There is a point in every Texas Observer magazine production cycle—usually after the first, sometimes second, round of proofing—when Adam Muro, our copy editor, has caught most of the typos; when the captions have all been fixed so none of them read “so-and-so poses for a picture”; when I’ve finally turned in my editor’s letter, and we’ve argued about what words should go on the cover, that I sit back and think, “Holy hell, this is a real-ass magazine.”
Which is to say, when you’re enmeshed in the day-to-day of producing journalism, it’s easy to miss the magic. Whether you’re catching up during the holidays on all the #longform #mustread stories from the last year—or boning up on the issue prior to #txlege2023, here’s a list of some of this year’s most magical Texas Observer stories for you.
Our environmental reporter, Delger Erdenesanaa, has taught me a lot about oysters and oyster fishing—one way you can replenish oyster populations is by taking leftover shells and sprinkling them on top of reefs to serve as homes. But if I had to pick one piece from this year that everyone here should read, it’s “Injured, Sick, Widowed, and Sued”—about cities in Texas clawing back first responders’ workers’ compensation. It’s beautifully written, deeply reported, and tragic. The story examines how self-insured cities have sued some first responders and their families to keep them from collecting workers’ comp benefits—including a firefighter who fought to help expand such benefits for his colleagues and a policeman killed on the job. Both men were lauded as heroes in their local communities.
