandi Grissom’s staff photo

Brandi Grissom worked at the Tribune from its launch in 2009 until 2014, rising to the rank of managing editor. In addition to editing duties, Grissom led the Tribune's coverage of criminal justice issues. During her tenure at the Tribune, she was chosen as a 2012 City University of New York Center on Media, Crime and Justice/H.F. Guggenheim Journalism Fellow and was a fellow at the 2012 Journalist Law School at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Grissom, along with Tribune multimedia producer Justin Dehn, received a 2012 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting for work on the case of Megan Winfrey, who was acquitted of murder in February 2013 after the Trib’s coverage brought statewide attention the case. Grissom joined the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she acted as a one-woman Capitol bureau. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors First-Place Award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities, and the ACLU of Texas named her legislative reporter of the year in 2007 for her immigration reporting. She previously served as managing editor at The Daily Texan and has worked for the Alliance Times-Herald, the Taylor Daily Press, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung and The Associated Press. A native of Alliance, Neb., she has a degree in history from the University of Texas.

Past Contributions

  • TribBlog: Perry Activates Border "Spillover" Plan

    By Brandi Grissom

    Gov. Rick Perry said he's activating the "first phase of the state’s spillover violence contingency plan" in the wake of increasing drug violence on the Texas-Mexico border. But the next sentence of the press release says he's not telling anyone what the plan is, for security reasons. Full Story 

    A screengrab from Perry's "Border" spot.
    Credit: Texans for Rick Perry

  • TribBlog: U.S. Dept. of State Says Stay Out of Mexico

    By Brandi Grissom

    Following the weekend killing in Juarez of three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez, the U.S. Department of State has issued a strongly worded and startling warning for Americans to stay away from Mexico. The department also has told family members of U.S. government officials in Mexican border towns they can return to the U.S. Full Story 

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  • Driven to Repeal

    By Brandi Grissom

    The Driver Responsibility Act, which levies hefty surcharges on minor offenders, has cost 1.2 million Texans their licenses, and most of the fees that were supposed to be collected have not materialized. At the direction of state lawmakers, the DPS is trying to get people to pay up and square things with the law. But critics want the program ended altogether. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Skinner Asks Perry for Reprieve

    By Brandi Grissom

    Lawyers for death row inmate Hank Skinner sent Gov. Rick Perry a letter yesterday asking him for a 30-day reprieve from Skinner's scheduled March 24 execution. The lawyers also asked Perry to order DNA testing on evidence that Skinner says could prove his innocence. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant MIller

  • TribBlog: Leaders OK Capitol Security Upgrades

    By Brandi Grissom

    The big three state leaders approved seven new security measures for the Capitol, and none of them are X-ray machines or metal detectors that the director of the top Texas police agency said are critical to keep the pink dome safe from armed intruders. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Potties, Pickups and Preparedness

    By Brandi Grissom

    Local governments, Native American tribes and nonprofit groups in Texas hauled in more than $298 million in federal homeland security grants from 2003 through 2008 and made more than 30,000 purchases, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of a Texas Department of Public Safety database. Much of the money has gone to improve local emergency response and to beef up police and fire departments — critical safety measures that taxpayers might not have been able to afford without assistance from Washington. But it's unclear how some of the expenditures have made the state, or the nation, more resistant to terror attacks. Full Story 

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