Nick Barbaro
Niccolo Raffaele Barbaro (born 1952), better known as Nick Barbaro, is an American journalist and businessman who is the co-founder of The Austin Chronicle and co-creator of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Barbaro's contributions have helped define the Austin, Texas music community.[1]
Austin Chronicle
[edit]In 1981 along with Louis Black, Barbaro founded the The Austin Chronicle, an alternative weekly newspaper.[2]
In March 2025, Barbaro retired after 46 years and named Cassidy Frazier as the new publisher. Barbaro will remain as president of the Austin Chronicle Corporation.[3]
SXSW
[edit]Barbaro co-owned the South by Southwest festival, which he co-created with Roland Swenson, Louis Black and Louis Jay Meyers in 1987.[4][5]
SXSW was forced to cancel its March 2020 in-person event during the COVID pandemic. In 2021, faced with possible bankruptcy, SXSW took on Penske as a parner. The partnership with the L.A.-based giant in digital media and information services, enabled SXSW to survive. In August 2026 Barabaro announced he was selling the remainder of his stake in SXSW to Penske.[6]
Biography
[edit]Barbaro is the son of Marilyn Buferd (Miss America 1946) and Francesco Barbaro, a WWII Italian submarine commander, movie agent and producer.[7] Barbaro grew up in Los Angeles and also Dallas. He attended UCLA where he developed his interest in cinema.[1]
In the mid-1970s he moved to Austin and enrolled in the University of Texas. There he earned a graduate degree in Radio, Television, and Film. While at UT he worked on The Daily Texan where he served as film critic.[1]
He lives in Austin with his wife Susan Moffat.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Maxwell, Jane Carlisle. "Musicians Off the Record". Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24.
- ↑ Black, Louis (August 7, 2009). "Page Two: Printing the Legend A brief history of Austin's improbable weekly, 28 years on". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ↑ Clifton, Jo (March 21, 2025). "Nick Barbaro retires as publisher of `The Austin Chronicle'". The Austin Monitor. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ↑ A Guide to the South By Southwest, Inc., Records, 1987–1997, Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin
- 1 2 Pulcrano, Dan (March 23, 2016). "SXSW: The Festival that Ate Austin & Took a Bite out of Silicon Valley". Metro Newspapers. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ↑ Whittaker, Richard (August 28, 2026). "Chronicle Owner Nick Barbaro to Sell Stake in South by Southwest to Penske". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Marilyn Buferd Profile". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
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