Austin American-Statesman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Austin American-Statesman logo.png | |
|---|---|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Cox Enterprises |
| Founded | 1871 (as the Democratic Statesman) |
| Headquarters | 305 S. Congress Ave. Austin, TX 78704 United States |
| | |
| Website: statesman.com | |
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication edited by Rich Oppel, who led his previous newspaper, the Charlotte Observer to multiple Pulitzers. The Statesman places focus on issues affecting Austin and the central Texas region.
The newspaper, owned by Cox Enterprises, claims a circulation of 185,000 daily and 235,000 Sunday.
The Statesman is often accused of being liberal, and is sometimes provocatively referred to as "Pravda on the Lower Colorado."[1] On balance, its editorials show it to be an amalgam of liberal philosophy combined with strong pro-business sentiment. In this, it reflects a sometimes astable balance between the Texas heritage of focusing on business and Austin's history of being youthful and liberal. The newspaper does not typically endorse libertarian or conservative political candidates; however, it did endorse George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. The Statesman also tends to provide fair coverage of Libertarian Party and Green Party matters.
The Austin American-Statesman competes with the Austin Chronicle, an alternative weekly. The paper tends to print Associated Press, New York Times and Los Angeles Times international and national news, but has strong central Texas coverage, especially in political reporting. The Statesman benefits from the culture and writing heritage of Austin, and sometimes features internationally known writers such as Molly Ivins, Kinky Friedman and others. It extensively covers the music scene, especially the annual South by Southwest Festival. The newspaper co-sponsors various charity events around Austin such as the Austin Marathon.
Without speculating as to causes, factually, the newspaper is not popular on a relative basis: Austin is the 16th largest city in the U.S., however the Austin American-Statesman does not rank in the top 25 U.S. newspapers according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. [2] Of course this is more likey due to the fact that Austin is only the 38th largest metropolitan area in the United States.[3]
