American-Statesman Metro columnist Bridget Grumet wins Carmage Walls Commentary Prize

For the second year in a row, Austin American-Statesman Metro columnist Bridget Grumet has won the Carmage Walls Commentary Prize for courageous and constructive opinion writing.

This year’s award was in the column-writing category, where judges recognized Grumet for three unflinching columns about officers’ use of force and efforts by the police union to undermine civilian oversight.

The contest judges noted her attention to detail and depth of reporting and writing:

"She demonstrated what I think we need to have in opinion — compelling opinion journalism that includes rigorous reporting," the judges wrote. "Top-notch reporting and excellent writing on a critical issue about protecting the public."

“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition of my work," Grumet said from the awards ceremony in Chicago. "I am grateful to have the opportunity with my column to dig into issues, challenge narratives and help readers understand what’s happening in our community.”

2022: Metro columnist Bridget Grumet wins Carmage Walls prize

In two of the columns, Grumet obtained exclusive video footage that raised central questions about police conduct. After the November 2022 fatal shooting of tech entrepreneur Rajan Moonesinghe, Grumet showed how Austin police officers opened fire on a man defending his home from a perceived intruder, then kept Moonesinghe in handcuffs as he lay dying on his front porch.

Months later, after LGBTQ+ protester Evan Wienck was handcuffed and cited as state troopers cleared scores of observers out of the Capitol, Grumet raised questions about the "assault by contact" charge filed against Wienck. Cellphone video showed the only contact was Wienck's baseball cap, which he was carrying in his hand, accidentally bumping a trooper.

In a third column, Grumet highlighted the efforts by the Austin police union to thwart a ballot proposition on civilian police oversight, first by pushing a rival measure designed to confuse voters and then by asking the Legislature to intervene. Grumet's reporting provided vital clarity as voters decided the issue in May.

Judges also awarded honorable mention to a second package of columns in which Grumet scrutinized the actions of Attorney General Ken Paxton on issues ranging from elections to abortion, even as he delayed a reckoning on his own criminal charges. The judges said Grumet's work contained strong reporting and clear writing that "explain complex situations in ways that help the reader understand the gravity of what is happening in Texas."

Grumet won the Carmage Walls prize in 2022 for a combination of columns and editorial board pieces about Texas' efforts to make it harder to vote and more difficult for local officials to run elections. That package included exclusive reporting about Paxton's failed efforts to indict former Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir and a Harris County elections official over their encounters with poll watchers.

The prize is named for the late Benjamin Carmage Walls, who primarily owned community newspapers and "advocated strong, courageous and positive editorial page leadership." His daughter, Lissa Walls Cribb, serves as CEO of Southern Newspapers. The award is administered by the industry organization America’s Newspapers.

"The Carmage Walls Prize stands for the best of the best in community opinion writing. For Bridget to win the award in consecutive years speaks to her resolute value to hold those in power to account," Statesman Executive Editor Manny García said. "We are so proud to see Bridget recognized again."

This year, one of Grumet's columns was part of the American-Statesman entry honored as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for "unflinching coverage" of the failed response to the school shooting in Uvalde.

Texas Managing Editors has named her runner-up for Star Opinion Writer of the Year for the past three years, and this year the Texas Veterans Commission honored her with an Excellence in Media Award for her column about a food bank at Fort Hood that highlighted food insecurity for military families and veterans.

For the second year in a row, Grumet also received the Texas Medical Association's Anson Jones, MD Award for excellence in health reporting (short print/online news category). Grumet's entry was a column about Austin resident Amanda Zurawski becoming dangerously ill while doctors were afraid to end her unraveling pregnancy because of Texas' abortion laws.

“The story was compelling reporting on the personal impact of the Dobbs decision for citizens of Texas," one of the judges wrote.

This year’s Carmage Walls prize in the editorial writing category was awarded to Clytie Bunyan, the managing editor for diversity, community engagement and opinion at The Oklahoman, a newspaper also owned by Gannett.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Statesman columnist Bridget Grumet honored for courageous reporting