Texas Managing Editors on Sunday announced its final winners and runners-up in the 2026 edition of the contest. Congratulations to the newsrooms recognized for their outstanding work last year. You can view first-round winners here and Star award winners here.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
1A
1st Place: Josh Havard, Stacy Faison, Ruben Ibarra, Joel Andrews – Lufkin Daily News
2nd Place: Ronald W. Erdrich – Abilene Reporter-News
3rd Place: Dominic Villa – The Waco Bridge
2A
1st Place: Priscilla Totiyapungprasert – El Paso Matters
2nd Place: Staff – Killeen Daily Herald
3rd Place: Daniel Gonzalez, Omar Ornelas, Jeff Abbott – El Paso Times
3A
1st Place: Editorial Board – Houston Chronicle
2nd Place: Tony Plohetski, Kiah Collier – Austin American-Statesman
3rd Place: Tribune staff, Source New Mexico staff – The Texas Tribune
Honorable Mention: Austin American-Statesman, The Texas Tribune
DIANA R. FUENTES FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
2A
1st Place: Drew Shaw, Cecilia Lenzen – Fort Worth Report
2nd Place: Robert Moore – El Paso Matters
3rd Place: John Oliva – Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Honorable Mention: Priscilla Totiyapungrpasert – El Paso Matters
3A
1st Place: R.A. Schuetz, Yilun Cheng and Matt Zdun – Houston Chronicle
2nd Place: Lexi Churchill, Ellis Simani – The Texas Tribune
3rd Place: Sue Ambrose, Chase Rogers, Jacob Quinn Sanders – The Dallas Morning News
Honorable Mention: Dug Begley, Octavia Johnson – Houston Chronicle
TEAM EFFORT
1A
1st Place: Louis Amestoy, Jennifer Dean – Kerr County Lead
2nd Place: Ruben Ibarra Jr., Greg Weatherbee, Stacy Faison – Lufkin Daily News
3rd Place: Staff – The Daily Skiff, TCU
Honorable Mention: Staff – Baytown Sun
2A
1st Place: Staff – El Paso Matters
2nd Place: Michael Rodriguez, Francisco E. Jimenez, Joel Martinez – MyRGV.com
3rd Place: Bob Francis, Nicole Lopez, Dave Montgomery, Scott Nishimura, Drew Shaw, Eric E. Garcia – Fort Worth Report
Honorable Mention: Laredo Morning Times, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
3A
1st Place: Emily Foxhall, Alejandra Martinez, Zach Despart, Edison Wu, Carla Astudillo, Lexi Churchill, Chris Essig, Sneha Dey, Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Terri Langford and Paul Cobler – The Texas Tribune
2nd Place: Ella McCarthy, Alex Driggars, Tony Plohetski, Chaya Tong, Abby Church, Kiah Collier – Austin American-Statesman
3rd Place: Jason Buch, Benjamin Wermund, Matt Zdun – San Antonio Express-News, Houston Chronicle
Honorable Mention: Houston Chronicle
NEWSROOM OF THE YEAR
1A
1st Place: Odessa American
2nd Place: Lufkin Daily News
3rd Place (tie): El Paso Inc., Kerr County Lead
2A
1st Place: Fort Worth Report
2nd Place: El Paso Matters
3rd Place: El Paso Times
3A
1st Place: Houston Chronicle
2nd Place: San Antonio Express-News
3rd Place: Austin American-Statesman