Schutze joins Observer staff

Well-known Dallas journalist and author Jim Schutze has joined the Dallas Observer as a staff writer.

Schutze, 51, was an investigative reporter and columnist for the Dallas Times Herald for several years and also served on its editorial board. While at the Times Herald, Schutze won the Texas Headliners Award for investigative reporting and the Amos Tuck Award for Public Service Reporting.

In 1986, Schutze published The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City, which examines the roots of Dallas' racial tensions. When Dallas business leaders tried to have the book suppressed here, the resulting flap was reported by The New York Times, Time and Newsweek magazines, and several other national news outlets.

Schutze is also the author of five non-fiction "true crime" books, two of which have been nominated for the Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America association. He has received widespread critical acclaim for his most recent book, Bully, a story involving teenagers from "good" families in an affluent Ft. Lauderdale suburb who commit a horrific murder.

Most recently, Schutze served as Dallas bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle.