Statesman, KVUE and Plohetski honored with duPont-Columbia award for Uvalde reporting
The Austin American-Statesman, KVUE-TV and journalist Tony Plohetski received the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award Thursday in New York for their groundbreaking coverage of the Uvalde school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.
The award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism and is considered by some in the media industry as the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, which also is administered by Columbia. Along with the George Foster Peabody Awards, the duPont award ranks among the most prestigious honors in electronic media.
It is the first time both news outlets have received the honor, established in 1942.
The award focused on the partnership between the Statesman and KVUE to jointly publish and air a 77-minute video from inside Robb Elementary that revealed one of the most strikingly flawed law enforcement responses in American history.
“This honor speaks to the importance of creative and unselfish collaborations – in this case with our trusted news partner, KVUE,” said Statesman Executive Editor Manny García. “It also highlights the brave journalism of Tony Plohetski, who first obtained security footage from inside Robb Elementary and documented the comprehensive failure by law enforcement on May 24, 2022.”
'Failure': DOJ's scathing Uvalde school shooting report criticizes law enforcement response
Journalists from across the nation and from multiple news organizations provided courageous and groundbreaking reporting after the Uvalde shooting, piercing a false narrative that law enforcement performed heroically. A scathing Department of Justice report last week credited the work of journalists, saying their reporting “served as the accountability measure for victims, families and the community due to a lack of open and transparent information from government officials.”
The DOJ report cited reporting by the Statesman, KVUE and other outlets.
Plohetski, a 24-year Statesman veteran, has worked in partnership with KVUE for more than a decade. In comments during the ceremony, he thanked colleagues “who helped produce, elevate and support this work” and “news leaders who had the courage to air and publish such emotionally fraught and difficult reporting.”
In addition to García, Managing Editor Courtney Sebesta and video journalists Nate Chute and Briana Sanchez from the Statesman attended the ceremony.
Plohetski also added that while colleagues from across the nation provided vital coverage, the recognition underscores the value and need for local journalism, adding that the ability to obtain the video was the result of “sustained work and trust built in our home state.”
More: Read the full 500-page Uvalde shooting report released by US Department of Justice
The honor is the latest for the Statesman’s Uvalde coverage, which also was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service reporting and received a national Edward R. Murrow award and the Taylor Family Medal for Fairness in Journalism awarded by Harvard University. García added that journalists across the USA Today network supported the reporting.
“The families of those killed deserved better than lies and broken promises, culminating in an absolute failure by those sworn to protect human lives at all costs,” Sebesta said.
“Our reporting in Uvalde exposed one of the biggest failures in law enforcement history and visually impeached a false narrative of police heroics,” García added. “We cannot forget that 19 children and their two teachers died in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary, and this honor is dedicated to them.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Statesman honored with duPont-Columbia award for Uvalde reporting
