Statesman executive editor wins National Press Foundation's Editor of the Year award for Uvalde coverage
American-Statesman Executive Editor Manny García has won the National Press Foundation’s Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year award for leading the newspaper’s “audacious and inclusive” coverage of the school shooting in Uvalde, the foundation announced Friday.
The award, named for the legendary Washington Post editor, is given to editors who demonstrate imagination, personal skill, ethics and the ability to motivate staff — skills the foundation said García showed after the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers.
Judges highlighted two aspects of the Statesman’s coverage.
They cited García’s decision to publish a 77-minute school hallway video obtained in July by Statesman journalist Tony Plohetski that showed the law enforcement collapse immediately after the shooting. Instead of immediately confronting the shooter, as police have been trained to do since Columbine, the video showed that officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies, after an initial attempted breach, remained in the hallway for more than an hour before a U.S. Border Patrol SWAT team confronted and killed the gunman. The footage also disproved early statements by law enforcement and government leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, that officers had rushed in heroically.
Judges also praised García’s leadership in translating a Texas House panel report on the shooting into Spanish for residents of Uvalde — a majority Latino community where half the residents speak a language other than English at home — as a public service. The translation was done by a collaboration of Spanish-speaking journalists from USA Today and across the U.S. and in Mexico.
The Statesman printed 10,000 copies of the report and staffers, including García, distributed them free in Uvalde at churches, restaurants, convenience stores, the library and other locations.
García had been executive editor at the Statesman for 14 months when the Uvalde shooting happened.
“The test of a news leader is how you react to difficult news in your community,” the contest judges said. “In a tough year and a not-easy situation, Manny stood up and stood out.”
“I’m humbled to be recognized with such an honor, and it reinforces the importance of telling the difficult stories in hopes that our journalism can bring about reforms to prevent such a senseless tragedy,” García said.
Judges noted that García, a Cuban immigrant, has made a positive impact at publications throughout his career, including the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald, The Naples Daily Herald, USA Today and ProPublica. He has also served journalism through the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the News Leaders Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Statesman's Manny García wins Ben Bradlee Editor of the Year award
