Keep an eye on Austin, Texas.

With a bankroll that includes $1 million of his own cash and contributions from a network of friends and associates, Texas venture capitalist John Thornton is launching a non-profit online journalism venture, Texas Tribune. Fund raising continues, with the goal of securing two to three years of “runway.”

In the last few days, the venture announced that Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith would be leaving his post to lead Texas Tribune, and that Alisha Ring, president of the Austin Technology Council, would be its General Manager.

Thornton has been an active blogger (Insomniactive) for several years, with frequent commentary about the state of journalism, the business thereof, and state and national politics. A careful reader will have discerned, for some time, Thornton’s conviction that journalism can thrive only in a non-profit environment.

Sign up here, if you want a heads-up when TT gets off the ground in the fall.