Michael Quinn Sullivan - Publisher, Texas Scorecard Joins Houston's Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Yeah, he don't like paying taxes. Seven twenty two is
at a time here's on Houston's Morning News. None of us,
I don't think like paying taxes when we know sometimes
how our taxpayer dollars are being spent. And as I said,
we had the federal story and we didn't like that
very much, all that money going to liberal publications, you know,
eight million dollars for Politico among many others at the
federal level. Well, it turns out that here in Texas,

(00:23):
the state is doing the same thing. Join us to
talk about is Michael quinn Sullivan, publisher Texas Scorecard. It's
a great story you folks turned out, and I think
there's probably a lot of shock people. I know I
was shocked, Michael. The same thing, to a lesser degree
is happening at the state level. The story I saw
didn't name any state agencies other than the comptroller's website,

(00:46):
which revealed, you know, some of this information three hundred
and forty two thousand to the Texas Tribune, for example,
as a George Soros finance publication. One hundred and seventy
three thousand to the Austin based Quorum Report. Dallas Morning
News got four hundred and twenty eight thousand. Houston Chronicle
got one hundred thousand dollars. You know, all liberal publications.

(01:07):
What state agencies are participating in passing this money along
to these liberal media outlets, well just about all of them.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
And these run the gambit from the massive number of
expenditures coming from the Texas House. I can think every
member of the Texas House paying for their Houston Chronicle,
human the Dallas Morning News. Houston Chronicle might be subscription
with your money. Every member of the Senate multiple payments

(01:39):
we don't know for what reason, from the Texas Commission
on Environmental Resources, and on and on and on, every
agency of the state spending money. Some of these look
like subscriptions. Some of them aren't labeled what they are,
so we don't actually know what these expenditures are. But

(02:00):
it should make all of the say, no, well, well
why are we Let's just assume assume from what the
half million dollars being paid out is only for subscriptions. Well,
why are the tax payers of Texas footing the bill
for state agents for state agency employees to read the

(02:20):
Houston Chronicle every morning? Well? Why is that our job?

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Now?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
My employer doesn't pay me to read other people's news publications.
Why the world should should the citizens of Texas be
paying for that?

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, neither does mine. And I'm in I'm in the
news business too, in the news business, exactly right. But
we're expected to do our own research and to pay
for it all ourselves. So I guess it's just under
the best of circumstances, it's a perk that the state
legislatures getting that. Maybe they should not get number one.
And it's the worst. And this is the part that
I think really needs investigation. Maybe there's something else going

(02:55):
on here well. And and these are only state numbers.
These are only numbers out of the state coffers. We
have not yet started digging into where the real cash
cow is is coming from.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
UH. City and county governments paying thousands on thousands of
dollars UH for at each instance for what's known as
as legal notices. You know, when you look back into
the deep dark recesses of the newspaper, these a little
small fine print notices from your from your local government. UH.

(03:27):
The newspapers actually pay, are paid big box to run
those notices, notices that no one pays attention to there
are a relic of a bygone era exactly today with Houston,
the City of Houston, and Harris County and Dallas and
Abilene and everyone having their own websites and email lists
and x accounts and Facebook accounts. Why are we paying

(03:51):
these massive dollars out of our local local coffers to
go into the local newspaper. Well, look, it's it's what
drives these newspapers to cover faith, believe the governing institutions. Uh,
it's a payoff. It's propaganda. Let's call it what it is,
and and and and if we want to keep doing it,
let's call it what it is. Let's don't pretend I
get some great service to the community. It's a payoff

(04:13):
for propaganda.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Well, thank you for bringing it to our attention, sir,
look forward to your next update on that. That's Michael
quinn Sullivan, publisher at the Texas Scorecard,