FOIFT honors Diana Fuentes with James Madison Award

Shown during the presentation of the James Madison Award at the recent FOIFT conference in Austin are (from left) Yvonne Mintz, FOIFT vice president and TPA president; Lydia Aranda, Diana Fuentes’ sister; Ysa Aranda, Diana’s niece; Sylvia Fuentes, Diana’s sister; and Josh Hinkle, president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, where Diana was executive director.

The Freedom of Information Foundation posthumously awarded the 2026 James Madison Award to Diana “DeeDee” Fuentes, a highly respected Texas journalist, mentor, and former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).

“The James Madison Award bestowed by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is awarded  to people who have demonstrated commitment to government transparency and First Amendment rights,” FOIFT Board Vice President Yvonne Mintz said. “This was DeeDee to her core and I can’t imagine a more deserving recipient.”

Mintz shared her memories of working with Fuentes during her own 29-year career. “I learned so much from DeeDee,” she said. “She was lovable and at the same time she was fierce.”

The award presentation included a video narrated by IRE’s DBEI Director Francisco Vara-Orta and IRE member Nora Lopez of the San Antonio Express-News, produced by BBC’s Angélica M. Casas. Nora and Diana worked together at the Society of Professional Journalists’ San Antonio chapter, where Diana was on the board and Nora now serves as president.

Fuentes’ impact on the journalism industry in Texas was vast. Fuentes had more than 35 years of experience in journalism and was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame in 2022. She also taught journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Texas State University, where she recently earned her master’s degree.

Fuentes was a reporter for nearly 20 years — first at the Laredo News — during the late 1970s to late 1990s. She also reported at the Laredo Morning Times, San Antonio Light and San Antonio Express-News.

She later became editor of the Laredo Morning Times from 2004-2011; editor/publisher of the Del Rio News-Herald from 2011-2013; and an editor at the San Antonio Express-News from 2013-2021, holding the title of deputy metro editor starting in 2015.

Among the highlights of her reporting career was covering the 1993 Branch Davidian siege near Waco and the subsequent trial in San Antonio.

Other highlights include coverage of the 1991 Luby’s mass shooting in Killeen that claimed 23 lives, and the 1994 assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio. She interviewed five Mexican presidents and four U.S. presidents.

She was the first female managing editor of the Laredo Morning Times and was honored by the city of Laredo with DeeDee Fuentes Day in 2011.

Colleagues called her a mighty force for high-impact journalism, with a sharp understanding of the law and South Texas politics. She was a fierce advocate for newsroom diversity.

Family members accepting the award on her behalf included sisters Lydia Aranda and Sylvia Fuentes and her niece Ysa Aranda. They revealed Fuentes left the FOIFT $25,000 to continue the fight for open records and open government in Texas.