Texas writer to receive CFINR award of excellence

A newspaper writer from Texas will receive a $5,000 state award from the Center for Integrity in News Reporting at the annual TPA Convention and Trade Show.

In November 2025, the center received a grant from the SNPA Foundation to fund awards in 14 Southeast states as an extension of the CFINR national awards. Texas was among the 14 states included in the first round of state awards.

Entries were submitted through the Texas BNC contest platform, but the entries were not judged as part of the annual contest. The 15 entries received were judged separately under criteria supplied by CFINR.

CFINR Executive Director Rufus Friday will present the Texas award during the Hall of Fame Awards luncheon at 11:45 a.m. June 19 during the TPA Convention and Trade Show at the Hyatt Regency DFW Airport Hotel. Friday will also be the keynote speaker for the banquet, which includes the Hall of Fame and Golden 50 presentations.

The Center for Integrity in News Reporting is dedicated to recognizing and awarding excellence in news reporting that embodies impartiality, objectivity, and fairness. The mission is to restore and maintain public trust in news reporting.

Friday, a former publisher of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky, was appointed CFINR director in December 2024.

Prior to his time  at the Herald-Leader, Friday served as president and publisher of the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Washington, from 2005 to 2011. A graduate of North Carolina State University, Friday began his career in circulation at the Raleigh News & Observer in 1984, later to become vice president of circulation from 2003 to 2005. His career also includes leadership roles at newspapers in Montgomery, Alabama; Rockford, Illinois; and Jackson, Tennessee.

“Restoring and maintaining trust in journalism is not just a professional responsibility but a personal mission,” Friday said when appointed to the post.

The Center for Integrity in News Reporting was created to address the public’s declining trust in news reporting. Gallup polls show that trust, which was around 70% in the 1970s, has now fallen to 28%. CFINR aims to improve public trust by encouraging and rewarding impartial, objective, and fair journalism. By recognizing exemplary reporting, CFINR officials hope to restore the standards that once earned widespread trust.

CFINR was founded in 2024 by Walter E. Hussman, Jr., chairman of WEHCO Media, Inc., which operates 11 daily newspapers and cable television companies across six states. CFINR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, governed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom have extensive news experience.

The new state awards are an extension of the CFINR national awards. The 2026 national winners were announced May 21.

Among the winners in six categories receiving $25,000 each in the national competition was KXAN TV in Austin. KXAN won the award for broadcast reporting with a project entitled “Undocumented: Texas’ Immigration Impact in a New Trump Era.”

KXAN spent the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term producing Undocumented, a multi-platform investigation of immigration enforcement in Texas. The newsroom crowd sourced information through an anonymous tip line and gathered insights from the public, examining ripple effects on the state’s economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts, and public safety services. The project included a Spanish-language edition and a documentary video presentation. The reporting team included Josh Hinkle, David Barer, Dalton Huey, Christopher Adams, Kelly Wiley, Matt Grant, Arezow Doost, Avery Travis, Richie Bowes, Chris Nelson, Jordan Belt, Robert Sims, Sandra Sanchez, Grace Reader, Dylan McKim, and Adam Schwager.

Other winners in the national awards were Melissa Lee, Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli and David Lettieri of CNBC for Cable Television Reporting; Alexander Shur, Votebeat for Digital Reporting; Los Angeles Times staff in investigative reporting; Grant Gerstner, The Oldham (Kentucky) Era for print reporting; and Tyler Pager, the New York Times for White House Correspondents’ Association Reporting.