Chieftain brings home 24 awards from press conference

EDC Staff Report

El Defensor Chieftain made its presence known last Saturday during the New Mexico Press Association’s awards banquet at the Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque.

New Mexico’s oldest weekly newspaper took home 24 awards in the Weekly Class II division, including the prestigious first place award in the General Excellence category. The judges from the Wyoming Press Association commented that the Chieftain “had good production quality for all three samples, strong photography and good ad mix. The writing quality was good.”

In total, the Chieftain was awarded 13 first and 11 second-place awards, with editor Jessica Carranza Pino receiving first place recognition for 11 submissions. Jessica Carranza Pino’s winning submission “Confronting the past: The cultural assimilation of Alamo’s youth,” about the former BIA boarding school in Magdalena, was awarded first place for best series. She also won first in general news photo, sports photo, photo series, online photo gallery, and best front page design for its clean and well-balanced appearance. “This is a clear winner in this category,” the judges commented.

She was also awarded best ongoing coverage for “The County Livestock Loss Authority’s bumpy road forward.”

“Your articles show that you know your subject very well,” the judges commented.

“You’re also following what can be controversial and focusing on keeping the transparency of the meetings. It was a hard call between this coverage and the coverage of the wolves and the ranchers in your other submission. However, this goes after the heart of the issues and the hoops that have to be gone through in order to make things right for the people who are experiencing the damage from the predators.”

Carranza Pino also won first place in environmental/agricultural writing for her coverage of feral horses in “Feral, wild and free: horse report release,” that the judges said used strong sources, including a neighboring rancher’s account of the condition of the horses’ habitat paired with “frank tales from the State Land Office and an animal nonprofit. Well done!”

She also shared first place with Chieftain staffers Stephanie McFadden, Denise Ortega, and Bobbi Chandler for best magazine. Of the submission “The Source: Discovering the Socorro County Area” judges commented, “This magazine presents a nice overview of the rich Socorro history, and gives a sense of place with historic landmarks and community amenities.”

Staff reporter UngelbahDávila received second place in environmental/agricultural writing for her story “Miss B: The Ragtag Rancher Kid,” and first place in business writing for her coverage of the historic Capitol Bar.

“Well written. Descriptive language brings the reader into the Capitol Bar as if they were there. Great writing on incorporating past and present,” the judges commented.