Jonathan McNamara

Jonathan McNamara joined the Observer in 2011. Previously, he worked for Phoenix New Times as the publication’s first web editor. Jonathan holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Multimedia Journalism. As a student, he spent most of his time reporting and editing feature stories, building multimedia packages and writing for the entertainment section of The Daily Texan. His work has also appeared in Spin Magazine, The Japan Times, Kansai Scene Magazine, Impose Magazine, and Houston Press.

Observer Podcast Episode 23: A Mid-Session Look at the Texas LegislatureApr 09, 2013
Our legislative interns Olivia Messer and Liz Farmer join staff writer Patrick Michels, editor Dave Mann and I for a mid-session look at the 83rd Texas Legislature. Full Story
Observer Panel at SXSW Interactive: Survival of the ScrappiestMar 14, 2013
What wisdom could the Observer impart to other nonprofits struggling to keep up the journalistic fight in the age of pay walls and social media? Full Story
An Introduction to The Texas ObserverFeb 28, 2013
An introduction to The Texas Observer from current and former staffers. Video shot and edited by Matt Gossage. Full Story
Observer Podcast Episode 22: Getting a Lege UpFeb 01, 2013
Observer staff writers Patrick Michels, Forrest Wilder and editor Dave Mann join the show for our first podcast about the 83rd Texas Legislature. What’s [...] Full Story
Observer Podcast Episode 21: Capital PunishmentDec 12, 2012
In which discuss Alex Hannaford's recent piece about death row inmate Larry Swearingen then dive straight into the current state of capital punishment in Texas. Full Story

Observer Podcast Episode 23: A Mid-Session Look at the Texas LegislatureApr 09, 2013
Our legislative interns Olivia Messer and Liz Farmer join staff writer Patrick Michels, editor Dave Mann and I for a mid-session look at the 83rd Texas Legislature. Full Story
Observer Panel at SXSW Interactive: Survival of the ScrappiestMar 14, 2013
What wisdom could the Observer impart to other nonprofits struggling to keep up the journalistic fight in the age of pay walls and social media? Full Story
Nonprofit Journalism: Survival of the ScrappiestMar 08, 2013
Nonprofit Journalism: Survival of the Scrappiest. Full Story
An Introduction to The Texas ObserverFeb 28, 2013
An introduction to The Texas Observer from current and former staffers. Video shot and edited by Matt Gossage. Full Story
Observer Podcast Episode 22: Getting a Lege UpFeb 01, 2013
Observer staff writers Patrick Michels, Forrest Wilder and editor Dave Mann join the show for our first podcast about the 83rd Texas Legislature. What’s [...] Full Story

Best of The Observer 2012Dec 20, 2012
Read a staff-curated list of the Observer’s top ten stories published this year. Full Story
Observer Podcast Episode 21: Capital PunishmentDec 12, 2012
In which discuss Alex Hannaford's recent piece about death row inmate Larry Swearingen then dive straight into the current state of capital punishment in Texas. Full Story
Observer Podcast Episode 20: 2012 Election Night Wrap-UpNov 07, 2012
Last night, the ever-vigilant staff of The Texas Observer stayed up late to bring you up-to-the-minutes blog posts and sarcastic tweets about the 2012 [...] Full Story
Election Night RecapNov 06, 2012
During this exciting election night, the Observer has you covered. We will be live-blogging and tweeting the election results starting around 4 p.m. today (November 6th). You can find our up-to-the-minute posts at this very URL. Full Story
Observer Podcast 19: Reporting KochworldNov 02, 2012
In this episode, I sit down with Observer staff writer Melissa del Bosque and multimedia editor Jen Reel to discuss the months of reporting work [...] Full Story