Charles E. Green Newspaper Award Winners Announced
March 26, 2017 – Houston – Jeremy Schwartz, a veteran investigative journalist for the Austin American-Statesman, is the winner of the Headliners Foundation Charles E. Green Award for Reporter of the Year among Texas newspapers for 2016. His award was announced in Houston on March 26 at the annual meeting of the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, the Foundation’s partner in the annual competition.
Foundation vice chair John Lumpkin also presented five other 2016 Green Awards, including Smiley Pool of The Dallas Morning News for Photojournalist of the Year.
Smiley Pool, Charles E. Green Photojournalist of the Year
“What sets Schwartz’s work apart is the deep compassion and attention to detail he brings to his reporting and writing,” said Judge Rebecca Blatt of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. Schwartz was recognized the previous week as part of a Headliners Showcase Silver Award with reporter Rodolfo Gonzalez for their reporting on the broken system of oversight for living conditions of Texas’ migrant farm workers.
Of Pool’s portfolio, Judge Cliff Schiappa said, the “empathy for his subjects comes through…” Schiappa, a retired Associated Press photojournalist and executive added, “The Dallas Morning News’readers are the ultimate winners.”
Other Charles E. Green newspaper winners announced in Houston were:
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT OF THE YEAR, Houston Chronicle, for exposing a covert state policy of effectively capping public school special education enrollment. “Reporter Brian Rosenthal did exhaustive research on the series, with an able assist from St. John Barned Smith” said Judge Bob Cullen, retired foreign correspondent and author, adding “this citation would not be complete without paying tribute to the remarkable photographs of Maria De Jesus.” The Chronicle entry previously won the Foundation’s 2016 Showcase Gold Award, a separate competition for all Texas media platforms.
BREAKING NEWS OF THE YEAR, San Antonio Express-News’ coverage of the unexpected death of Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia in a remote part of Texas. “As scoops go, it was a world-beater,” said Judge Kristin Gazlay, Director of Top Stories for the Associated Press in New York. “After urgent but careful checking, the Express-News broke the news on its website, generating more than 5.3 million page views,” Gazlay wrote.
OPINION WRITER OF THE YEAR, Daniel Walker, Vernon Daily Record. “Wilbarger County is fortunate indeed to have an editorial writer and columnist of the caliber of Daniel Walker. He doesn’t mince words,” says Judge Robert Cox, a Neiman Fellow who was editor-in-chief of the Buenos Aires Herald.
ONLINE REPORT OF THE YEAR, Houston Chronicle, for “Denied: How Texas Keeps Tens of Thousands of Kids Out of Special Education.” Said Judge Amy Kovac-Ashley of the American Press Institute: “The mix of text, photography, videos, data visualizations and other interactive features enticed readers to explore the complex regulations and laws guiding special education in the United States and how they were being skirted by Texas officials.” This is the only category in the Green Awards that in which Texas APME and the Texas AP Broadcasters compete.
The Green Awards are named after Charles E. Green, publisher of the Austin American-Statesman in the 1950s and a founding member of the Headliners Club, and carry a $1,000 prize. They are the “best of the best” of Headliner Star Awards, which are based on market size and carry $500 prizes. In all, the Foundation provides $30,000 annually for its Texas AP Managing Editors and Texas AP Broadcasters partners’ contests.
The Green and Star winners will be recognized again during the Foundation’s annual day of celebration of Texas journalism at the Mike Quinn Awards Luncheon at the Headliners Club in Austin on Sept. 16.
Winners of the newspapers’ Star Awards were announced on Saturday evening in Houston prior to the Green Awards the next day. The Headliners Star Awards for 2016 are:
STAR REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Paul Bryant – Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel
Kyle Blankenship – Killeen Daily Herald
Sarah Rafique – Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
STAR PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Laura McKenzie Star – New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
Andy Adams – Lufkin Daily News
Stuart Villanueva – The Galveston County Daily News
STAR OPINION WRITER OF THE YEAR
Dave Miller – Killeen Daily Herald
Robert Moore – El Paso Times
Lisa Falkenberg – Houston Chronicle
STAR INVESTIGATIVE REPORT OF THE YEAR
Vernon Daily Record – “Border Surge Has Local Impact”
Killeen Daily Herald – “Killeen Daily Herald Investigates Killeen City Finances”
Victoria Advocate – “Minds That Matter”
STAR BREAKING NEWS REPORT OF THE YEAR
Paris News – “Apartments Fire”
Bryan-College Station Eagle – “Alt-Right Leader Visits Texas A&M Campus”
Corpus Christi Caller-Times – “Boiling Point”
STAR ONLINE PACKAGE OF THE YEAR
Seguin Gazette-Enterprise – “Dead Heat”
San Angelo Standard-Times – “Faith Against Futility”
The Victoria Advocate – “Minds That Matter”