The El Paso Times won four top awards — including a coveted statewide award for outstanding storytelling — in the 2026 Texas Managing Editors journalism competition.
In all, the El Paso Times received 17 awards in a contest that recognizes excellence in journalism in Texas. The winners were announced during the Texas Managing Editors convention held in El Paso. The final awards were presented during the closing day of the three-day gathering that ended on April 26.
“We welcomed Texas’ top newsroom leaders and journalists to El Paso to showcase the Borderland,” Tim Archuleta, executive editor of the El Paso Times, said. “Our staff is experienced and dedicated to telling El Paso’s story every day. It was great to see so many local journalists in our city recognized for their award-winning work.”
El Paso Matters also won 15 total awards, including seven first place honors that included Star Breaking News Report for CEO Robert Moore. El Paso Inc. won 12 awards, including three first-place awards, in Class 1A.
It was the first time the El Paso Times has won the coveted Michael Brick Storytelling Award. Reporter Jeff Abbott won the award for his investigative and storytelling work on the first death reported at El Paso’s troubled Camp East Montana ICE detention center.
A story headline on the entry is: She survived ICE custody; her husband did not
The winner is selected from all entries in Texas regardless of the size of the newsrooms. The award is named for the late journalist and author Michael Brick, who lived in Austin and wrote for the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News, The New York Times and other papers.
The Dallas Morning News and the Texas Tribune finished second and third, respectively.
The honor is given each year to a single writer of “an elegant, insightful, closely observed story or stories about an everyday person or people.”
Abbott also won first place in feature writing for the same story in Class 2A, one of the largest collection of Texas profit and non-profit newsrooms.
El Paso Times visual journalists Omar Ornelas and Gaby Velasquez won first place in separate categories.
Ornelas won first place in photo journalism for his work on a special project in partnership with the Arizona Republic’s immigration reporter Daniel Gonzales on reverse migration since President Donald Trump shutdown immigration relief at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Here is the entry headline: In Panama, migrants hail a boat ride south, away from their American dream
The judge wrote: “In a word, outstanding. Great combination of video, stills and words. Well written and thoughtfully edited selection of images that mirrored the story. A great example of a writer and photojournalist working in sync. Nice drone art without overuse. I would love to see all the stories in a special edition tabloid. This project and Omar’s art deserves such play. Solid impartial reporting with a feature writing style. It was a pleasure to read all the stories and review the accompanying art. No one element of this entry overwhelmed the other.”
Velasquez won first place for her boxing coverage in sports photography, a highly-competitive category in Texas. The judge commented: “I can almost feel the impact of this punch and the sweat about to hit my lens. Very nice capture.”
Here are other El Paso, Borderland, national and international coverage recognized in Texas:
Second place
Third place
Honorable mention
News Photography – Omar Ornelas
Sports Photography – Omar Ornelas
Feature Photography – Omar Ornelas, Orange marigolds bloom for Dia de los Muertos
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Times wins awards for excellence in storytelling, visual journalism
Reporting by El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
