From the response to cases of Ebola here in Texas and now in New York City, to the shooting and aftermath in Ferguson, Missouri, to the battle over Houston’s equal rights ordinance, and concerns about undocumented children crossing the border, the news media has had a lot of important stories to examine in recent months. From time to time on Houston Matters, we examine how journalists locally, nationally, and internationally have handled some of the major stories impacting our lives.
On this edition of Houston Matters, we turn to a panel of Houston-based journalists to discuss the best and worst of recent news media coverage, on issues here in Houston, across Texas, across the country, and around the world. We welcome your thoughts for Mike Snyder, the assistant city editor for the Houston Chronicle, Doris Ellis, publisher of The Houston Sun, and Houston media blogger Mike McGuff.
Also this hour: Each quarter, the Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank, and CB Insights release what's known as the "Halo Report." They examine angel group investment activity. Such “angel investors” are venture capitalists who invest money in the early stages of a developing company. (Think “Shark Tank”). In the first quarter of this year, out of ten regions examined by the Halo Report, Texas ranked dead last in the number of early stage or angel investors. Texas fared better in the 2nd quarter, but it would seem not to make much sense. How could Texas – a state known for favoring business, with a number of well-known families with deep pockets looking to invest – ever be lacking in angel investors? We ask Russ Capper, founder and host of The BusinessMakers Show and The Energy Makers Show. (He's also one of our rotating panelists on the Friday conversation The Good the Bad and the Ugly).
Plus: The Face of Texas is a book, first published in 2003, featuring nearly 80 photographs of Texans from all walks of life, including some well-known figures, like Willie Nelson, George Strait and Beyoncé Knowles. The photos were taken by Michael O’Brien over 30 years. The book is now in its second edition with more than a dozen new photos, accompanied by profiles written by O’Brien’s wife Elizabeth. Houston Matters’ Maggie Martin will talk with the O’Briens about the book.
