Texas Public Radio this month was honored with seven Lone Star Awards for broadcast and online journalism. The Lone Star Awards is a statewide competition that recognizes outstanding achievements in journalism and mass communication, and is organized by the Houston Press Club.
In the category of Best Radio Talk Show, both David Martin Davies and Eileen Pace were awarded trophies. Davies received a third place award for an episode of Texas Matters, “Remembering the New London School Explosion,” and Eileen Pace received a first place award for an episode of The Source, “San Antonio’s Small But Significant Black Community.” The judges' comments on her entry were: “Excellent topic, excellent guests, and a prepared, knowledgeable host made this a worthwhile entry.”
Another first place award winner was Ryan Loyd, whose radio feature “Western Heritage Museum Bridled By Budget Woes” won the Radio: Best Use of Sound category. The story featured colorful sound to describe the pride people feel in their western heritage in San Antonio, while asking why the Briscoe Museum has been such a long time coming. The judges said, “A good sound-rich story takes the listener to the venue or the site. This story succeeds there, and the reporter tells a good story.”
David Martin Davies received a second-place award for Radio Public Affairs for an episode of Texas Matters, “How Premont ISD Beat The Odds And The TEA To Stay Open.” The episode profiles the a South Texas school district that took drastic measures to beat its history of low attendance, low test scores, and financial mismanagement.
In the young categories of Internet-based News and Opinion, Texas Public Radio was awarded three trophies. Chris Eudaily received a third place trophy for his web feature, “City Not Meeting The Need For Parks,” in the Hard News Category. In the Opinion category, Nathan Cone received a third place trophy for his essay “Full Metal Jacket: A War Movie for the Warriors,” and the entire KPAC staff was awarded a third place trophy in the Internet Blog category for the “TPRClassical” blog.
The awards were presented on August 2, 2013, at an event held at Brady’s Landing in Houston. TPR’s Nathan Cone attended the ceremony. You can revisit all of the winning reports by following the links in this article.
Find all of the statewide winners here: http://houstonpressclubonline.org/linked/awards_program_2013.pdf
