September 2, 2025      3:28 PM

Kronberg remembers legendary Texas journalist Dave McNeely and a very different and distant time in Texas politics

“Moose” McNeely honed his craft at a time when it was more likely a journalist would engage with officeholders in person than online. It was a time when his dry sense of humor was appreciated by those he covered

My dear friend Dave McNeely, among the last of a unique generation of Capitol beat reporters, passed away this weekend at age 85. It’s not likely that even half the people now in the Texas Capitol ever had the privilege of knowing or working with Dave.

Affectionately nicknamed “Moose,” McNeely worked at a time that has become a distant memory and lost style in Texas politics.

And he held a special place in my heart because he was among the first, along with Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka and Dallas Morning News reporter Sam Attlesey to recognize that this young upstart with an unconventional non-journalistic background might have something to contribute to covering the process.

Reading all the recollections of tributes to McNeely produces smiles and maybe even a tear.

Here are a few stories that have not made it into the press. Memories may vary, but this is how I recall them.

By Harvey Kronberg

Copyright September 02, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved