Texas Tribune
About 6.4 million people have visited the nonprofit news site -- which focuses on public policy, politics and government -- since it launched two years ago today. The day it attracted the most visitors (143,689 uniques) was the Monday after Texas Governor Rick Perry declared he was running for the GOP presidential nomination. Metrics from the first two years:

• Its most viewed story is "Under scrutiny, Perry walks back HPV decision."
• Its most viewed data app contains government employee salaries. Databases continue to drive a significant percentage of the site's traffic.
• Nearly one-third of the site's visitors come from Austin; a little less than one-third are out of state. Almost 15 percent come from Houston.

On average, visitors view about five pages per visit. The site is in the midst of a fall fundraising drive, with about $10.3 million pledged so far. It's "an awful lot of money to raise in the worst economy since the Depression," writes CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith. || Previous: New Knight study identifies 3 surprising keys to nonprofit news business success

NetNewsCheck
Michael Depp examines the close, complicated relationship between The New York Times and three nonprofit news operations that provide local coverage for certain editions: Texas Tribune, The Bay Citizen and Chicago News Cooperative. While the partnerships have kickstarted the nonprofits' operations and boosted their credibility, it's tough to balance the Times' need for content (they're responsible for two pages, twice a week) with their own missions and editorial voices. The partners spend a lot more time on journalism for the Times than they get in licensing revenue, and they don't get a cut of the money that the Times makes selling ads next to their stories. Times assistant national editor Jill Agostino sometimes has to fend off requests from within the Times for help on developing stories. "We can’t treat these groups as though they’re our stringers in these areas because they’re not,” she says. She compares working with the Times to "being married to a famous spouse"; Jim O'Shea of the Chicago News Cooperative says it's "sort of a halo and a cloud at the same time.” Subscriptions have increased in the partner markets, Agostino says. Anyone tracking content partnerships like this will find the post thought-provoking. || Related: Sometimes Times editors should remain behind the scenes (Gawker)

Huffington Post
“He’s not dropping more g’s for effect. This is not a cowboy shtick he’s putting on display for a point of contrast against Romney," says Texas Tribune editor-in-chief Evan Smith. Texas Observer executive editor Dave Mann adds: “Even if the Bernanke line was a slip up, the Perry people won't back down. They're not going to apologize or show weakness. Of all the potentially controversial things [Texas Gov. Rick] Perry's said and done over the years, I can remember only one real apology -- when he said 'Adios, Mofo' to a Houston television reporter.” || Washington Post: Perry's "facts" on climate change get a "Four Pinocchios" rating. || Earlier: Perry tries to stop reporters from following him on Twitter, and more stories from Romenesko's archives.

Texas Observer
Many stories have been written about the nonprofit Texas Tribune -- launched by venture capitalist John Thornton and edited by award-winning former Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith -- but Texas Observer editor Bob Moser tells me his press critic has written "the first non-puff piece written so far, I believe, about the well-funded, well-staffed" site. He continues in his email:

The Tribune has garnered considerable publicity nationally as a "new model" for nonprofit journalism. But the journalism itself has been mighty disappointing.

So you'll know, we aren't direct competitors -- except, in some cases, for donors and grants. Very different styles of journalism, different missions, different target audiences. I'd love to see them produce high-impact reporting and memorable stories. God knows the Sovereign Republic of Texas desperately needs more of that. But alas: So far, not so good.

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PaidContent
The nonprofits will use the money to build a free, open source publishing platform that helps other online news sites manage their content, encourage community engagement and raise revenue. "Organizations will no longer be faced with the cost and expense of developing their own publishing platforms from the ground up, or tied to using systems that were not meant for online news," says Bay Citizen chief technology officer Brian Kelley. || Read the release.

Texas Tribune
Evan Smith shares some website stats from 2010, including the percentage of traffic (70%) that comes from Texas. "Which is to say, 30 percent of our traffic is from out of state. I'm very happy that we've established ourselves in short order as a go-to source for the rest of the country."

Texas Tribune
"It feels like we've been doing this for at least 100 years," writes editor-in-chief Evan Smith. "We are proud and humbled and energized and elated and tired."