10th annual First Amendment Awards and Scholarship Dinner
Legendary investigative journalist Betty Brink, who fought against injustice with a passion both stubborn and profound,
received the Open Doors Award, and 26 journalists in Texas and Oklahoma were
honored at the Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional
Chapter’s 10th annual First Amendment Awards and Scholarship Dinner, April 19, 2013, at
Cacharel in Arlington, Texas.
The chapter also distributed $14,500 to 10 students who are either from Texas or
attending school in Texas. Providing scholarships dates to the chapter’s early days in the 1940s. Close to half a million dollars has been handed out,
$216,500 of that since 2000.
The Open Doors Award was given posthumously; Betty died Dec. 12, 2012. Previous
Open Doors recipients are The Texas Tribune; Dan Malone at Tarleton State University; Craig Flournoy, Southern Methodist University; Jennifer Autrey when she was with the Star-Telegram; Hadassah Schloss in the Texas Attorney General’s Office; Ralph Langer with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; Diane Wilson, author of “An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the
Fight for Seadrift, Texas”; Jennifer Peebles when she was with Texas Watchdog; and the WFAA-TV team of Mark Smith, Byron Harris, Billy Bryant and Brett Shipp.
The Open Doors Award celebrates the record of an individual or organization that
defends the people’s right to open government and open records. It complements the chapter’s larger First Amendment Awards competition, which recognizes work in two
divisions — over and under 50,000 circulation — that defends the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the
Constitution, furthers the people’s right to know how governments and businesses affect their lives, and champions
the powerless and disadvantaged.
2013 First Amendment Award winners (brown type) and finalists, with comments
(italics) from judges at the SPJ Indianapolis Professional Chapter:
1. Defending the Disadvantaged
• circulation over 50,000
Nolan Clay, Randy Ellis, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman, “DHS Package”
finalists: Andrew McLemore, Fort Worth Weekly; Betty Brink, Fort Worth Weekly
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Will You be Mine? Underage Sex Trafficking is Everywhere Local Law Enforcement Looks”
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• broadcast
Greg Groogan, Mark Muller, KRIV-TV, “Can Cameras Protect Special-needs Kids from Abuse?”
The soundtrack at the beginning was distracting. • I liked the sound from the lawyer; it was a good balance in what easily could have been a more one-sided story. • I would have liked the tag to include something regarding what parents can do to protect their children. I left the story feeling like there’s no help for those parents, but there should at least be some way for them to do something, even if it’s what to look for in a school/teacher, etc.
• circulation over 50,000
Nolan Clay, Randy Ellis, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman, “DHS Package”
finalists: Andrew McLemore, Fort Worth Weekly; Betty Brink, Fort Worth Weekly
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Will You be Mine? Underage Sex Trafficking is Everywhere Local Law Enforcement Looks”
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• broadcast
Greg Groogan, Mark Muller, KRIV-TV, “Can Cameras Protect Special-needs Kids from Abuse?”
The soundtrack at the beginning was distracting. • I liked the sound from the lawyer; it was a good balance in what easily could have been a more one-sided story. • I would have liked the tag to include something regarding what parents can do to protect their children. I left the story feeling like there’s no help for those parents, but there should at least be some way for them to do something, even if it’s what to look for in a school/teacher, etc.
2. General News
• circulation over 50,000
Nolan Clay, The Oklahoman, “Horses and Drug Lords Package”
Great color and storytelling in this work. It reads like a Hollywood script, with action and drama. Prize-winning horses and Mexican drug lords are inherently interesting. The writer takes full advantage of that material, giving the reader an informative, entertaining collection of stories. Well done.
finalist: Nolan Clay, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman, “TU Athletic Director Fired Package”
Good use of sources to break this national news story.
finalist: Bryan Painter, The Oklahoman, “Drought and Crops Package”
Fantastic writing. Bravo for using numbers to help tell the story, without leaning on them so much that it bores the reader. Loved the details about the dry ground and the hands brushing the top of the crop.
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Why Have Jail Suicides Soared Under Sheriff Ortiz’s watch?”
Good mix of statistics and description to tell the story.
• circulation over 50,000
Nolan Clay, The Oklahoman, “Horses and Drug Lords Package”
Great color and storytelling in this work. It reads like a Hollywood script, with action and drama. Prize-winning horses and Mexican drug lords are inherently interesting. The writer takes full advantage of that material, giving the reader an informative, entertaining collection of stories. Well done.
finalist: Nolan Clay, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman, “TU Athletic Director Fired Package”
Good use of sources to break this national news story.
finalist: Bryan Painter, The Oklahoman, “Drought and Crops Package”
Fantastic writing. Bravo for using numbers to help tell the story, without leaning on them so much that it bores the reader. Loved the details about the dry ground and the hands brushing the top of the crop.
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Why Have Jail Suicides Soared Under Sheriff Ortiz’s watch?”
Good mix of statistics and description to tell the story.
3. Reporting on Open Government
• circulation over 50,000
Megan Roland, Carrie Coppernoll, Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman, “Education Package”
finalists: Nolan Clay, Randy Ellis, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman; Jessica Savage, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current
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• broadcast
Ryan Loyd, Texas Public Radio, “The Sex Scandal that Rocked Lackland”
First soundtrack was cut off at the beginning of the story. I couldn’t understand his first word. • The sound about the sock rolling wasn’t really necessary. You could’ve left it at your track that said “ ... to the mundane like sock rolling.” • The story kind of ventured off the main topic around the sock-rolling section and through the graduation sound, and it made me lose focus on the main point of the story.
• circulation over 50,000
Megan Roland, Carrie Coppernoll, Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman, “Education Package”
finalists: Nolan Clay, Randy Ellis, Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman; Jessica Savage, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current
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• broadcast
Ryan Loyd, Texas Public Radio, “The Sex Scandal that Rocked Lackland”
First soundtrack was cut off at the beginning of the story. I couldn’t understand his first word. • The sound about the sock rolling wasn’t really necessary. You could’ve left it at your track that said “ ... to the mundane like sock rolling.” • The story kind of ventured off the main topic around the sock-rolling section and through the graduation sound, and it made me lose focus on the main point of the story.
4. Investigative
• circulation over 50,000
Randy Ellis, Nolan Clay, Michael McNutt, The Oklahoman, “Paroled Package”
finalists: Megan Roland, Carrie Coppernoll, Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman; Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Freeing the San Antonio Four”
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• broadcast
Byron Harris, Billy Bryant, Jason Trahan, WFAA-TV, “Denticaid: Medicaid Dental Abuse in Texas”
Thought this was a great story, with good impact. Really laid the groundwork of the issue out well for the pieces that would follow. Second piece. During the evaluation of Prentiss’ teeth/treatment, I would’ve rather seen someone who isn’t a competitor to the dental office in question evaluate the little boy’s case (perhaps someone from a dental college). • When talking to the solicitors about whether they get paid for what they’re doing, I would’ve rather heard their explanation, rather than the reporter track answering for them or summarizing what they said. This also happened when the reporter spoke with Susanna about which dental office she worked for. Third piece. When the reporter went to the Dental Professionals of Texas office the first time, the soundbite didn’t make sense. What I could gather was that he asked, “You want to? … That’s what I thought,” but the track before that didn’t explain what that response was for. • Would like to know if what Kevin Byington is doing is legal. It seems like a loophole version of recruiting. So he’s not giving the names of dentist offices to the patients, but he’s giving potential patient information to the clinics? • While I thought it was a good get, I would’ve rather seen the Amerismiles ladies tied in differently. There was a lot of time between when you introduced them and when you brought them back. When you said “back at AmeriSmiles” I had forgotten what role that played in the piece and only remembered once I saw the women.
finalist: Ryan Loyd, Texas Public Radio, “Growing Pains of Eagle Ford Shale”
Interesting issue, development vs. safety. Thought it was well-balanced, hearing from both sides. There are benefits to this economic boom, just as there are problems.
finalist: Brett Shipp, Billy Bryant, Jason Trahan, WFAA-TV, “Unfair Game”
On the chroma key graphic you said a “variety of sources” — I’d like to know at least examples of what those were. • I was confused on the Prime Prep segment. I know it was a lot of back-and-forth, but at the end of the story I was still confused about who had decided what. • The footage of the confrontation was great with the team!
• circulation over 50,000
Randy Ellis, Nolan Clay, Michael McNutt, The Oklahoman, “Paroled Package”
finalists: Megan Roland, Carrie Coppernoll, Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman; Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly
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• circulation under 50,000
Michael Barajas, San Antonio Current, “Freeing the San Antonio Four”
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• broadcast
Byron Harris, Billy Bryant, Jason Trahan, WFAA-TV, “Denticaid: Medicaid Dental Abuse in Texas”
Thought this was a great story, with good impact. Really laid the groundwork of the issue out well for the pieces that would follow. Second piece. During the evaluation of Prentiss’ teeth/treatment, I would’ve rather seen someone who isn’t a competitor to the dental office in question evaluate the little boy’s case (perhaps someone from a dental college). • When talking to the solicitors about whether they get paid for what they’re doing, I would’ve rather heard their explanation, rather than the reporter track answering for them or summarizing what they said. This also happened when the reporter spoke with Susanna about which dental office she worked for. Third piece. When the reporter went to the Dental Professionals of Texas office the first time, the soundbite didn’t make sense. What I could gather was that he asked, “You want to? … That’s what I thought,” but the track before that didn’t explain what that response was for. • Would like to know if what Kevin Byington is doing is legal. It seems like a loophole version of recruiting. So he’s not giving the names of dentist offices to the patients, but he’s giving potential patient information to the clinics? • While I thought it was a good get, I would’ve rather seen the Amerismiles ladies tied in differently. There was a lot of time between when you introduced them and when you brought them back. When you said “back at AmeriSmiles” I had forgotten what role that played in the piece and only remembered once I saw the women.
finalist: Ryan Loyd, Texas Public Radio, “Growing Pains of Eagle Ford Shale”
Interesting issue, development vs. safety. Thought it was well-balanced, hearing from both sides. There are benefits to this economic boom, just as there are problems.
finalist: Brett Shipp, Billy Bryant, Jason Trahan, WFAA-TV, “Unfair Game”
On the chroma key graphic you said a “variety of sources” — I’d like to know at least examples of what those were. • I was confused on the Prime Prep segment. I know it was a lot of back-and-forth, but at the end of the story I was still confused about who had decided what. • The footage of the confrontation was great with the team!
5. Opinion or Commentary
• circulation over 50,000
Dave Lieber, Star-Telegram, “Texas Insurance Department Has Made Disciplinary Information Harder to Find”
This is a very good example of what columnists who serve as government watchdogs should do — raise enough hell to shame public officials into acting on the public's behalf.
• circulation over 50,000
Dave Lieber, Star-Telegram, “Texas Insurance Department Has Made Disciplinary Information Harder to Find”
This is a very good example of what columnists who serve as government watchdogs should do — raise enough hell to shame public officials into acting on the public's behalf.
6. Green News
• circulation over 50,000
Gayle Reaves, Fort Worth Weekly, “Sucking It Up: Gas Drillers are Competing with Ranchers, Farmers and Cities for Increasingly Scarce Water Supplies”
• circulation over 50,000
Gayle Reaves, Fort Worth Weekly, “Sucking It Up: Gas Drillers are Competing with Ranchers, Farmers and Cities for Increasingly Scarce Water Supplies”
7. Opening the Books
• circulation over 50,000
Dave Lieber, Star-Telegram, “One DFW Travel Business Takes on Another”
It was easy to see the digging involved in reporting on this story, with specific records cited. The entry would have been even stronger had links to the source documents been included.
finalist: Adam Wilmoth, Jay Marks, The Oklahoman, “Chesapeake Package”
In a story of this magnitude, it's a good guess that some digging was involved in getting information on the company. From the stories, however, it was difficult to see how extensive that search was. Using the QR code to link to the shareholders' lawsuits and the SEC filing was a smart touch. Too bad that technique wasn't used throughout the series.
• circulation over 50,000
Dave Lieber, Star-Telegram, “One DFW Travel Business Takes on Another”
It was easy to see the digging involved in reporting on this story, with specific records cited. The entry would have been even stronger had links to the source documents been included.
finalist: Adam Wilmoth, Jay Marks, The Oklahoman, “Chesapeake Package”
In a story of this magnitude, it's a good guess that some digging was involved in getting information on the company. From the stories, however, it was difficult to see how extensive that search was. Using the QR code to link to the shareholders' lawsuits and the SEC filing was a smart touch. Too bad that technique wasn't used throughout the series.
8. Community Watchdog
• circulation under 10,000
Megan Gray, The Ellis County Press, “Mayor Gets Hit Again (three stories),” “Massive Fish Kill Under Investigation,” “Missing Child: School Violates District Policy”
Good job distilling complicated information into reader-friendly terms in the fish kill story. Smart to call out school officials who didn't want to comment on the missing child incident.
• circulation under 10,000
Megan Gray, The Ellis County Press, “Mayor Gets Hit Again (three stories),” “Massive Fish Kill Under Investigation,” “Missing Child: School Violates District Policy”
Good job distilling complicated information into reader-friendly terms in the fish kill story. Smart to call out school officials who didn't want to comment on the missing child incident.
9. Student Work
Krista Torralva, Fort Worth Weekly
Krista Torralva, Fort Worth Weekly
10. Online Project
Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog, “Special Districts, Special Favors”
As someone unfamiliar with these special districts, I would like to have had a one-line explanation early-on in the first article. I noticed that type of explanation in some of the other articles and think it could’ve helped to have that from the get-go in the longer piece from October. • One web element that might’ve been a good add would be to have a link to a site that could identify all the different special districts in your market. • I thought the articles were well-explained and detailed serious problems with the process; however, I would like to have heard more from the people in favor of the districts. Are there any businesses/homeowners who think the districts are a good idea?
Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog, “Special Districts, Special Favors”
As someone unfamiliar with these special districts, I would like to have had a one-line explanation early-on in the first article. I noticed that type of explanation in some of the other articles and think it could’ve helped to have that from the get-go in the longer piece from October. • One web element that might’ve been a good add would be to have a link to a site that could identify all the different special districts in your market. • I thought the articles were well-explained and detailed serious problems with the process; however, I would like to have heard more from the people in favor of the districts. Are there any businesses/homeowners who think the districts are a good idea?
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2013 Texas Gridiron Club Scholarships
Donna Darovich Scholarship
Mario Montalvo Tarrant County College
Mario Montalvo Tarrant County College
Joe Holstead Scholarship
Joey McReynolds Texas Christian University
Joey McReynolds Texas Christian University
Al Panzera Scholarship
Casey Holder UT Arlington
Casey Holder UT Arlington
Jay Milner Scholarship
Dunae Crenwelge Texas A&M University
Dunae Crenwelge Texas A&M University
Lina Davis Scholarship
Kelsey Fahler Texas Christian University
Karen Gavis Tarrant County College
Rachel Snyder UT Arlington
Krista Torralva UT Arlington
Kelsey Fahler Texas Christian University
Karen Gavis Tarrant County College
Rachel Snyder UT Arlington
Krista Torralva UT Arlington
Gridiron Scholarship
Taylor Griffin Tyler Junior College
Landon Haston Tarleton State University
Taylor Griffin Tyler Junior College
Landon Haston Tarleton State University
