New local venture reports Austin's good news

Two award-winning former Austin television journalists have recently started a new venture, aiming to share positive stories in these embattled times.

Driving the news: Judy Maggio, the beloved former anchor of KVUE, and Leslie Rhode, whose career spans Washington, D.C., Texas and Arkansas, have launched ATX Good News.

Details: Recent segments, posted on Facebook and Instagram, include:

• The story of a 19-year-old Austinite studying in Berlin — and making hundreds of tacos for Ukrainian refugees.
• How you can get a voucher for queso at Kerbey Lane Café if you donate blood.
• A collaboration between the Home Depot Foundation and Meals on Wheels to build 20 homes in East Austin.

What they're saying: "We are all craving this type of news," Rhode told Axios. "We've been living through a health crisis if not a humanitarian crisis."

• "It's almost like we're trying to cultivate compassion," Maggio said, "and remind people that even in a difficult time, at their core most human beings are kind. That rarely turns up in your social media feed."

Launched in January, ATX Good News has more than 2,000 followers on Facebook.

Between the lines: Maggio told Axios that despite retiring from broadcast journalism twice — from KVUE and KLRU — "I missed storytelling in a huge way. That's what feeds my soul."

• Rhode and Maggio said ATX Good News is not currently a money-making venture — "it's purely a passion project," Maggio says — but the team is examining revenue-generating possibilities.

The bottom line: "Despite the barrage of bad news, the world is a great place and people want to help one another," Maggio says.