SAN ANTONIO — KENS 5 has won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for news coverage of immigration issues from the station’s border bureau team.
The award recognizes excellence in video for “Immigration Ground Zero,” a report from KENS 5 journalists Oscar Margain and Jose Sanchez about a caravan of migrant families making the journey from Central America to attempt to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border in south Texas.
The KENS 5 team rode along with Border Patrol agents to get a firsthand look at the enforcement effort. During that day alone, the team encountered roughly 50 undocumented immigrants, just part of the more than 700 taken into custody in the Rio Grande Valley sector that day.
“We are proud to bring these types of stories to the people of San Antonio,” said Jack Acosta, KENS 5 news director. “KENS 5 is the only station in Texas with a team of journalists embedded on the border and we’re thrilled to be honored with such a prestigious award.”
The Edward R. Murrow Awards, which are sponsored by the Radio Television Digital News Association, honor outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism.
KENS 5’s parent company, TEGNA, won 91 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, the most in the company’s history and more than any other media company this year.
“I am continually inspired by the locally relevant and purpose-driven work our colleagues at our stations are doing every day to serve the greater good of their communities,” said Dave Lougee, TEGNA’s president and CEO. “As these honors illustrate, we are exposing wrongdoings, holding the powerful accountable and helping bring change to those who need it most through engaging and innovative content across platforms.”