The other point from anamax about the city slicker teaching the yokels how it should be done is very apt. There is a reason why hackers gravitate towards Silicon Valley: people like to be with other people who are doing the same thing. Tyler is by no means dumb. As the author--who admittedly also posted here that he didn't want to debate the article--points out, there are two universities (University of Texas-affiliated, I might add) and two junior colleges. The area is also home to pipe and robotics companies. It is also very insular, especially when it comes to "being shown how things are done" because the Dallas area has been the older, wiser brother to Tyler for decades.
Oh, and "nothing about local politics?" I guess the reporting from KLTV, the oldest television station in Tyler, doesn't count.[1]