Listen
As longtime Houstonians know, this city was, for generations, a two newspaper town. Throughout the 20th century, the Houston Post rivaled the Houston Chronicle as the paper of record for Greater Houston. Next month marks the 20th anniversary of the Post's demise.
On this edition of Houston Matters, we look back at the history and identity of the Post with former Post columnists Juan Palomo and Tom Kennedy, and the paper's longtime book editor, Elizabeth Bennett.
Then, we talk with Michael Berryhill, Associate Professor and Chair of Journalism at Texas Southern University, and Garth Jowett, Professor of Communication at the University of Houston, about the two newspaper town dynamic Houston once had, and how fewer and fewer cities – even big ones – can sustain two major daily papers anymore. We then consider whether that's something to bemoan, or just accept, in a digital world where all media competes with one another on all platforms, 24/7, and more and more people cite social media like Twitter or other aggregators of content as their primary source of news.
Read more about the Houston Post:
Houston Post staffers discuss closure 20 years ago April 9 at Bellaire Civic Center
Texas State Historical Association on history of Houston Post
A photo history of the Houston Post
Also this hour: We talk with Dr. Hagop Kantarjian, the Chair of MD Anderson Cancer Center’s leukemia department, about his call to cancer patients and survivors to join a grassroots effort denouncing the high cost of cancer drugs. Kantajarian tells Maggie Martin the only way cancer drug costs will change is if patients speak out. He's started a petition, and hopes to gather more than a million signatures.
And: Remember the swing dance revival in the 1990s? “Jump, Jive and Wail,” those Gap ads, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Brian Setzer Orchestra? Well, neo-swing never really went away here in Houston, as evidenced by this weekend's Lindyfest and Lone Star Championships. Michael Hagerty will have a report.
