You might think that it was one of those thorny ethical conflicts. How would the Dallas Observer behave when its tough-talking former city columnist became mayor? Would we join her team? Be her pals? Suck up? Or would we keep hammering away at the mayor, City Hall and the political fixers, lawyers and assorted big shots who often seem to run Dallas for their own benefit? Well, let’s just say the new mayor doesn’t like us much more than the old one did. In fact, we didn’t even see a conflict, since our only interest has always been the same: telling the tough, important stories that other media too often ignore. We know who our friends are. Columnists come and go, but we’re always loyal to the people who really matter — the tens of thousands of readers who turn to the Observer each week for unflinching coverage of politics, music and the arts, along with hard-nosed investigations into the people who run this city. Professional organizations like us, too. Utne Reader named the Observer the best alternative weekly newspaper in the country in 1999, and Observer writers have won numerous national and regional awards for their work, including four University of Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards.

The Dallas Observer: We’re still on the outside looking in, and that’s just where a good newspaper should be.