"Death toll rises to 53 after dozens of migrants found trapped in tractor trailer in San Antonio"
Recipient of the Best Breaking News Coverage by a Radio Station award in The Charles E. Green Awards (2022)
Joey palacios, kstx texas public radio
Joey Palacios/TPR
Judge’s Comments:
The journalist, Joey Palacios, delivered a stellar 2-way on a very difficult story. He weaved critical details and the larger story together seamlessly. He packed in a lot of information into a 4-minute hit, covering specifics, law enforcement information, history and politics. He highlighted striking details, such as how the victims were "hot to the touch," showing you how dangerous conditions were inside this tractor trailer. The history of similar incidents and why such cases can arise in San Antonio put this in greater context. Finally, he drew in the right voices and sources such as the law enforcement official who covered a lot of ground in a tight clip. The political dilemma was also key because the timing of this discovery was so close to last year's elections.
Claudia Grisales
NPR Congressional Correspondent
Judge’s Bio:
Claudia Grisales is a congressional correspondent who covers Capitol Hill for NPR. She led coverage for the network in recent years covering reforms and investigations into the January 6 attack on the Capitol, in addition to wide-ranging stories on legislative efforts by members of Congress on everything from pandemic relief to military issues as well as campaign reporting. She has also contributed to the network’s overall coverage of public emergencies, including last year’s mass shooting in Uvalde.
Before joining NPR in June 2019, Grisales was a congressional reporter covering military affairs for Stars and Stripes. Her stories included breaking news involving fallen service members, the Trump administration's relationship with the military and toxic exposures to service members, such as the atomic veterans who participated nuclear bomb testing.
Prior to Stars and Stripes, Grisales was an award-winning reporter at the daily newspaper in Central Texas, the Austin American-Statesman, for 16 years. There, she covered the intersection of business news and regulation, energy issues and public safety. She also conducted a years-long probe that uncovered systemic abuses and corruption at Pedernales Electric Cooperative. The largest member-owned utility in the country saw the ousting of more than a dozen executives, state and U.S. congressional hearings and criminal convictions for the co-op's top leaders.
Grisales is originally from Chicago and is an alum of the University of Houston, the University of Texas and Syracuse University. At Syracuse, she attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she earned a master's degree in journalism.
To see the award-winning television reporting from Palacios, visit the link below: