Statesman wins national Edward R. Murrow Award for Uvalde school shooting coverage

Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read

The national Radio Television Digital Television News Association honored the American-Statesman with an Edward R. Murrow Award Tuesday for its groundbreaking coverage of the Uvalde school shooting.

The Statesman received the honor in the continuing coverage category for digital news outlets for reporting that began the day of the shooting at Robb Elementary and included watchdog and accountability journalism over the next several months.

Most significantly, the Statesman obtained and published a 77-minute video from inside the school where 19 children and two teachers died that showed the policing breakdown. The video and subsequent reporting by the Statesman helped dismantle a false narrative of police heroism.

More: How a false tale of police heroism in Uvalde spread and unraveled

The Statesman's entry also included reporting that highlighted how family members of victims of the tragedy turned to activism, calling on state and federal leaders to reform gun laws in the U.S.

"It's an incredible honor for our Statesman team to win a national Edward R. Murrow Award," said Statesman Executive Editor Manny García. "It is one of the highest honors in journalism. We always viewed our work in Uvalde as critically important to expose a false narrative of police heroics because the community and the 21 families who lost a loved one needed to know what really happened, and the Statesman brought that to light."

The Statesman has received multiple other honors for its Uvalde coverage, including as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism.

Other honors include:

  • The Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism given through Harvard University.

  • A Best of Gannett Award for public service reporting.

  • García also received a Best of Gannett Editor of the Year award and was previously named the National Press Foundation's Benjamin Bradlee Editor of the Year award.

  • Statesman investigative reporter Tony Plohetski was honored as a finalist for the Anthony Shadid Award for Ethics in Journalism for his Uvalde reporting and received a Best of Gannett award for individual achievement; He also was named Star Reporter of the Year from Texas Managing Editors and the Texas Headliners Foundation for his Uvalde reporting.

  • Former Statesman reporter Niki Griswold was named as a Livingston Award finalist for excellence in local reporting for her coverage of the Uvalde school shooting.

  • The News Leaders Association named the Statesman a finalist for First Amendment reporting.

More: Austin American-Statesman honored as Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal finalist for Uvalde coverage

Founded in 1946, RTDNA's mission is to promote and protect responsible journalism. The Murrow awards honor some of the nation's best journalism across categories that include breaking news, writing, and feature reporting.

Tuesday's honor is the second time the Statesman's work has garnered a Murrow award. The publication also was honored in 2021 for work by investigative journalist Tony Plohetski in the death of Javier Ambler II, a Black man who died in the custody of the Williamson County sheriff's office while crews from a reality TV show filmed.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Statesman honored with Edward R. Murrow Award for Uvalde coverage