Statesman wins prestigious Taylor Family Award for its Uvalde school shooting coverage
The Austin American-Statesman has been gived the prestigious Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism for its “responsive reporting” after the Uvalde school shooting, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University announced Wednesday.
Judges cited the Statesman’s decision to publish a hallway video from Robb Elementary School — obtained by investigative reporter Tony Plohetski in July — that showed the law enforcement breakdown for more than an hour, despite initial official statements that police acted heroically.
“The chilling footage provided answers to a community desperate for information at a time when official accounts about the events in the school were still inaccurate and inadequate,” the foundation said.
The Statesman published the video in partnership with KVUE-TV.
“The decision to publish the Robb Elementary School shooting video was difficult to make,” the foundation added. “The Austin American-Statesman and (KVUE) had to weigh the need for transparency and the public's right to know what happened during the worst school shooting in Texas with the sensitive nature of the footage.”
Judges also cited the Statesman’s decision to translate and deliver throughout Uvalde 10,000 copies of a 77-page Texas House committee report that provided the most comprehensive account of what happened May 24 and praised the publication's reporting on the shooting's toll on victims' families and the community.
"We are so honored to be recognized with the Taylor Family Award," said Manny García, executive editor of the Statesman. "It was a difficult story to tell. Yet we saw our coverage as a public service to bring truth and transparency to a heartbreaking tragedy when critical information remained outside of the public eye."
The Statesman’s entry included an edited video of the hallway footage by Director of Photography Briana Sanchez and visuals producer Nate Chute and a reaction piece by reporters Luz Moreno-Lozano and Nusaiba Mizan in which law enforcement experts condemned police actions revealed by the video.
It also included work by politics reporter Niki Griswold focusing on voices of the grieving community and their gun reform activism and a digital presentation by Moreno-Lozano and photojournalist Aaron Martinez of culturally inspired murals throughout Uvalde honoring each of the 21 victims.
The entry also contained a piece by Capitol reporter John Moritz about the number of mass shootings during Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration while lawmakers have widened access to firearms.
“The coverage by the Austin American-Statesman and its staff is nothing short of amazing,” award juror Shannon Hahn said. “It is undeniable that this was about so much more than a story for them. It was about giving everyone knowledge of the events that day but doing so tenderly and with compassion.
“Faced with ethical decisions throughout their coverage, they stayed true to their goal of empowering the community, and the nation really, with truth and transparency,” she said.
The Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism was established by members of the Taylor family, who published The Boston Globe from 1872 to 1999.
The purpose of the annual award is to encourage fairness in news coverage by American journalists and news organizations.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Uvalde shooting coverage earns Statesman national journalism award
