Push for high-speed rail in Texas re-emerges (Dallas Morning News, 01/29/2008)
Summary:
High-speed rail backers in Texas claim that their plan to have a $12 billion to $20 billion system running between major Texan cities by 2020 will not fail again, because lawmakers have begun reaching out to former opponents of the project such as Southwest Airlines. This is important to my policy question because Texas is one of the regions that is leading the way towards development of high-speed rail.
Topic:
Category:
Journalistic
What is it?
a news article
Publication Information:
The name of the publication is Dallas Morning News. The article was published on January 29, 2008 in Dallas, Texas.
Author:
no author listed
Location:
Accessed:
January 29, 2008
Support:
Houston Chronicle, a Houston-area newspaper
Robert Eckels, former Harris County Judge and chairman of the nonprofit Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
Chris Mainz, a Southwest Airlines spokesman
Allison Castle, a spokeswoman for Texas Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
The Houston Chronicle reported on the logistics of a “T-bone” rail line connecting major metropolitan areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Waco, and Austin. Robert Eckels claimed that previous attempts at a high-speed rail system failed because of resistance by lobbyists from Austin. Chris Mainz responded to criticism of Southwest Airlines by saying that the company holds a neutral position on a high-speed rail line. Rick Perry made no direct comment, but had his opinion forwarded by his spokeswoman. Allison Castle forwarded Governor Rick Perry’s opinion that high-speed rail is not feasible without large government subsidies, but that he thinks it will be a big part of Texas’ future.
Audience and Agenda:
Dallas Morning News is a general interest periodical based out of Dallas, Texas that has been operating since 1885. It claims a morning readership of 496,182, and 783,944 on Sundays. The audience is mostly residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texas in general.
It is owned and published by the A.H. Belo Corporation, a media company headquartered in Dallas, Texas that also owns four other papers. It became the dominant newspaper in Dallas after the Belo Corporation bought out the Dallas Times Herald.
The Belo Corporation funded this article to inspire support among Dallas metro residents and Texans in general for high-speed rail. They want more readers, and infrastructural improvements usually increase an area’s population.
Usefulness:
This source is in a regional context, focusing on Texas. Texas is one of the most populated parts of the South Central Corridor.
This article was created by the Dallas Morning news to bring attention to a proposed high-speed rail “T-bone” line that would run between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. It is trying to address Dallas-area residents, and residents of Texas in general.
It is making the argument that high-speed rail will soon be receiving much more support in Texas, especially the proposed “T-bone” line. Only the most populated areas seem like suitable locations for federal investment in high-speed rail.
The article leaves out much of the logistical information on the line. There are no opinions included from groups that oppose investment in high-speed rail. The article also never mentions the specific name of the legislation that might authorize research or construction on a possible high-speed rail line. This piece is all about receiving grassroots support.
Focusing on Texas, this source relates to Source Notes 5.
Works Cited:
“Dallas Morning News.” Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Morning_News>
“Ulrichsweb.com.” Ulrich’s Periodical Directory. <http://ulrichsweb.com/>
Dallas Morning News. <http://www.dallasnews.com/>
Filed under: Journalistic
[...] Source Notes 4 – journalistic/article [...]
[...] on the southeastern United States, this source relates to Source Notes 4, Source Notes 5, Source Notes 10, and Source Notes [...]