KAWC journalists have been recognized with two awards in the Public Media Journalists Association 2026 Annual Awards Competition, PMJA officials announced today.
KAWC education solutions reporter Sisko Stargazer earned KAWC a 1st Place award in the Digital Writing category for the story “Deep Dive: How Arizona’s School Facilities System Was Ruled Unconstitutional.”
The KAWC Student Newsroom was also recognized for its outstanding podcast episode, “Siendo Primero: Navigating Language,” produced by Saghey Barcenas and Evelyn Garcia.
Please scroll down for links to those articles. Stay tuned for reactions from Stargazer, Barcenas and Garcia.
These are the fifth and sixth PMJA awards for KAWC since 2022.
In 2024, KAWC was awarded First Place in Narrative/Produced Program for "Arizona Edition: RCBH holds the line on migrant street releases in Yuma, but for how long?", a look at a day at the migrant processing center at the Regional Center for Border Health in Somerton by reporter Victor Calderón.
KAWC also took Second Place that year in News/Public Affairs Program for "Arizona Edition Friday: Ag-pilots, the ACA in AZ, San Luis church lawsuit," with reporting by reporter Victor Calderón, former news and operations director Lou Gum and former reporter Chris McDaniel.
In 2022, KAWC received Second Place for News/Public Affairs Program "Arizona Edition: Aide Group Collects Belongings and Stories on the U.S.-Mexico Border" with reporting by KAWC reporter Victor Calderón and former reporter Chris McDaniel. KAWC also took Second Place for Long Documentary for "On Topic: Title 42 in Yuma- A KAWC Special Report" by former reporter Lisa Sturgis.
PMJA officials say the 293 awards for 2026 span breaking news, investigative reporting, features, audience engagement, science storytelling, video journalism represent organizations of every size, from small community stations like KAWC in Yuma and La Paz counties to major metropolitan outlets.
