Paul Burka, Texas political journalism titan and "soul" of Texas Monthly newsroom, dies at 80
Paul Burka, a longtime Texas Monthly editor and leader of the magazine’s biennial list of the 10 best and 10 worst Texas legislators, could be as generous with his praise as unflinching with his criticism.
In a 1979 article, five years after he started what would turn into a four-decade career with Texas Monthly, he described former state Rep. Ronald Coleman’s virtues as “straight from a civics textbook: intelligence, industry, independence, fairness, vision, courage, and — a bonus that must have come as a surprise even to Coleman — influence.” In the same issue he wrote of former state Sen. Bob Price: “If the Senate were a horse race, nobody would bet on him. Slow out of the gate, weak down the stretch, a nice guy who, true to form, finished last.”
The list “completely defined the lens for nearly 50 years of how we hold elected officials in the Capitol accountable and how we think about and talk about success and failure,” said Texas Tribune CEO and former Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith. “That list was the most eagerly anticipated, hotly awaited piece of journalism every two years.”
Burka, a titan of Texas political journalism who was known by former Texas Monthly colleagues as “the soul” of their newsroom, died Sunday. He was 80.
Read more: https://theeagle.com/news/state-and-regional/paul-burka-texas-political-journalism-titan-and-soul-of-texas-monthly-newsroom-dies-at-80/article_dd9b8b68-1cf5-11ed-9a22-cff67d8cfa64.html
(Bryan-College Station Eagle)
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