Daniel Walker

Recipient of the STAR OPINION WRITER OF THE YEAR award in The Charles E. Green Awards (2016)

Daniel Walker
Vernon Daily Record

Judge’s Comments:

Wilbarger County is fortunate indeed to have an editorial writer and columnist of the caliber of Daniel Walker. He doesn’t mince words. Tackling a long-standing problem of a lethal stretch of highway bordering a truck stop, he began: “Enough is enough. It’s time to fix Wilbarger County’s killing zone.”

The admonition came with proposed solutions that prompted input from officials and citizens and the likelihood of action. Walker also took on a dispute between local landowners and the federal government, lambasting the feds “strong-arm bullly tactics” and the Bureau of Land Management’s attempt at a “land grab.” The scope of this editorial writer’s concern is indicated by the attention he has called to neglect of old buildings in Vernon which has already led to the collapse of one of its historic landmarks and threatens other valued edifices. 

This fine portfolio of work has been capped by a personal column in which Walker looked back to his childhood  to illustrate a way to address rising racial tensions.  His success was such that the local members of Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter jointed together to form Unity In The Community.” Daniel Walker’s shrewd combination of clout and empathy clearly earn him recognition as Opinion Writer of the Year.

Robert J. (Bob) Cox

Robert J. (Bob) Cox was editor-in-chief of the Buenos Aires Herald during the Argentine  dictatorship, leaving in December 1979 following death threats to his family. 

A Nieman fellowship enabled him to resume his career in Charleston, South Carolina, where he served as assistant editor of The Post and Courier for more than 20 years.

Cox headed the Freedom of the Press committee of the Inter-American Press Association for a number of years as well as serving as the Association’s president in 2001-2002. 

Cox currently teaches journalism ethics at the University of El Salvador in Buenos Aires and worked as a columnist for the Buenos Aires Herald. 

To read excerpts from Daniel Walker’s prize-winning work, please click the links below:

Daniel Walker – Link 1
Daniel Walker – Link 2
Daniel Walker – Link 3
Daniel Walker Link 4
Daniel Walker Link 5

To watch Daniel Walker discuss some of his prize-winning work,
visit his interview with Mark Morrison.