Onward (in a different kind of way…)

I write you all this morning with a bit of news: At the end of May, I’ll head over to The Texas Observer, where I will serve as that venerable publication’s publisher. I’m also pleased to say that the Austin Monitor will be in good hands. Ashley Fisher, who many of you know from both her community work and her time at City Hall, will serve as our interim publisher. The board of our parent nonprofit, the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, will conduct a search for a permanent replacement. It plans to make a call sometime around the first of the year.

Meanwhile, the members of the CoTMF board have asked me to join up. I’m pleased to take them up on the offer, so I will stay involved and continue to lend my efforts to the success of the Monitor.

Before I go further, I want to thank all of you for the support you’ve shown our organization. Whether you read, subscribe, donate, show up to our events or all the above, you’ve made this thing go. And, in so doing, you’ve created space for better, independent, locally focused journalism in the city of Austin. Thank you, both as the departing head of this organization, and as a private citizen who has and will benefit from the organization you’ve helped build.

Just a couple of notes about the future before I let Ashley tell you about who she is: First up, we’re going to keep on keeping on. Expect Game Nights – the first of which we and our partners at Glasshouse Policy will host on June 1 (where we invite you to play a game about CodeNEXT) – City Summit, great coverage by Liz Pagano and our editorial team, radio programs and all of the same Monitor awesomeness that you are used to.

You can also expect continued efforts to move things forward. This coming Tuesday, come out as we and our partners at GivingCity Austin unveil a new way to take part in things both CoTMF and the Austin community.

I’ll close here by again saying thanks. This has been an incredible thing you’ve let me do. I’m grateful to all of you.

That all said, I’ll let Ashley tell you more about who she is, and what she’s thinking:

Thanks, Mike. Hello, everyone!

I have been a loyal reader of the Monitor since the beginning. I feel honored to join this organization and continue Mike’s (and the rest of the team’s) great work. As a citizen, the Monitor has helped me stay informed and engaged. Not many communities have the independent local coverage that this publication provides, and we are a better community for having it.

I’ve met many of you through my career, my community involvement, or my children’s activities, and I look forward to meeting more of you in the future. Throughout my life, my work has been community-focused, and I welcome this new opportunity to contribute to an organization that has provided so much value to the community I love. Thank you for trusting me to carry the baton forward.

Onward!

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.