2023 Beat Reporting (Small Newsroom) Finalists
Brian Lopez
The Texas Tribune
Brian Lopez, Public Education Reporter
- COVID-19 upended Texas schools’ finances. Now they’re calling for a new funding system.
- In audio, high-ranking TEA official admits public school funds could drop with voucher-like programs
- Brazosport ISD is training its own teachers. The program might become a model for other Texas schools.
- How a state effort to fund Texas schools equitably is shortchanging dozens of rural districts
- “Our public school system is our town”: Why this rural Republican is voting against school vouchers
Comments From the Judges:
“This entry did a great job of making school financing interesting and engaging for the reader. The appearance of the TEA voucher collusion is quite the scoop to be shared with the reporter because of the potential consequences.”
“This entry [gives] a statewide perspective on some complicated education issues. The explanations were clear and included background that was helpful but not overly long. I appreciated the teacher and aspiring teacher voices. It helped drive home why these issues are important.”
Kate McGee
The Texas Tribune & Open Campus
Kate McGee, Higher Education Reporter
- How Republicans’ threats to tenure and diversity might undercut their own efforts to advance Texas’ universities
- For thousands of Texas professors seeking tenure, a bill banning the benefit could be a turning point in their careers
- Texas A&M President Katherine Banks resigns amid fallout from failed hiring of journalism professor
- Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture
- As Texas bans diversity and equity offices at public colleges, Rice University’s inclusion efforts march on
Comments From the Judges:
“There is a lot going on in Texas higher ed. And not in a good way. This entry captured the tensions in the larger context of state and national politics. It was even-handed and sophisticated. Well done.”
“She really did hold the state higher education system accountable. Using public record requests, gaining the trust of sources and dogged reporting, she was able to point out how the heavy hand of [the] state government was pressing on higher education in ways that could (and in some cases did ) cause irreparable harm to the institutions in the system.
Molly Minta
Mississippi Today & Open Campus
Secrecy and Unfairness in Mississippi’s Higher Education System
- Public officials met in ‘confidence’ to overhaul state financial aid. Their proposal could become law.
- Handwritten notes show what IHL trustees thought during JSU listening session
- A USM student spoke out about a candidate for provost. Then they got an email from one of the school’s biggest donors.
- How a business consultant with a history of domestic violence allegations took over the Delta State music department
- Facing political pressure, UMMC cut care to trans kids before the Legislature banned doing so, emails show
Comments From the Judges:
“The combination of beat reporting and public records [requests] gives Molly Minta and the community an important advantage in knowing what is happening in the university system. Lots of breaking/exclusive news obtained through collecting public records.”
“Doggedness in the reporting and pursuit of confidential documents. A particularly powerful story was the one where the reporter documented what was essentially a threat from a powerful donor to a student protestor. The story illustrated how lines are being crossed in higher education from wealthy donors in ways that didn’t happen previously.”
