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62-737: In 1977 it was known as the Texas Gay Political Caucus . From 1980 to 1985 was known as the Houston Gay Political Caucus or simply the Gay Political Caucus . By 1991 it was known as the Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus . On September 1, 2021, the membership of the organization voted to change the name from Houston GLBT Political Caucus to Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus in the spirit of diversity and inclusion. The Caucus

124-502: A bookkeeper. Jones took an interest in the young man's career, and put him through law school. Creekmore passed the bar exam in 1932 and returned to work for Jones. He held several positions in the Jones business empire. In 1959, he was named to the board of Houston Endowment, and was promoted to president of the board in 1964. By 1965, Creekmore had persuaded other directors of Houston Endowment to sell several business properties, including

186-473: A citywide program that provides needy children between the ages of two and ten with toys during the winter holidays . In 2003, Goodfellows distributed almost 250,000 toys to more than 100,000 needy children in the Greater Houston area. In 1926, Jesse H. Jones became the sole owner of the paper. He had approached Foster about selling, and Foster had answered, "What will you give me?" Jones described

248-742: A conference in San Antonio one weekend in May 1976. The Democratic primary was held on Saturday; it was crucial to re-elect state Rep. Ron Waters in the Montrose/Heights district. Marsters astutely urged everyone going out of town to vote absentee. He was a driving force in getting the Caucus involved in local politics. In its early years, the group struggled to find candidates who would actively seek its endorsement, but members persisted in grassroots efforts, from printing endorsement cards to working

310-604: A major renovation and modernization project, which was completed in the late 1960s. On April 25, 2017, it was imploded and reduced to rubble. The site is now occupied by the Texas Tower. The newspaper and its staff have several times been Pulitzer finalists: In April 2004 the Houston Chronicle began carrying a Spanish-language supplement, the entertainment magazine La Vibra . La Vibra caters to speakers of Spanish and bilingual English-Spanish speakers, and

372-417: A maze of corridors, cul-de-sacs and steps that seemed to spring on strollers at the most unexpected times." The facility, which was 106 years old in 2016, was originally four separate structures, which were joined to make one building. Jesse H. Jones erected the first Chronicle building, a long, narrow structure clad in granite, on the corner of Travis Street and Texas Avenue in 1910. The second building,

434-560: A much admired mailing list. "The List" allowed the organization to mobilize effectively the gay community during elections and remains its most powerful organizing tool today. The screening committee was first chaired by Leland Marsters , who represented Precinct 34 (lower Westheimer) on the Harris County Democratic Executive Committee. His political experience was quite valuable to the new organization. For example, many leaders planned to attend

496-475: A note for 500,000 secured by a mortgage on the Chronicle Building, the note to be payable (interest and principal) at the rate of 35,000 a year for thirty-five years, which I figured was about his expectancy. I would also pay him 20,000 dollars a year as editor of the paper and 6,000 dollars a year to continue writing the daily front-page column, "MEFO", on the condition that either of us could cancel

558-539: A press release announcing that one of her reporters bad been caught making up sources over the course of several years. Barnes never explained why the Chronicle decided against being transparent to it readers immediately, instead of waiting for word to leak to the extent that other news outlets started planning stories. The sources being questioned in Ward's reporting were the product of "man-on-the-street" interviews from

620-469: A story dealing with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Harvey . Barnes said Houston Chronicle researchers had problems finding a number of sources quoted in Ward's story, so the newspaper hired investigative journalist David Wood, a Pulitzer Prize winner. On November 8, 2018, one day before Barnes left for a position as senior vice president of news at National Public Radio, the Houston Chronicle released some of Wood's findings. The paper announced it

682-401: Is a subscriber-only site that contains everything found in the daily print edition. From its inception, the practices and policies of the Houston Chronicle were shaped by strong-willed personalities who were the publishers. The history of the newspaper can be best understood when divided into the eras of these individuals. The Houston Chronicle was founded in 1901 by a former reporter for

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744-696: Is mainly distributed in Hispanic neighborhoods. In December 2004 the Chronicle acquired the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz de Houston . In the weeks following the September 11 attacks , the Houston Chronicle published a series of opinion articles by University of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen that asserted the United States was "just as guilty" as the hijackers in committing acts of violence and compared that attack with

806-494: Is now rededicated." Under Jones' watch, the Chronicle bought KTRH , one of Houston's oldest radio stations, in 1937. In 1954, Jones led a syndicate that signed on Houston's third television station, KTRK-TV . The board of Houston Endowment named John T. Jones, nephew of Jesse H. Jones, as editor of the Chronicle . Houston Endowment president, J. Howard Creekmore, was named publisher. In 1961, John T. Jones hired William P. Steven as editor. Steven had previously been editor of

868-1000: Is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times . With the 1995 buyout of its longtime rival the Houston Post , the Chronicle became Houston's newspaper of record . The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation , a privately held multinational corporate media conglomerate with $ 10 billion in revenues. The paper employs nearly 2,000 people, including approximately 300 journalists , editors , and photographers . The Chronicle has bureaus in Washington, D.C. , and Austin . The paper reports that its web site averages 125 million page views per month. The publication serves as

930-424: Is uninfluenced by unworthy motives, and unbought by the desire for gain. A newspaper which can be neither bought nor bullied is the greatest asset of a city or state. Naturally, a newspaper makes mistakes in judgment, as it does in type; but, so long as errors are honestly made, they are not serious when general results are considered. The success or failure of a particular issue is of little consequence compared with

992-505: The Houston Chronicle , stating: She was very contemptuous, not just of council. I didn't have a conversation with her in the two years I was president of The Caucus. She's a very smart woman, but I think if you're going to be a really successful mayor you have to have a much more collaborative style. This tendency to micromanage and try to control the outcome, that builds up resistance over time. The Caucus continues to mobilize

1054-590: The Tulsa Tribune and the Minneapolis Star Tribune , and credited with turning around the declining readership of both papers. One of his innovations was the creation of a regular help column called "Watchem", where ordinary citizens could voice their complaints. The Chicago Tribune later called this column a pioneer and prototype of the modern newspaper "Action Line". Steven's progressive political philosophy soon created conflict with

1116-399: The Chronicle endorsed Wendy Davis for governor in 2014 , and Sylvester Turner for mayor in 2015. Additionally, the Chronicle initially endorsed Jeb Bush for the 2016 Republican primary, but did not endorse any other candidate after he dropped out. In September 2018, then-executive editor Nancy Barnes released a statement on the Chronicle ' s website notifying readers for

1178-607: The Chronicle switched to being a morning-only paper. With the demise of the Houston Post on April 18 the next year, the Chronicle became Houston's sole major daily newspaper. On October 18, 2008, the paper endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election , the first Democrat to be endorsed by the newspaper since 1964, when it endorsed Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. It endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, but endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020. Locally,

1240-558: The Chronicle . Everett D. Collier replaced Steven as editor. Collier remained in this position until his retirement in 1979. J. Howard Creekmore was born in Abilene, Texas, in 1905. His parents died while he was young, so he was raised by his stepmother. The family moved to Houston in 1920. Howard enrolled in Rice Institute, where he graduated with degrees in history and English. After graduation, he went to work for Jesse Jones as

1302-483: The Chronicle . Houston oilman John Mecom offered $ 85 million for the newspaper, its building, a 30 percent interest in Texas National Bank of Commerce, and the historic Rice Hotel. Early in 1966, Mecom encountered problems raising the additional cash to complete the transaction. He then began lining up potential buyers for the newspaper, which included non-Houstonians such as Sam Newhouse, Otis Chandler and

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1364-479: The Ku Klux Klan (KKK). He sold the rest of his interest to Jesse H. Jones on June 26, 1926, and promptly retired. In 1911, city editor George Kepple started Goodfellows. On Christmas Eve 1911, Kepple passed a hat among the Chronicle ' s reporters to collect money to buy toys for a shoe-shine boy. Goodfellows continues today through donations made by the newspaper and its readers. It has grown into

1426-581: The Wilson administration , helping to found the Red Cross during World War I, and later famously under the Roosevelt administration, described the paper's mission in these terms: I regard the publication of a newspaper as a distinct public trust, and one not to be treated lightly or abused for selfish purposes or to gratify selfish whims. A great daily newspaper can remain a power for good only so long as it

1488-569: The " newspaper of record " of the Houston area. Previously headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building at 801 Texas Avenue, Downtown Houston , the Houston Chronicle is now located at 4747 Southwest Freeway . While Houston Chronicle staff formerly published on the ad-supported, non-subscriber site Chron.com, today Chron and Houston Chronicle have separate websites and newsrooms. Houstonchronicle.com, launched in 2012,

1550-529: The 610 Loop campus, at the intersection of the 610 Loop and U.S. Route 59 / I-69 ( Southwest Freeway ). The facility, previously used as the Houston Post headquarters, will have a total of seven buildings with a total of over 440,000 square feet (41,000 m ) of space. The original building is a 1970s four-story " New Brutalist " building. As of 2016, the building housed the Chronicle Production Department, as well as

1612-622: The African-American community) and the Houston Tribune (an ultra-conservative paper). Both papers had rather small circulations and no influence among the city's business community. The two major newspapers in Houston never mentioned Steven for many years thereafter. John J. Jones left the Chronicle not long after Steven's ouster. J. Howard Creekmore, president of the Houston Endowment, took John Jones' place at

1674-502: The Downtown facility, the presses there were decommissioned in the late 2000s. The newsroom within the facility had bullpen-style offices with a few private cubicles and offices on the edges. The facility was connected to the downtown Houston tunnel system . Turner wrote that "in recent decades," 801 Texas Avenue "offered viewers an architectural visage of unadorned boxiness.... An accretion of five buildings made into one, it featured

1736-463: The Endowment board had ordered him to dismiss Steven. Jones had to comply. On September 3, the paper published a story announcing that Everett Collier was now the new editor. No mention was made of Steven or the Houston Endowment board. Houston Post staff wrote an article about the change, but top management killed it. Only two weekly papers in Houston mentioned it: Forward Times (which targeted

1798-546: The LGBTQ community. On January 6, 2016, The Caucus membership elected attorney Fran Watson as its president. Watson is the first African-American woman to serve as president. Mike Webb was elected as president in 2018 and is the organization's first genderqueer identifying president. Houston Chronicle The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas , United States. As of April 2016, it

1860-474: The Majestic Theater, was built west of the Chronicle building. The second building built by Jones opened in 1910. In 1918, the third Jones building, Milam Building, opened west of the theater. An annex was built on the north side of the main building in 1938 and gained a fifth floor in the 1960s. The fifth building was a production plant, built north of the original four buildings. They were joined in

1922-521: The Scripps-Howard organization. Creekmore strongly believed that local persons should own the paper. He insisted that Mecom pay the $ 84 million debt immediately in cash. Mecom cancelled his purchase agreement. In 1968, the Chronicle set a Texas newspaper circulation record. In 1981, the business pages—which until then had been combined with sports—became its own section of the newspaper. Creekmore remained as publisher until Houston Endowment sold

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1984-420: The all-important principle of a fearless and honest newspaper. This I intend the Chronicle shall always be, a newspaper for all the people, democratic in fact and in principle, standing for the greatest good to the greatest number, championing and defending what it believes to be right, and condemning and opposing what it believes to be wrong. Such have always been the policies of the Chronicle and to such it

2046-517: The buyout of Foster as follows: Wanting to be liberal with Foster if I bought him out, since he had created the paper and originally owned most of the stock, and had made a success of it, I thought for a while before answering and finally asked him how much he owed. He replied, "On real estate and everything about 200,000 dollars." I then said to him that I would give him 300,000 dollars in cash, having in mind that this would pay his debts and give him 100,000 spending money. In addition, I would give him

2108-509: The campaign. While she never sought support solely on the basis of her orientation, she also never shied away from it, insisting that, "Voters will elect me knowing that I'm gay and that it will mean a lot to my community." However, when Parker left office in January 2016, despite her strong commitment and substantial financial support of the organization, then-president of The Caucus, Maverick Welsh publicly rebuked her in an article published by

2170-413: The city's LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly voters, elect pro-equality candidates, and influence local, state, and national elections. Although the organization is nonpartisan, Republican candidates have mostly shied away from seeking its endorsement. But The Caucus continues to welcome any candidate who is willing to stand against discrimination and to support equal rights for LGBTQ individuals. The main roles that

2232-517: The editorship and/or the MEFO-column contracts on six months' notice, and that, if I canceled both the column and the editorship, I would give him an additional 6,000 dollars a year for life. I considered the offer substantially more than the Chronicle was worth at the time. No sooner had I finished stating my proposition than he said, "I will take it", and the transaction was completed accordingly. In 1937, Jesse H. Jones transferred ownership of

2294-485: The election of Democrat Kathy Whitmire , who became the city's first woman mayor. Her support for LGBTQ issues drew criticism from conservatives in the city, but she refused to recant it and won four more elections with the group's support. By the 1990s, The Caucus was one of the most important political organizations in the city, with many candidates seeking its endorsement, especially on the Democratic side. In 1997,

2356-465: The end of its first month in operation, the Chronicle had a circulation of 4,378—roughly one tenth of the population of Houston at the time. Within the first year of operation, the paper purchased and consolidated the Daily Herald . In 1908, Foster asked Jesse H. Jones, a local businessman and prominent builder, to construct a new office and plant for the paper, "and offered [a] half-interest in

2418-426: The endorsement, because she would lose a lot of votes. Her response was, 'I believe I will gain more votes than I will lose, and it's the right thing to do. I want to be on the forefront of this civil rights movement.' Tinsley went on to win that race, becoming the first woman elected to Houston's city council in an at-large seat. In 1981, the group experienced a turning point of sorts when it played an integral role in

2480-512: The fact that one of their reporters had been cheating for years under their noses. In many instances over the course of years, Loeb worked directly with Ward and even rewrote his stories for final publication. The Austin American Statesman , where Ward worked as a reporter for 25 years covering the state's political class prior to joining the Houston Chronicle in 2014, also conducted an internal review of "his final years" of work at

2542-439: The first openly gay mayor of a major American city, and its members provided much of the grassroots strength of her campaign. She led the general election and earned a spot in the run-off, where she defeated lawyer Gene Locke by a 53–47 margin to make history. Her election was particularly meaningful to the city's LGBTQ community, given the fact that conservative organizations attacked her on the basis of her sexual orientation during

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2604-469: The first time that the paper's Austin bureau chief, Mike Ward, had resigned and was the subject of an internal investigation after questions were raised by a staff member over fabricating sources. Barnes opted not to disclose the source-fabrication or Ward's resignation to Chronicle readers and the general public until she was contacted by reporters at other outlets pursuing a story about the Chronicle ' s scandal—one full week after Ward had resigned. By

2666-402: The group experienced another milestone with the election of Annise Parker to an at-large seat on Houston's city council. Parker had served as president of The Caucus in 1986. With the support of The Caucus, she became the first openly gay individual elected to citywide office in Houston. She was reelected to two more terms on city council, and in 2003 she launched a bid to become city controller,

2728-454: The growth to the changes instigated by Steven. In the summer of 1965, Jones decided to buy a local television station that was already owned by the Houston Endowment. He resigned from the Houston Endowment board to avoid a conflict of interest, though he remained as publisher of the Chronicle . On September 2, 1965, Jones made a late-night visit to the Steven home, where he broke the news that

2790-534: The impacts of rapid economic growth on life in the city. It did not perform investigative journalism. This resulted in a stodgy newspaper that failed to capture the interests of newcomers to the city. By 1959, circulation of the rival Houston Post had pulled ahead of the Chronicle . Jones, a lifelong Democrat who organized the Democratic National Convention to be in Houston in 1928, and who spent long years in public service first under

2852-594: The merger of Houston's National Bank of Commerce, in which Jones had a financial interest, with another Houston bank, the Texas National. In 1964, the Chronicle purchased the assets of its evening newspaper competitor, the Houston Press , becoming the only evening newspaper in the city. By then, the Chronicle had a circulation of 254,000—the largest of any paper in Texas. The Atlantic Monthly credited

2914-551: The middle of 1977. A Houston Chronicle photo of early LGBTQ advocates Ray Hill , Pokey Anderson, Jerry Miller, and Rev. Bob Falls is often mistaken for being a picture of the founders of The Caucus because many early activists, including some of the true founders were very closeted and were afraid to have their photo published. Don Hrachovy , who served as president in 1977 until his employer sent him to Saudi Arabia , worked tirelessly to compile names and voter information for members of Houston's gay community and used it to build

2976-457: The newspaper as a down payment, with twenty years to pay the remainder. Jones agreed, and the resulting Chronicle Building was one of the finest in the South." Under Foster, the paper's circulation grew from about 7,000 in 1901 to 75,000 on weekdays and 85,000 on Sundays by 1926. Foster continued to write columns under the pen name Mefo , and drew much attention in the 1920s for his opposition to

3038-605: The now-defunct Houston Post , Marcellus E. Foster. Foster, who had been covering the Spindletop oil boom for the Post , invested in Spindletop and took $ 30 of the return on that investment—at the time equivalent to a week's wages—and used it to fund the Chronicle . The Chronicle ' s first edition was published on October 14, 1901, and sold for two cents per copy, at a time when most papers sold for five cents each. At

3100-568: The offices of the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Houston . The Houston Chronicle building in Downtown Houston was the headquarters of the Houston Chronicle . The facility included a loading dock, office space, a press room, and production areas. It had ten stories above ground and three stories below ground. The printing presses used by the newspaper spanned three stories. The presses were two stories below ground and one above. In

3162-401: The organization fills are screening and endorsing candidates, registering voters, organizing efforts to turn out the LGBTQ vote (including block walks, phone banks, and other grassroots activities), and holding elected officials accountable for their actions once in office. One of the most prominent current issues facing The Caucus is an effort to enact local protections against discrimination for

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3224-488: The paper to the Hearst Corporation. On May 1, 1987, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Houston Chronicle from Houston Endowment for $ 415 million. Richard J. V. Johnson, who had joined the paper as a copy editor in 1956, and worked up to executive vice president in 1972, and president in 1973, remained as chairman and publisher until he retired on April 1, 2002. He was succeeded by Jack Sweeney. In 1994,

3286-516: The paper to the newly established Houston Endowment Inc. Jones retained the title of publisher until his death in 1956. According to the Handbook of Texas online, the Chronicle generally represented very conservative political views during the 1950s: ... the Chronicle generally represented the very conservative political interests of the Houston business establishment. As such, it eschewed controversial political topics, such as integration or

3348-450: The paper. A copy of the original story that led to the investigation has been removed from the Chronicle ' s website. But Austin-based NPR affiliate KUT interviewed Ward for the radio in the days after the story ran and still has the story posted on its website, despite the fact that the sources used in Ward's reporting are suspected of being fake. On July 21, 2014, the Chronicle announced that its Downtown employees were moving to

3410-428: The polls and many other activities. As the group demonstrated its ability to turn out LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly voters, more politicians sought its endorsement. The group made endorsements in the Houston municipal election, fall of 1975, and contributed to the re-election of Houston Mayor Fred Hofheinz . In 1977 it endorsed Kathy Whitmire , who won her race for City Controller. In 1979, it endorsed Eleanor Tinsley , who

3472-453: The second highest office in city government. She won that race, instantly becoming one of the highest-ranking gay officials in the country. In 2009 she was elected Mayor, re-elected 2011 and 2013. In 2005, The Caucus enjoyed another important victory when Sue Lovell was elected to an at-large seat on city council. Another past president of The Caucus (fall 1984 through 1985), she became the second openly gay person to win citywide election. She

3534-539: The time Barnes informed the public about what would turn into the biggest journalism scandal of 2018, it had already become one of the worst kept secrets in Austin among the capitol press corps that writes about Texas politicians. The scandal had also become popular fodder among staffers who work at the capital. Within 45 minutes of being contacted by a freelance reporter for the Texas Observer , Barnes hastily issued

3596-422: The very conservative views of the Houston Endowment board, especially when he editorially supported the election of Lyndon B. Johnson , the Democratic candidate for president. However, more than political philosophy was involved: Robert A. Caro revealed in his biography of Johnson that written assurance of this support from John T. Jones had been the price demanded by Johnson in January 1964 in return for approval of

3658-491: Was founded in June 1975 by four dedicated gay and lesbian activists (Pokey Anderson, Bill Buie, Hugh Crell, and Keith McGee) long before gay rights became a major national issue. From its earliest moments, the organization emphasized electing candidates who were gay-friendly and had made specific commitments to support issues important to Houston's LGBTQ community. Its first president was Gary Van Ooteghem, who served from 1975 through

3720-620: Was reelected in 2007 and 2009 with the support of The Caucus and served through 2011, when the City Charter limited her terms in office. Lane Lewis was president of The Caucus in 1997. He was appointed as Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party to fill a vacancy, re-elected May 2012 and May 2014. By far the biggest triumph of the organization was the election of Annise Parker as mayor of Houston in 2009. The Caucus endorsed Parker early in her bid to become

3782-441: Was retracting a total of eight stories. Barnes later went on to tell Columbia Journalism Review that the widespread fabrication apparent in Ward's articles was unprecedented, in her experience: "I've been an editor a long time and I have never seen anything like this, period.". None of the Chronicle ' s editors responsible for overseeing Ward's stories—including then-managing editor Vernon Loeb—assumed any responsibility for

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3844-484: Was running for an at-large seat on city council; she defeated an incumbent who had been outspoken against LGBTQ rights. Sue Lovell , who was a leader in The Caucus at the time, recalls: "The then-Gay Political Caucus approached Eleanor Tinsley wanting to endorse her in her race for City Council At-Large Position 2 against 12-year incumbent Frank Mann. Many of the people who worked on her campaign advised her not to take

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