Media News

5 new startups join a crowded Dallas-Fort Worth media scene

Nostalgic image of stack of newspapers, a form of media popular in the 20th century.

Photo courtesy of VishwaGujarat.com

Dallas-Fort Worth is already a media-rich town, with multiple newspapers, magazines, and online sites. But it's about to get richer in 2024, with expansions from local players as well as newcomers arriving and setting up shop.

Here's five new media startups happening in 2024:

Ya Hala FM
An Arab-American radio station, Ya Hala FM, is launching in Dallas in summer 2024 with a mission to "share the beautiful music of the Arab world, celebrate the Arab-American culture, and reshape perceptions of our community in the U.S."

The station has posted help wanted ads for sales staff as well as on air talent: specifically, two people to host a morning show, called Dardasha. Applicants must have a knack for storytelling, charismatic/vibrant personality, and a positive outlook on life to help kickstart their soon-to-be listeners' mornings. "We're looking for music lovers, culture shapers, and boundary breakers who are ready to embark on this new journey," the ad says.

Additionally, applicants should have a degree in journalism, media studies, communications, or at least two years of work experience, and be fluent in English and Arabic. They must also be located in Dallas.

Courier Texas
National pro-democracy news network founded in 2019 is opening a bureau in Texas, and advertising for positions based in Dallas that include political reporter, operating/managing director, and a statewide social media manager, with a launch slated for summer 2024.

Courier's mission is to build a more informed and engaged America by providing factual, values-driven news, and analysis online. Their reporting is produced primarily for social media and online channels, with an emphasis on video, graphics, and skimmable newsletters.

Their CEO is Tara McGowan, who has worked in journalism and politics, mostly for Democratic candidates, as have a number of their staffers. To avoid spreading misinformation, they eschew the "both sides" approach followed by so many mainstream media sites under the guise of being "balanced."

They currently have outlets based in 10 states: Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

Amaré Magazine Texas
Quarterly print and digital magazine covering lifestyle, fashion, reality TV, celebrities, philanthropy, entertainment, events, arts & culture, cuisine, breaking news, and pop culture — phew, that's a lot — is launching in Dallas.

Their "about us" page says they launched in L.A. in 2016. Their founder/CEO is George Rojas, a fashion/stylist expert, event producer, and according to his bio, former meth addict. The mission: shine a light on artists, entrepreneurs, and businesses via a business model that allows professionals to expand their network, grow their social media, and work with advertisers and investors. Prior issues include "profiles" similar to the Voyage-type sites where the subjects write the profiles themselves. Helping to launch Dallas is skincare doctor and "Bravo TV personality" James Mercer, and editor Lindsay Stevenson.

While short on experience, they're long on enthusiasm. They breezed through Texas in May, stopping at Bistro 31, as well as the Highland Park home of D’Andra Simmons and the Houston home of Theresa Roemer — the latter of whom will be on the cover of the first issue which they say will debut in August. They claim to also be launching an edition in New York.

Arlington Report
An Arlington spinoff of Fort Worth Report, the online local news site, debuted in February, with stories such as "Arlington homeless people receive free showers, laundry, haircuts from nonprofit," as well as stories from the FW original.

Fort Worth Report was founded in 2021 to cover "important topics" (their words) like local government, schools, business, environment, and health care. Their About Us page says they do not intend to replicate "traditional print and broadcast media perform functions … such as granular national and local sports reporting, comics, lifestyle features, and breaking crime news."

Here's a piece they published on May 8: "Tastemaker Awards honor Fort Worth’s best restaurants, chefs, bars for 2024" — aww, it's a list of the winners of CultureMap Fort Worth's recent 2024 Tastemaker Awards. Thanks, guys! They've also partnered with travel operator Premier World Discovery to sell "travel experiences" across the globe, and are hosting a pitch session in late May at TWU. Wonder if there'll be free koozies.

FortWorthians101
In other Tarrant County news, Dallasites101, the influencer site known for hosting bar crawls and speed-dating nights, launched a Fort Worth version called FortWorthians101, as well as a Texas-wide site called Texans101. However, both seem to be entirely Instagram-based, unlike Dallasites101 and Austinites 101, which have standalone websites.

openings media

pet protection

How to protect Texas pets against the dangerous New World screwworm fly

MPhoto by Tran Mau Tri Tam ✪ on Unsplash

Make sure these guys are up on their flea and tick meds.

Two New World screwworm cases in dogs are among more than 30 confirmed instances in Texas and New Mexico, prompting warnings Wednesday, July 8 from veterinarians and humane societies that pet owners need to remain vigilant to protect their animals.

The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do.

Here is what to know about the parasite, the threat it poses to pets and how to protect them:

Screwworm fly larvae can infest any mammal
The fly's migration north from Panama starting in 2024, and through Mexico in 2025, has agriculture officials warning that it poses a threat to the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry, but the larvae can hatch and breed in any mammal, including wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally humans.

The problem develops when a female fly lays its eggs in open wounds and mucus. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed for about a week before maturing, dropping to the ground and continuing to develop into an adult fly.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says newborn animals and animals with open wounds or who have undergone surgery or other medical procedures recently are especially vulnerable. Even a tick bite can host an infestation, Aaron Grady, executive director of the Houston Humane Society shelter, said during a webinar on the screwworm.

Screwworm fly close-up The goal is to stop these flies from successfully breeding. Photo courtesy of Texas A&M AgriLife

Infestation signs include restlessness and bad smell
Animal health experts say pet owners in areas where the screwworm is present — southern and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico so far — should watch their animals closely and examine them for wounds, cuts and bites regularly.

Pet owners should look for any maggots or movement in a wound. Other signs include a foul smell and restlessness or anxiety in an animal, or an animal “hyper-fixating on looking or chewing in a certain area of the body," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian at the shelter Austin Pets Alive!

Any one of those is reason enough to go to a veterinarian. The affected animal is likely in a great deal of pain, and that can cause death from shock. The larvae also can cause death if they move into vital organs or by causing infections that turn deadly.

Flea, tick medications can stop an infestation
Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. They recommend that pet owners do the same.

“It will kill the larvae as they ingest the blood and tissue,” Stansell said. “The chemical compositions of those products are what kill the actual larval stages of these flies.”

Veterinarians also can treat infestations and animals can recover if pet owners contact them quickly. Stansell said the treatment could include antibiotics.

“It is only fatal if left untreated,” she said.

An effort to eradicate the fly again is underway
The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species and decades ago would disappear each year when colder weather arrived with the fall or winter.

But state and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials aren't waiting for the weather to turn. They've returned to an eradication method that worked decades ago, breeding sterile male flies and releasing them into the wild. The female New World screwworm fly mates once in her monthslong life, and if her partner is sterile, her eggs won't hatch — causing the population in an area to drop and then disappear.

For years, the only factory breeding sterile flies in the Western Hemisphere was in Panama, but the USDA invested $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to recently start breeding screwworm flies. The agency also plans to spend $750 million on a new fly factory in Texas, set to open next year.

screwworm fly pets