FEATURED: Cecilia Gutiérrez, a journalist and meteorologist who is a granddaughter of the late Rep. Roberto Gutiérrez, D-McAllen, is part of the KRGV Television News team which was recently named as a Finalist for Overall Excellence by the Texas Association of Broadcasters, reports attorney Omar Ochoa.
Photograph Courtesy KRGV-TV
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KRGV-TV News named “Finalist for Overall Texas Excellence” by Texas Association of Broadcasters, and earns four other journalism honors, reports attorney Omar Ochoa
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
[email protected]
KRGV-TV News was recently named “Finalist for Overall Texas Excellence” by the Texas Association of Broadcasters, and earned other journalism honors during a statewide competition which saw more than 400 entriesfrom television and radio stations in the Lone Star State, reports attorney Omar Ochoa.
In addition, KRGV-TV News was chosen as “Finalist Evening Newscast” for its Spanish-language newscast, “Finalist Investigative Report”, and “Finalist Reporter”,” Ochoa said.
KRGV-TV News offers Spanish language news on its Digital Channel 5.2, which is affiliated with Azteca America Network. Its local channel is Azteca Valle and newscasts are HECHOS Valle.
KRGV-TV launched Azteca and HECHOS in October of 2020.
Since KRGV-TV now has two independent news channels, it no longer offers Secondary Audio Program in Spanish for its English newscasts.
SAP is an additional audio channel that can be received by all viewers with stereo television sets in markets where SAP is available. It can be used for any audio signal, but is most often used as a vehicle for a secondary language for English-language programming.
This feature is usually located on the front of a television or VCR or on the remote control.
https://abc7news.com/archive/5799209/
The Rio Grande Valley news station also picked up four awards:
• Best Feature Story;
• Best Station Photojournalism;
• Best Sports Special; and
• Best General Assignment Story.
The award winners, who were publicly notified of their respective victories on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, will gather to celebrate from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the Westin Austin at the Domain. The winners in the Finalist categories also will be announced that evening.
The Texas Broadcast News Awards recognize outstanding local broadcast journalism, produced by radio and television stations which are part of that organization, for serving local communities.
The Texas Association of Broadcasters, formed in 1953, is a trade association representing the interests of Texas’ 1,200+ free, over-the-air radio and television stations.
“The Valley is home to many outstanding individuals and organizations who are part of our region’s impressive mainstream media and social media outlets, and KRGV-TV News is the latest success story whose public recognition brings honor upon themselves and the public which they serve,” said Ochoa.
Newspaper, television news networks, cable news, and radio are generally considered mainstream media outlets. Social media is a computer-based technology, such as Internet-only broadcast and print webpages, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok, that shares ideas, thoughts and information through the building of virtual networks and communities.
Ochoa provides regular reports to the public on federal, state, and local laws that impact journalism, communications, freedom of speech issues, and transparency in government.
According to Ballotpedia, which is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States:
• Openness, accountability, and honesty define government transparency. In a free society, transparency is government’s obligation to share information with citizens. It is at the heart of how citizens hold their public officials accountable.
• Governments exist to serve the people.
• Information on how officials conduct the public business and spend taxpayers’ money must be readily available and easily understood. This transparency allows good and just governance. Government transparency is traditionally broken into three different types: proactive disclosure, requesting public records, and campaign finance disclosure.
https://ballotpedia.org/Government_transparency
Ochoa has has experience in journalismprint publications.
He was the editor-in-chief of the prestigious Texas Law Review at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, becoming the first Latino to serve in that position.
In the context of law school, a law review is an entirely student-run journal that publishes articles written by law professors, judges, and other legal professionals; many law review journals also publish shorter pieces written by law students called “notes” or comments.
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-law-review-2154872
This was the first year for the Texas Broadcast News Awards, which took the place of the Texas Associated Press Broadcast Awards, which were discontinued.
“Local news is the most trusted journalism in the media ecosystem and TAB is delighted to recognize broadcast stations and journalists throughout the state whose work has earned that trust and helped advance the communities they serve,” said TAB President Óscar Rodríguez.
“We are particularly grateful to the nearly two dozen bilingual broadcast journalists from across the country, practicing and retired, who evaluated the more than 400 entries from commercial and non-commercial stations, a process in which Spanish- and English-language entries were evaluated on an equal footing,” added Rodríguez, who was raised in Pharr.
According to Beth Bobbitt, Vice President, Member Services, Texas Association of Broadcasters, KRGV-TV News secured their wins in the following categories:
Feature (Light)
Herencia Hispana: Botas vaqueras a la medida, tradición del Sure de Texas, by Hugo Magallan.
What initially began as a stroke of luck has become a tradition in South Texas. Don Juan boots proudly tell us about our Hispanic heritage.
A news feature is a type of story that focuses on a hard news topic. It combines a feature writing style with hard news reporting. Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact at the society as a whole and need to be reported urgently. They are factual stories with data, concerning events that are potentially available to analysis.
https://www.krgv.com/news/herencia-hispana-botas-vaqueras-a-la-medida-tradici-n-del-sur-de-texas/
Station Photojournalism
Photographer’s Perspective. A behind-the-scene look at the work, the equipment used and the challenges faced by the station’s award-winning team.
The winning KRGV-TV News entry showed the skill and depth of the station’s photography staff.
https://www.krgv.com/photographers-perspective/
Sports Special
Valley Football Preview Show. Exclusive interviews, features and predictions to let viewers know who will be the Valley’s best in high school football in 2021.
https://www.krgv.com/pages/valley-hs-football-preview-show/
General Assignment
Child Endures Thousand Mile Journey to U.S. Border.
In journalism, a general assignment is a story covering a wide range of topics, such as medicine, sports, business, etc. The winning KRGV-TV News entry focused on immigration.
(No link to the story is available on the Internet.)
The complete list of categories and winners are available online at:
https://www.tab.org/news-and-events/news/tbna-winners-2022
According to the Valley station’s website:
KRGV-TV News, then an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in April of 1954, from its first location in downtown Weslaco.
At the time, it had a 945-foot transmitter in La Feria. They now transmit from a 1,500-foot tower in Santa Maria, located south of La Feria.
In 1964, KRGV-TV News was purchased by Mobile Video Tapes, Inc. under the leadership of the Manship family. The Manships brought growth and a commitment to quality television programming to the Rio Grande Valley.
As Weslaco grew, so did KRGV-TV News, and with the expansion of the station, a new building was erected in 1969 at 900 East Expressway 83, which is its current address. But a new building was not enough for the Manships. They wanted to bring the Valley the best television available, so in March, 1976, affiliation changed to the ABC Television Network.
Another major change came in 1988, when the Manships’ dedication to the Valley resulted in a state-of-the-art telecommunications center. With this new building came an extensive investment in the latest electronic equipment to enhance the efforts of Eyewitness News and its production staff.
The arrival of the 21st century brought even more changes to KRGV-TV.
On October 8, 2002, KRGV-TV made a quantum leap in broadcast technology with the launch of KRGV-DT 5.1, the first digital television station on the air in the Rio Grande Valley. This new technology featured high definition (HD) programming from the ABC Network.
A few months later, KRGV-DT added digital channel 5.2 displaying local weather information around the clock.
In May of 2007, LATV was introduced on 5.2, providing music and entertainment programming oriented to the young Hispanic audience.
December 2008 marked the launch of Retro TV on channel 5.3. This network brought back many of the favorite programs from the early years of television, available 24 hours a day.
June 12, 2009 was the final date for regular programming on the original channel 5. It was replaced with information concerning the transition to digital-only broadcasting, and 30 days later, the KRGV-TV analog signal signed off forever.
On September 9, 2009 KRGV-TV 5.1 transitioned to a full HD program schedule, featuring CHANNEL 5 NEWS produced live in HD, as well as Regis and Kelly, Dr. Phil, Oprah Winfrey, ET, and other syndicated programming presented in HD for the first time.
Other advancements are planned for the near future, taking advantage of the latest and best technology available for providing news and entertainment.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/KRGV-TV
BRENDA PATRICIA GARZA, FILM STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY, EARNS TWO AWARDS FOR DOCUMENTARY SHORT “POLITICAL AGENDA”
Brenda Patricia Garza of Edinburg, a film student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has earned two awards for a documentary short film based on her husband’s experiences as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
The recognitions are from international film competitions – the Best Shorts Competition and theIMPACT DOCS Awards.
“Political Agenda,” the documentary short directed by Garza, spotlights the life of her husband, former ICE agent Robert Briseño, and unveils the reality behind what ICE agents go through daily and how those events can affect the agents and their families.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are responsible for preventing illegal immigration and preventing the unlawful traffic of goods into the US. With an increased emphasis on securing the nation’s borders, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expanding, as are other federal law enforcement agencies.
“After years of working for the U.S. Government, a former ICE agent unveils the truth that agents go through as they separate children from their families after they cross the U.S. / Mexico border, and the toll it takes on their personal lives,” Garza said.
“‘Political Agenda’ is literally based on my husband’s experience, and he’s still working through it,” she explained. “He suffers from PTSD because of this experience and the documentary has a lot to do with how he felt as an ICE agent.”
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it.
The documentary short,Garza’s directorial debut, was her first submission to both film competitions.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s TV and Film Production post-baccalaureate student said just being accepted into the competitions was a milestone, and because the film hit so close to home, she is particularly proud of the awards.
“I mean, I was crying with happiness. I was crying with awe,” she said. “As a student, you often don’t feel that what you put out is good enough. I am over the moon knowing that my film and my husband’s story were recognized.”
Garza credits her film professor, Dr. Ferenc Moldovanyi, for guiding her to this success.
“It’s amazing when you have professors like Dr. Moldovanyi who believe in the work you’re doing. It gives you the confidence you need,” Garza said. “As a student, you often feel unsure of your own work. It isn’t until someone else confirms it for you and tells you, ‘This is really good,’ that you believe it, that this is actually really good.”
Moldovanyi, Assistant Professor in the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Theatre, TV and Film Department, said Garza is talented.
“I first met Brenda in the last spring semester in my Intro to Film and Video Production class, and with her came fun, humor and plenty of energy,” Moldovanyi said. “She is a strong, positive person with a lot of creativity. She is a visually sensitive student with excellent storytelling skills and the potential to have a promising film career.” \
Garza is no stranger to the silver screen.
She made her feature acting debut in 2020 as Luisa in the Netflix film, You Are My Home, starring actor and activist Alyssa Milano.
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm11160106/?ref_=m_ttfcd_cl9
When time allows, Garza follows her passions, which include voiceover work, TV hosting, freelance writing, directing and acting.
She still attends classes at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and currently is cast in a film that will premiere on Netflix later this year, among other acting projects.
Her own short film, she said, has had a profound personal impact.
“My husband is finally getting help,” Garza said. “He’s now visiting a counselor. So that, to me, is by far the best thing that could have come from this, regardless of awards, regardless of what anybody has thought. It was just about getting him the help that he needed to address the issues he had from doing what he was doing.”
Garza said many men and women who serve their countries have potential distress or PTSD from this kind of career.
“I, in all honesty, think that if this documentary does get into the right hands, it would be an eye-opening experience,” she said.
About the Awards
The Best Shorts Competition, established in 2011, is a worldwide competition that strives to give directors, producers, actors, creative teams, and new media creators a chance for exposure. Instead of entries competing against each other, entries are judged against a high standard of merit and are scored accordingly.
The Award of Recognition placement recognizes achievement in a specific category of entry.
The Impact DOCS Awards are described as “a competition designed to support and promote filmmakers who are making a difference in the critical issues of our times through impactful documentaries.”
About the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, Weslaco and South Padre Island.
UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
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Santana Peral contributed to this article. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
