NAHJ’s ? Awards spotlight ways cultural competence contributes to great journalism

A Noticias Telemundo investigation triggered by the death of 53 migrants inside a tractor-trailer near San Antonio landed two prestigious awards at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists annual ? Awards event, which spotlighted journalistic excellence in multiple categories.

The Telemundo investigation revealed how truck drivers and cartels profit from the migrant crisis. Other award winners exposed child labor, explored the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting, and introduced a Mexican woman conductor who is bringing classical music to the Pacific Northwest.

“These awards spotlight top notch journalism, including stories that would have gone untold without the cultural competence that Latino journalists bring to their work,” said NAHJ President Yvette Cabrera.?

The NAHJ ? Awards recognize excellence in journalism that sheds light on issues affecting Latino and other under-represented communities. They were presented during NAHJ’s 40th Anniversary Conference and Expo in Hollywood, CA. The ? Award winners are below; see all the finalists .?

? Award for Print/Digital Journalism Edgar Sandoval, The New York Times, Two Children, a Burst of Gunfire and the Year That Came After . When a gunman opened fire in two classrooms in the Hispanic majority city of Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two teachers died. In this long form feature story, I chronicled the recovery and lives of two of the young Latino survivors of one of the deadliest school mass shootings in the nation.

? Award for Radio/Online Audio Journalism Lilly Fowler – KNKX, Meet the Mexican, female conductor bringing classical music to Latinos in the Pacific Northwest Classical music. It’s not usually associated with Latinos. The Seattle nonprofit Orquesta Northwest — made up of both the Ballard Civic Orchestra and the World Youth Orchestra — is changing that. KNKX reporter Lillyana Fowler brings us this story about the Mexican, female conductor leading the organization.

? Award for TV/Online Video Journalism John Qui?ones, ABC News, The Power of Water: Life without Running Water

Easy access to safe, clean, drinking water remains a pipe dream for many Americans across the country. John Qui?ones and Nightline explored the reality for some of these families who, for decades, have felt the desperation of having to go to punishing lengths simply to get water for their dishes, laundry, showering, and drinking. Qui?ones traveled to Cochran colonia, a remote town just outside of El Paso, Texas, where nearly two dozen families live without running water.

? Award for Photography Verónica Gabriel Cárdenas, The New York Times, On the Texas Border, Folk Healers Bring Modern Touches to Their Ancient Practice . Cárdenas’ images shed light on an ancient Latino custom, and help demystify and humanize curanderas for a national audience.

? Award for Student Print/Online Journalism Dashiell Allen and Génesis Dávila Santiago, El Deadline, Mexican Families Struggle to Send Lost Loved Ones Home for Burial . The remains of nearly 5,000 Mexican immigrants are repatriated from the U.S. annually — a costly and complicated process that adds to families’ grief. Some wind up turning to social media for help. Read the series .

? Award for Student Broadcast Journalism Jeronimo Mura, Lee Caplin Media News, Bateyes Dominicanos: ?Cómo es el lugar donde se produce el azúcar prohibido por EE.UU. y por qué es un fenómeno en crecimiento? More than 4,000 families of Haitian descent reside in the bateyes of El Seibo, Dominican Republic, dedicating their lives to working in the sugarcane plantations, and living in very precarious conditions. The vast majority do not have documents to move freely through Dominican territory, which is why they raise their children in rural settlements where there is no electricity, running water, or sewage system and they fear being captured by the immigration police.

NAHJ Emerging Journalist Award Jeronimo Mura, Lee Caplin Media News, Bateyes Dominicanos: ?Cómo es el lugar donde se produce el azúcar prohibido por EE.UU. y por qué es un fenómeno en crecimiento? (English description is above). Más de 4000 familias de ascendencia haitiana residen en los bateyes de El Seibo, República Dominicana, dedicando su vida al trabajo en las plantaciones de ca?a, y viven en condiciones muy precarias. La gran mayoría no tiene documentos para circular libremente por el territorio dominicano, por eso crían a sus hijos en asentamientos rurales donde no hay electricidad, agua corriente, o sistema de cloacas y temen ser capturados por la policía migratoria.

Al Neuharth Award for Investigative Journalism Damià Bonmatí, Noticias Telemundo, How truck drivers and the cartels profit from the migrant crisis . After 53 migrants died suffocated inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Noticias Telemundo set out to investigate how the cruel business of human smuggling in trucks operates in South Texas. Leer en espa?ol . Watch the videos .

NAHJ Elaine Rivera Civil Rights & Social Justice Award Didi Martinez, NBC News, Slaughterhouse children: Child labor exposed in America’s food industry . The documentary tells the story of child labor in 2023, a practice hiding in plain sight and in some of the most dangerous places like slaughterhouses in America’s heartland.

NAHJ/University of Florida Award in Investigative Journalism: Small/Medium Newsroom? Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, Death on a Dairy Farm . An investigation of conditions for immigrant dairy workers. One story examined how a language barrier led police to mistakenly blame a Nicaraguan father for his son’s death. It led to significant reforms.

NAHJ/University of Florida Award in Investigative Journalism: Large Newsroom Ronny Rojas, Noticias Telemundo, How truck drivers and the cartels profit from the migrant crisis . After 53 migrants died suffocated inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Noticias Telemundo set out to investigate how the cruel business of human smuggling in trucks operates in South Texas. Leer en espa?ol . Watch the videos .

Bonmatí and Rojas worked together on the Telemundo investigation, but applied separately for individual awards, per the award guidelines.