Now that digital newsroom has a name, a website and a growing roster of journalists — including yours truly.

The name of this ambitious news operation is the Houston Landing, a nod to the Bayou City’s origins at Allen’s Landing in 1836 and NASA’s mission to the moon more than a century later. Our full website will launch later this spring, but you can visit the early version of the site to sign up for updates, search for job openings, get to know our growing team of award-winning journalists and read the types of stories we’re going to be digging into.

Longtime readers of this blog (hi, Mom!) know that I’ve always been a fan of newspapers. That hasn’t changed. I worked for three years at the Houston Chronicle and for more than two decades at its sister paper in San Antonio, the Express-News. I still believe if you don’t subscribe to your friendly neighborhood local newspaper, you’re simply missing out.

But I’m also a fan of good journalism wherever it exists. And these days, nonprofit newsrooms are emerging across the country to fill the void created by budget cuts and layoffs plaguing the media industry.

A not-so-new revenue model

Ever since the Texas Tribune announced it was hiring a team of veteran reporters in 2009 to launch a digital, nonprofit news operation, I’ve watched from afar, maybe a little enviously, as it tried new things and got people excited about the civic importance of journalism. So when the yet-to-be-named nonprofit newsroom in Houston hired my boss at the Chronicle to be its first editor in chief in August after a national job search, my interest piqued.

Mizanur Rahman was a longtime editor at the Chronicle, most recently leading the investigations team where I worked. He’s a thoughtful journalist who always made our stories better and he’s simply an incredible human being.

After he left the paper, Miz and I met at Campesino Coffee House and I thought we’d talk about all the things I should be doing as I desperately tried to fill his shoes as his temporary replacement on the I-Team. Instead, he told me about his vision for the nonprofit and asked whether I wanted to join him and help build something new as his second in command.

A focus on local news

We both agree the greater Houston area has no shortage of media outlets producing exceptional journalism. But Miz said there is a shortage of in-depth local news that’s accessible to everyone. You can read about our goals for the Landing and the problems we want to fix in his announcement letter to the community:

The American Journalism Project, which helps build nonprofit newsrooms, conducted surveys, interviews and focus groups with residents of Greater Houston. The message was clear: People do not feel they have access to the trustworthy, local and deeply reported stories they need for their daily lives.

We’re trying to fix that.

The Houston Landing will provide trusted reporting about local issues important to our region, stories that offer solutions to pressing problems and investigative journalism that keeps the powerful accountable.

I trust Miz and decided to join him as the Landing’s managing editor. Our full site will launch later this spring as we grow into one of the largest nonprofit newsrooms in the U.S. that’s devoted to local news. We hope to collaborate with other media outlets in the Houston area and share their top stories.

Meanwhile, you can check out our preliminary site and learn more about our founding team of award-winning journalists: investigative reporter Alex Stuckey; columnist Maggie Gordon; diverse communities reporter Monique Welch; and our photo editor, Marie D. De Jesús.

I hope you’ll join us on this journey. If you have any questions or ideas about our next moves, we’re listening. I’ve always believed journalism should be a two-way conversation. The Houston Landing is making good on that promise.

The post The Houston Landing has big plans for local news. Join us. appeared first on John Tedesco.

Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Sunday that Ezra Blount, a 9-year-old boy who was trampled by the crowd, died from extensive injuries, making him the 10th and youngest victim. Blount’s father had tried to save the boy by hoisting him on his shoulders, but lost conciousness as the crowd pressed against him.

If you attended the Astroworld Festival and shot video, you can help us investigate what went wrong and why.

The Houston Chronicle set up a web form where fans can submit videos they shot at the chaotic concert. The timestamps and locations of the videos can help a team of reporters construct a timeline of what happened. Timestamps were incredibly useful for my colleagues Zach Despart and Dug Begley when we wrote this initial account of the mayhem:

At 9:11 p.m., concertgoer Eric Daniels, 47, began taking video of attendees trying to escape the section closest to the stage. Timestamps from the videos he and others took reveal a chronology of the mounting chaos.

At 9:23 p.m., concertgoer Ellen Elise Evans filmed fans climbing speaker rigging to escape the crush. Unable to move in the throng, she described those moments as the scariest in her life.

“People were getting pushed down or around. It was a tidal wave of human bodies,” Evans said. “I saw girls crying and wanting to leave.”

At 9:24 p.m., as Scott noticed a man who had a climbed a tree for a better view, fans to the left of the stage were screaming for a medic and waving their hands to get his attention. Scott launched into his song “No Bystanders.”

At 9:28 p.m., Daniels filmed staff performing chest compressions on an unresponsive man in the crowd.

“It was devastating because we saw people who were oblivious, enjoying the concert and celebrating, while right next to them, there’s somebody on the ground fighting for their life,” said Daniels, who attended the show with his 18-year-old son.

You can help us piece together this tragedy with video you took as a witness. Or, if you’re a first responder or concert promoter with information or documents that can shed light on what went wrong, here’s every conceivable way to get in touch with us.

The post We’re investigating what went wrong at the Travis Scott concert. Here’s how to help. appeared first on John Tedesco.

Isolating ourselves is the best way to guard against the coronavirus, but it’s more important than ever for journalists to make connections with real people like you during this crisis and listen to your stories.

Maybe we can’t meet in person for the foreseeable future. Maybe the only way we can communicate is through a Zoom video conference while my kids play Minecraft and yell insults at each other.

That’s OK.

Journalists at the Houston Chronicle created this online form to make it easier for you to contact us. If you feel comfortable talking to a reporter and sharing how COVID-19 has directly affected you, your job or your loved ones, please fill out this form and a Houston Chronicle reporter will get in touch with you.

Thanks for reading, and keep in touch.

The post Journalists want to hear your coronavirus story. Here’s how to reach the Houston Chronicle appeared first on John Tedesco.