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(The 19th*)
CEO of The 19th* Emily Ramshaw (left) will be interviewed by the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle (right) next week.
The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is taking her turn at being the interviewer, putting Austinite Emily Ramshaw—a longtime local journalism trailblazer and co-founder and CEO of The 19th* news organization—in the hot seat at the organization's virtual summit event next week.
"She asked if she could interview me on 'storytelling that lifts up those who are too often underrepresented in the media,' and 'what it means to build a media outlet with gender equity, diversity and community at its core,'" Ramshaw wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
She asked if she could interview me on “storytelling that lifts up those who are too often underrepresented in the… https://t.co/GaDLEw8DyR— Emily Ramshaw (@Emily Ramshaw)1596722463.0
The interview closes out the 19th* Represents 2020, a week filled with events commemorating the suffrage centennial, on Friday, August 14. The summit includes conversations with prominent women in politics, civic engagement, journalism and the arts. The lineup of speakers includes Kamala Harris, Melinda Gates, Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams and Meryl Streep, to name a few.
The 19th*, a new nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom focused on gender and politics, launched its news site this week. The organization is named after the 19th amendment, in which women were given the right to vote—but the asterisk stands for the "unfinished business" of the amendment, as voter suppression is still happening today.
Ramshaw is also former editor-in-chief at the Texas Tribune, another groundbreaking nonprofit journalism organization based in Austin.
In an interview with Glamour Magazine, Ramshaw described what it was like to keep Markle's booking a secret over her young daughter's desperate desire to spread the news:
"Just as Ramshaw was gearing up for the site's debut, she and her husband made the decision to send their daughter back to daycare "because we couldn't get across the finish line with her at home," Ramshaw says. "So she walks straight in, bursts into the room, and declares, 'My mommy is going to talk to a princess!' Thank god no one believed her."
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(Laura Figi/Austonia)
Despite being the second most populous state and administering more vaccines on average than the top 10 biggest states on a per capita basis, Texas has received fewer vaccines than the four most populous states: California, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 31,161,075 doses of the vaccine have been distributed across the U.S as of Monday. That means that 9,438 doses are allocated per 100,000 people. However, Texas has received 7,262 doses per 100,000 people, or 2,105,600 total vaccines, which is around 600,000 doses less than the state should have received had it received its fair share.
<p>Texas Congressional offices don't seem to be aware or concerned with the discrepancy at the moment, according to <a href="https://billkingblog.com/texas-is-getting-shortchanged-on-vaccine-distribution/" target="_blank">author Bill King</a>, who said in a newsletter this weekend that two officials told him that they were too busy with the impeachment to look into it at the moment.</p><p>Texas is more than <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-rollout/1-austin-public-health-debuted-a-pre-registration-portal-for-its-supply-for-12-000-covid-vaccines-on-wednesday-are-they-any-spots-left" target="_self">five weeks into the vaccine distribution</a> effort, and so far it has been a rocky one, marked with struggle, confusion and a distinct lack of doses to go around.</p><p>Texas ranks 48th among U.S. states in the number of COVID vaccines it has received on a per capita basis but outperforms in terms of how many of these vaccines it has administered—7th in the nation—as of Jan. 17.</p><p><span></span>Across the U.S., Texas ranks 48th in the number of COVID vaccines it has received on a per capita basis but ranks seventh in the percentage of vaccines it has administered of those received as of Jan. 15.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="585" data-rm-shortcode-id="ca8552e3313be7cd0064071d8e1bae98" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwMTIxNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTg3OTAxM30.zpd_EqckCjlmT1YbNxcg-fu1-HcOWltEPp17C3SEqAc/img.png?width=980" data-width="1200" id="e35eb" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(Bill King)</small></p><p>Whether the federal government is allocating vaccines to the states on a prorated schedule or based on the level of outbreak, Texas has not received enough doses. This week, Texas received an additional 332,850 doses of the vaccine. <br/></p><p>Even with the additional vaccines from this week's allocation, Texas will still be shortchanged by more than 670,000 vaccines. However, Texas has been assigned the second-highest number of vaccines, behind California, which will receive more than 150,000 more at 485,800, this week.</p><p>Like most states, Texas is still focusing its efforts on Phase 1A and 1B, leaving many Austinites frustrated and wondering when it will be their turn to get the vaccine. With reports of people jumping ahead in line, ICUs running out of beds and shipments being delayed, Texas is in dire need of vaccines—and fast.</p>
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(Austin Regional Clinic)
The Texas Department of State Health Services will allocate 333,650 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 260 providers this week, with the bulk assigned to hub providers that are focused on widespread community distribution events. Eight of those providers are in Travis County.
<p>Austin Public Health and UT Health Austin, the clinical wing of Dell Medical School, have been designated hub providers by DSHS and will receive additional doses of the vaccine this week. An additional six providers in Travis County will receive smaller allocations of 100 to 200 doses. Those providers that have already received allocations and need to administer second doses will also receive corresponding allotments. </p><p>In total Travis County has received 73,175 doses of the vaccine, with 14,650 being sent to Travis County this week. Here's where the latest allotment is going: </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>APH (12,000 doses)</li><li>UT Health Austin (1,950 doses)</li><li>Carousel Pediatrics Southbrook (100 doses)</li><li><span></span>CommUnity Care Rundberg (100 doses)</li><li>Lone Star Circle of Care at El Buen Samaritano (100 does)</li><li>Lone Star Circle of Care at Ben White Health Clinic (100 doses)</li><li>LSCC Family Care Center at Northwest (100 doses)</li><li>Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Travis County (200 doses)</li></ul><p> Although these providers may have doses to administer, many are limiting their supply to existing patient networks or reaching out to eligible candidates directly, rather than working through a waitlist system. View of list of providers with a waitlist <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-vaccine-waitlists" target="_blank">here</a>. </p>
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(Christa McWhirter/Austonia)
Nancy Flores, Austin Vida editor and publisher, is bringing back the Latino media organization to Austin.
Growing up along the South Texas border, Nancy Flores, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, made it her mission to uplift the voices of Latinos "a long time ago."
<p>As a journalist for 17 years, most recently writing for The Austin American-Statesman, she says she'd try to always represent Latinos in her coverage. This year, her mission takes a new step with the relaunch of Austin Vida. </p><p>Austin Vida, a former music site that catered to Latinos in Austin, is coming back with a brand new team behind it and Flores at the helm as editor and publisher. The organization had previously been running since 2009 before ending online publishing five years ago. In the organization's resurgence, the digital newsletter relaunched last month, while the <a href="https://www.austinvida.com/" target="_blank">website</a> relaunch will take place later this year on an unannounced date.</p><p>Between movements against racial injustice and Latinos disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Flores said this is exactly the right time to bring the publication back. </p><p>"Publications like Austin Vida need to exist, especially during this time," Flores said. "It was the perfect time to reimagine what (Austin Vida) could be for the future; and what it could be moving forward for another generation of Latinos in Austin, making sure they are seen and they feel heard."</p><p>In a growing city where Hispanics make up <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/austincitytexas/POP010210" target="_blank">34% of the population</a>, there is no English publication currently operating that directly speaks to the Latino experience. Flores says she hopes to fill the gap for Latinos who aren't seeing themselves in the mainstream media, who may not speak Spanish, who are second and third generation and various other circumstances because each Latino experience is different.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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</p><p>After almost three years living in Austin, Eli Rodriguez says he sometimes feels alienated in the city. Rodriguez lived in Puerto Rico for 26 years before moving to Detroit and then Austin.<br/></p><p>"It feels like some Latino subcultures here in Austin are underrepresented," Rodriguez said. "Whenever I read or hear the news, a lot of us can't relate to it. I think I'd like to see or read a publication that sounds like us."</p><p>In its heyday, Austin Vida was that publication for Flores. She remembers reading Austin Vida as a young Latina and feeling like she was seen, so it was important for her to do this relaunch. </p><p>Flores said, "I don't ever want Latinos in Austin to feel like they don't belong because not only do they absolutely belong, but our stories are a big part of what makes Austin special."</p><p>Until the relaunch of first the site, the new organization is focusing on feedback from the community. Since November, it has been publishing event guides, promoting cultural awareness in the community as a start.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b20cffaeb1aac85b802897ffbc715845" id="8b6c7"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>The organization has already received community support from the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. It started spreading the word about the organization on social media and its newsletter when it learned about the project late last year.<br/></p><p>Stephanie Bazan, communications director for GAHCC, has known Flores since college and is excited for her to elevate Latino voices further. She says she thinks Austin Vida is going to add a missing layer to the Austin digital media landscape by celebrating the everyday contributions and wins of Latinos. </p><p>"I think it's important for us to hear stories from our point of view," Bazan said. "Oftentimes our stories are told from other voices or they're just a small piece of a story, so I think it's critical for this to be <em>the</em> story and not just be an add on."</p>
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