Texas Monthly editor walks back comments about longform journalism

Texas Monthly Editor-in-Chief Tim Taliaferro on Tuesday backed away from comments made during an interview with Columbia Journalism Review that indicated the magazine was retreating from political and longform journalism.

In a note published on Texas Monthly, Taliaferro said that he “unfortunately gave the CJR the wrong impression” when he told the journalism review that “Texans don’t care about politics.”

“Let me first say that I know Texans care about politics, and deeply, especially in these times,” Taliaferro wrote. “Let me also say that I am committed to covering politics, as Texas Monthly has done since its inception, and to uphold its tradition of longform journalism.”

As a general interest magazine, Texas Monthly can also distinguish itself with coverage of topics like barbecue, energy, music and football, Taliaferro wrote.

I have loved Texas Monthly since I was a junior in college. It was the magazine that made me realize what journalism could do and be for a community. The way it trained a careful and scrutinizing eye on Texas political figures and explored the public policy questions facing our state helped me see that smart reporting and beautiful storytelling could change lives. It could also be a ton of fun. After interning at Texas Monthly and seeing what went into making a great magazine, it became my dream to one day work here and carry on a tradition I deeply admired.

Taliaferro initially tweeted Monday that CJR had taken his comments out of context. CJR responded with an excerpt from the exchange.

Amazing to have a quote taken so far out of context by the @CJR. Texas Monthly has and always will cover politics.

— Tim Taliaferro (@timtaliaferro) February 20, 2017

Here’s some additional context for the quote from @timtaliaferro in our story about Texas Monthly. https://t.co/OSk9ALI5Z4 pic.twitter.com/n0QGsEA6t1

— CJR (@CJR) February 21, 2017

Benjamin Mullin is the managing editor of Poynter.org. He previously reported for Poynter as a staff writer, Google Journalism Fellow and Naughton Fellow, covering journalism innovation, business practices and ethics. He’s also reported for USA TODAY College and The Sacramento Bee, and he was editor in chief of The Orion, Chico State’s student-run newspaper. An Air Force brat who grew up around Northern California, he’s still adjusting to the Florida sunshine.