Throw Back Thursday: Flood Aid Texas

The ten o’clock news was bad, hard to watch even, as storms swept through central Texas dropping more rain over the course of a few hours than we’d seen in the past two years. How could we help? Flood Aid Texas was an undertaking that prevailed through heart, help and generosity, much like the people it was designed to serve. This memorial day, we reflect upon the lives lost, the amount of damage done and the volunteers that came together to help provide comfort and support however possible. Read more.

Not everything is digital: The archives and the perspective of history.
I spent Monday at the archives, meeting old friends. Of course, there are lots of great historical records online, and more are getting digitized every day. But believe it or not, there’s a limit to the Internet. In this all-digital, all-the-time world, some people seem to think that if it didn’t happen online, it didn’t happen. Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Read more from Crosswind Vice President James Bernsen on his trip to the archives.


First Annual WalkerStrong Benefit Golf Tournament

The First Annual WalkerStrong Benefit Golf Tournament, honoring young cancer survivor and local high school baseball player Walker Reese, was a great success!  From live music by Brian Pounds, tee time Moscow Mules from Tito’s Handmade Vodka to a silent auction, the event was a true experience and raised over $30,000 for research into Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors (DSRCT), an extremely rare form of sarcoma cancer.  Thank you to all of the sponsors, participants and volunteers who supported the foundation and made the event a great success! To learn more about Walker’s story, or to give a donation, please visit WalkerStrong.org

ICYMI: Intro to the Austin Media Scene at @CapitalFactory

On May 12, 2016, Crosswind CEO Thomas Graham discussed how Austin-based media is shaping our national media landscape. From SXSW to VR to Hulu, the panel discussed a new era in which nontraditional media outlets will become a platform for journalism.  In case you missed it or want to hear more, watch the full program online.
“There is a revolution in the future of digital content,” says Thomas Graham, CEO of Crosswind Media & PR

In the News:

Newspapers aren’t dying as fast as you would think

“Digital media executive Richard Tofel made a splash last week with a brief but alarming post on Medium arguing that newspaper print circulation has fallen surprisingly low.  There was no irony intended, Tofel told me in an email exchange, in his headline choice: “The sky is falling on newspapers faster than you think.” I gotta say, though, that while Tofel is right on several important points, there is more than a little Chicken Little at play too.” Read more.

Why Facebook’s ‘Trending Topics’ controversy matters

“Facebook hates conservatives. That’s the message you might have taken away if you had only casually followed the latest media freakout over its relationship with the social network. Facebook, of course, does not hate conservatives. It loves everyone, and just wants us all to connect.” Read more.