"Lights. Camera. Violence."
Recipient of the STAR INVESTIGATIVE REPORT OF THE YEAR award in THE CHARLES E. GREEN AWARDS (2020)
Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
Bronte Wittpenn/American-Statesman
Judge’s Comments:
This series of stories by the Austin American-Statesman is the very definition of public service and accountability reporting. Laws were changed. Public officials were indicted. Voters chose a new direction. A popular TV show was canceled. And all because the Statesman was relentless in its pursuit of the truth behind a deadly — filmed — encounter between the local county sheriff’s office and Javier Ambler. The stories didn’t stop with this single outrageous case. Through sheer force of dogged reporting, the Statesman revealed for its readers and the broader community the depth of misconduct in the sheriff’s agency, and a deeper and troubling pattern of abuses and lack of accountability. Readers — and the Ambler family, who had been stymied at every turn — now know the truth, thanks to the Statesman.
Jamie Stockwell
Deputy National Editor
The New York Times
Judge’s Bio:
Jamie Stockwell is a deputy national editor at The New York Times. She previously was the managing editor of the San Antonio Express-News, where she oversaw newsroom’s daily operations for print, digital and mobile audiences. Her career began at The Washington Post, where she wrote primarily about criminal justice. Jamie was raised in the Rio Grande Valley and is a 1999 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
To read the prize-winning investigative report from the Austin American-Statesman click on the links below: