Texas Broadcast Newsrooms Win RTDNA National Murrow Awards

posted on 8.18.2026

Nine Texas broadcast newsrooms have won prestigious Radio Television Digital News Association’s National Edward R. Murrow Awards. The awards will be presented at an Oct. 12 gala event in New York City.

Among the most highly prized newsroom recognitions, the Murrow Awards recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise, and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community. Murrow Award-winning work demonstrates the excellence that CBS News’ Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession. RTDNA has honored outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism with Murrow Awards since 1971.

KXAN-TV Austin, KUT-FM Austin, WFAA-TV Dallas-Fort Worth, Marfa Public Radio, KWTX-TV Waco, the Texas Standard, and a podcast produced by Public Health Watch and KXLN-TV Houston/N+ Univision 45, were cited by RTDNA for journalistic excellence.

In the Large Market Television division, WFAA-TV Dallas-Fort Worth won in the Continuing Coverage category for Unlicensed and Unchecked,  a year-long probe by longtime WFAA investigative reporter Tanya Eiserer that revealed how vulnerable Texans were being funneled into dangerous, unregulated boarding homes. It exposed a hidden network of unlicensed facilities operating with little oversight—and the largely unregulated system of senior placement agents who helped fill them. As a result, Gov. Greg Abbott has signed two bills into law aimed at protecting elderly and disabled residents from exploitation and neglect.

KXAN-TV Austin won in the Digital category for a collection of multi-media investigative reports which held the powerful accountable. Among the series of stories produced by the KXAN investigative team were Undocumented: Texas’ Immigration Impact in a New Trump Era, Human Trafficking: Barriers to Justice, Code 98: Texas’ Dropout Problem, Texas Energy Crossroads, and Sold Out: SXSW Musician Pay Highlights Industry Struggle.

In the Large Market Radio division, KUT-FM Austin won in the Excellence in Writing category for its entry Three Black Texans Were Lynched 130 Years Ago. How Can Austin Preserve Their Memory?  It explored the 1894 killing of a Black woman and two Black men, reportedly shot to death in a field after a mob pulled them from a jail in Travis County. There is little evidence and not much of a historical record in the case, most of which only existed in reports from foreign newspapers at the time. KUT Health Care Reporter Olivia Aldridge reported the story as part of the station’s “ATXplained” project. 

The Texas Standard, the joint news program produced by San Antonio’s Texas Public Radio, KUT-FM Austin, KERA-FM Dallas-Fort Worth, and KUHF-FM Houston, won in the Excellence in Sound category for ‘El Más Dulce Recuerdo’: 30 Years Later, Selena’s Presence Still Felt in Corpus Christi. The story detailed the legacy and continued impact of the late Tejano music star on her fans and her hometown of Corpus Christi. It was reported by TTS digital producer and Corpus Christi native Raul Alonzo.

In the Small Market Television division, KWTX-TV Waco won in the Feature Reporting category for The Bladesmith, the illuminating and artful profile of master knife maker Bill Smith, who teaches the process to KWTX’s Gordon Collier and others at Smith’s forge in Salado. It was beautifully shot and edited by
James Warde.

In the Small Market Radio division, Marfa Public Radio won in the News Series category for A Whole Other Country. MPR’s Zoe Kurland drove the bumpy roads of the Davis Mountains Resort to talk to neighbors, historians, eyewitnesses, and hostages about the real story of the Republic of Texas, a movement led by Richard McLaren 30 years that led to an infamous armed standoff there. McLaren and his followers were convinced to surrender peacefully after a week-long standoff with police and the Texas Rangers.

In the Small Digital Organization division, News Series category, Public Health Watch and N+ Univision 45 won for Fumed which detailed the plight of Channelview residents and the lingering effects of the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site. KXLN-TV Houston environmental reporter Ana Bueno collaborated with Public Health Watch on a series of reports on the waste pits, one of the nation’s most contaminated sites, and their profound negative impact on the health of the area’s citizens.

See the full list of stations and their winning categories in this compilation of the 2025 Murrow Award winners.

Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.

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