Texas 2023: Our 25 most engaging stories this year

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

As we wrap up this eventful year, we’ve shared some of our best visual stories and best news photography of 2023. In this post, we’re sharing our 25 most engaging stories from the year.

How do we measure engagement? Is it simply the number of times an article was read online — the raw sum of “clicks”? Our analytics and data manager, Alex Powers, came up with an “engagement score” that makes sense for the Tribune and our diverse audiences. That score gives equal weight to four factors: total page views (including AppleNews), total page views within Texas (on the Tribune’s web or mobile site), average time spent per article (a data analytics tool we use to assess the reach of our content), and newsletter subscriber conversions — that is, the article or articles a reader was most recently looking at before deciding to subscribe to one of the Tribune’s many free newsletters.

We believe this methodology is nuanced enough to present a clear picture of what the year’s biggest stories were, from the perspective of readers. Keep in mind, stories about major breaking news developments typically have much higher readership, at least in the short term, than in-depth analytical or investigative articles. Also, although the vast majority of our most engaged readers (and donors) live in Texas, a majority of the Tribune’s web traffic comes from outside of Texas — an indication, we think, of the strong interest the rest of America, and the world, has in the Lone Star State. Thanks for reading, and happy new year.

1. Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 constitutional amendments election
2. She was told her twin sons wouldn’t survive. Texas law made her give birth anyway.
3. Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture
4. The regular 2023 legislative session is over. Here’s how the most consequential bills fared.
5. Billions in property tax cuts need Texas voters’ approval before taking effect. Here’s what you need to know.
6. Texas voters gave retired teachers raises and approved new infrastructure funds as most constitutional amendments passed
7. Texas A&M recruited a UT professor to revive its journalism program, then backtracked after “DEI hysteria”
8. 773 new Texas laws went into effect Sept. 1. Here are some that might affect you.
9. Texas House votes to remove school vouchers from massive education bill
10. Heat, drought and population growth have stressed aquifers that supply water to millions of Texans
11. Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raises
12. Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House. See how each representative voted.
13. Paxton trial, Sept. 5: Suspended AG pleads not guilty to all impeachment articles, leaves before afternoon proceedings
14. “He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15
15. Texas House and Senate reach a deal on how to cut property taxes
16. All eyes on Sen. Angela Paxton as Texas Senate takes up her husband’s removal
17. Long-awaited $18 billion property tax-cut deal heads to Gov. Greg Abbott
18. Texas House passes three immigration bills after contentious night of debate
19. Texas Senate passes $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes
20. A year after Dobbs decision, Texas has settled in to a post-abortion reality
21. Texas lawmakers pursued dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people this year. Here’s what passed and what failed.
22. Texas House approves sweeping limits on local regulations in GOP’s latest jab at blue cities
23. Abbott backs Phelan’s property tax cut plan, spurring ire from Patrick
24. Investigators detail years of alleged misconduct by Texas AG Ken Paxton in stunning House committee hearing
25. Who’s who in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial, from key participants to potential witnesses