Texas Monthly, the national magazine of the Lone Star State, announced Friday that editor in chief Dan Goodgame has decided to step down at the end of the year. Texas Monthly LLC Chairman Randa Duncan Williams has named as his successor Ross McCammon, a native Texan who became the magazine’s deputy editor last year.
Williams said, “I’m proud of Dan and the gifted editorial team he has built and led. Together, they’ve improved the quality of our journalism, given Texans many new ways to enjoy it, and attracted a much larger audience, statewide and nationally. I’m excited to promote someone as experienced and talented as Ross to editor in chief, and I look forward to the new stories and initiatives he brings to Texas Monthly.”
Born in Houston, McCammon grew up in the historic Oak Cliff section of Dallas. He graduated from the University of North Texas, in Denton, with a degree in English. He got his start in journalism at the in-flight magazine of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, where he rose to be editor in chief. From there, he was recruited to New York City, where he worked as a top editor for Esquire, GQ, and Men’s Health. His book, Works Well With Others, explores the relationship between professional behavior and success and has been translated into five languages. He lives in Austin with his wife and two children.
As deputy editor, McCammon has overseen the print magazine, where most of Texas Monthly’s narrative features first appear, and has edited many popular stories in its pages, including a captivating profile of actor Jesse Plemons and a feature on a Dallas-based doctor helping mostly uninsured bull riders behind the scenes at rodeos. He has also worked closely with Goodgame and other editorial leaders on journalistic projects across multiple platforms. As editor in chief, McCammon will oversee Texas Monthly’s journalism and lead the editorial strategy across the organization’s media efforts, which now include weekly TV programming, digital video, podcasts, live events, newsletters, books, social media, and Hollywood productions based on Texas Monthly stories.
“I grew up with Texas Monthly,” McCammon said, “so I’m honored to build on the legacy of this singular institution and to lead such a talented group of storytellers. I’m grateful to Dan for his trust in me and to Randa for believing in and supporting Texas Monthly’s journalism so enthusiastically.”
During Goodgame’s tenure, Texas Monthly has become one of the few U.S. publications that’s growing in audience, revenue, editorial staff, and ambition. Goodgame joined the magazine in January 2019. Since then, the editorial team’s full-time staff has more than doubled, to 61. Thanks to these efforts, the print magazine has attracted the largest total audience in its history, at 2.9 million readers a month.
Goodgame also helped facilitate a major media acquisition for the company: the purchase of the beloved, long-running TV show Texas Country Reporter.
Under Goodgame’s leadership, Texas Monthly has diversified the ways it shares its vivid storytelling, including through a major four-book deal and through increased marketing of Texas Monthly stories to film and TV producers. The recent acclaimed movie Hit Man, for example, starring Texan Glen Powell and directed by Texan Richard Linklater, was based on a Texas Monthly story by Skip Hollandsworth. The forthcoming series called Landman, produced by Texan Taylor Sheridan and starring Billy Bob Thornton, was inspired by a Texas Monthly–produced podcast about the West Texas oil boom.
“I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work alongside the talented journalists at Texas Monthly, to cover this fascinating state, and to serve our demanding and devoted audience,” Goodgame said. “And everyone at Texas Monthly has been blessed to have Randa and her family as our owners. Their patient investments have allowed us to boost the quality of our print magazine, while expanding our storytelling onto all the channels where Texans—and a growing national audience—want to enjoy it.”
Goodgame added, “The timing is right for this move. I turn seventy in January, and Ross is the perfect editor to continue bringing Texas Monthly the energy that it deserves. That’s why I recommended to Randa that Ross succeed me. He’s a fine magazine maker, has a wicked sense of humor, and is skilled at coaching our journalists. He has quickly won their respect, as well as that of our exceptional business staff, led by my friend, and our president, Scott Brown.”
“It has been the high point of my career to support Dan as he and Texas Monthly’s editorial team dove into storytelling on every platform imaginable and to witness so much enthusiasm for those fantastic stories,” Brown said. “We’ve tackled everything new, remained true to Texas Monthly’s DNA, and it’s worked. As I look ahead, I am certain Ross will continue to successfully lead our team and our audiences to new places that only Texas Monthly can own.”
McCammon will start in his new role in January.
