KSAT-TV Honored with Four Telly Awards

KSAT-TV was honored with four prestigious Telly Awards, showcasing the best work in television and video for all screens. KSAT received silver and bronze honors in the categories of News & Features, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, eSports, and Digital News Features. With over 12,000 entries from across the globe, these awards highlight KSAT's exceptional storytelling and commitment to diverse and impactful journalism.

"This round of awards is especially meaningful due to the diversity of topics covered," said Mario Orellana, KSAT-TV News Director. "From our commitment to the Uvalde community and celebrating San Antonio's unique traditions to exploring eSports, our team's dedication is clear."

Telly Award Highlights includes:

Silver Honors:

• General-News & Feature: One Year In: Uvalde Special

• Andrew Wilson, Leigh Waldman, Gavin Nesbitt, William Caldera, Valerie Gomez, Steve Spriester, Stephania Jimenez, Henry Keller, and Rebecca Salinas

• General-DEI: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Let's Talk Lengua

• Azian Bermea, Jessie Degollado, Priscilla Carraman, and William Caldera

Bronze Honors:

• Digital-News & News Feature: One Year In: Uvalde

• Rebecca Salinas, Andrew Wilson, Kolten Parker, Steve Spriester, Stephania Jimenez, Leigh Waldman, Valerie Gomez, William Caldera, Gavin Nesbitt and Henry Keller

• General-Video Games & eSports: KSAT Explains: What is the state of eSports in San Antonio?

• Valerie Gomez, Myra Arthur, Brina Morales, Lexi Salazar, Andrew Cely, Andrew Wilson, William Caldera, Adam Higgins, Steven Chavez, and Gavin Nesbitt

The Telly Awards, established in 1979, recognize outstanding achievements in video and television across all platforms. Originally honoring local and regional TV commercials, the Telly Awards now encompass non-broadcast video, digital content, branded content, documentaries, and social media. Today, they celebrate excellence in the video medium, marking a dynamic era for moving images.

KSAT 12 wins Texas Broadcast News Award for Best Multimedia/Digital Storytelling for ‘One Year In: Uvalde’

KSAT 12 is honored to be recognized by the Texas Association of Broadcasters for our continued reporting on Uvalde.

KSAT was awarded Best Multimedia/Digital Storytelling at the Texas Association of Broadcasters’ Texas Broadcast News Awards on Saturday, April 13, in Austin.

The award celebrates a station’s innovative, valuable, and informational work in the digital space. KSAT12 was honored to win this award for the digital project, “One Year In: Uvalde.”

This project was dedicated to telling the story of the Uvalde community one year after a tragedy changed its identity forever. KSAT 12 interviewed survivors and families of victims from the Robb Elementary School shooting as well as policymakers and residents.

“Reporting on the tragedy in Uvalde has been some of the most difficult and important work we’ve done as a station,” said Mario Orellana, KSAT 12 news director. “This project marks a year of teamwork and innovation, and it showcases the multi-platform, community-focused reporting that KSAT prides itself on.”

KSAT 12′s mission every day is to be entrenched in our community, from citywide events and listening to residents’ voices and concerns through our “Know My Neighborhood” reporting to being in the community and working to bring innovative and impactful content to our viewers.

KSAT-TV wins Lone Star Emmy Award for “One Year In: Uvalde”

KSAT-TV, Graham Media Group’s ABC affiliate in San Antonio, Texas, won a Lone Star Emmy Award for their coverage of the Uvalde elementary school massacre and its year-long aftermath.

Reporter Leigh Waldman, Photojournalist Gavin Nesbitt, Editor Valerie Gomez, and Digital Journalist Andrew Wilson accepted the award on November 11 on behalf of a larger team from the KSAT newsroom that created the special, "One Year In: Uvalde."

"This was a labor of love for a community who went through the unimaginable. Everyone in this team wanted to make sure people heard the stories and remembered the names of the 21 lost in Uvalde," stated editor Valerie Gomez while accepting the award on behalf of the team.

"One Year In: Uvalde" was a look back at the year following the tragedy at Robb Elementary in 2022. In the one-hour broadcast and digital special, KSAT examines the past 12 months, the victims and survivors, and how their legacy spreads outside their local community. In the one-hour broadcast and digital streaming special, KSAT examined the past 12 months, the victims and survivors, and how their legacy continues to spread outside their local community.

KSAT sat with the families of the victims to see how they have been coping for the last year. Most have turned to activism to ensure their children are not forgotten. Many shared how they chose to honor their children and create lasting memories of the 21 victims. Expanded coverage of these tributes was featured on KSAT.com, and also included an updated investigation into what happened.

"We are incredibly honored and humbled for this recognition, but this has never been about us,” reporter Leigh Waldman clarified. “This is for our 21+1."

The Emmy Award-winning "One Year In: Uvalde" special is available to view on KSAT.com, KSAT’s app on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and Google TV and on KSAT’s YouTube channel.

KSAT Launches New Community-Oriented News Campaign, 'Know My Neighborhood'

KSAT-TV is continuing its long-serving promise of dedication to the San Antonio and South Texas communities by introducing a new, inside perspective and guided tour of area neighborhoods, conducted by people who know it best, the residents.

Each month, Know My Neighborhood takes viewers on a walk through a different South Texas community, showcasing the history and public safety concerns including food insecurity, police presence, and crime rates, and revealing neighborhood mysteries that many are unaware of.

KSAT launched the first Know My Neighborhood on Oct. 18, giving viewers a deeper look into the Westwood Square community of north San Antonio. This segment alone heard the voices of dozens of residents, sparking cries of food insecurity, school, and crime issues.

Conducted by residents, for residents – Know My Neighborhood’s mission is to bring a voice into each community that makes up our home here in South Texas, spotlighting what needs to be changed, and bringing awareness to the problems many have left forgotten.

The campaign was recently featured on TVNewsCheck, as seen here.

"'Know My Neighborhood' is San Antonio's story. Grassroots, local journalism that will serve as our newsroom blueprint for future coverage. As a lifelong San Antonian, I know the pride people have for their neighborhoods. I love that our team is highlighting the history, listening to the people, and getting the answers they demand,” said KSAT News Director Mario Orellana.

Know My Neighborhood segments are set to run every month on Wednesdays during KSAT's 6 p.m. newscast. In addition to on-air segments, an interactive web page takes viewers through an even more detailed breakdown of neighborhood challenges, with breakout and story links to each struggle many neighbors face.

“We are getting out in our local communities and covering the things that really make a difference in people’s daily lives. We are 100% committed to our audience and the well-being of their families. Bottom line we want to make a real difference,” said KSAT Vice President and General Manager, Ashley Parker.

Ashley Parker named Vice President, General Manager of Graham Media Group's KSAT-TV

Graham Media Group, the local media division of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), announced today that Ashley Parker has been named Vice President and General Manager of KSAT, the ABC broadcast affiliate television station in San Antonio, Texas, effective October 1, 2022.

Parker replaces Phil Lane, who was recently named Vice President and General Manager of KPRC.

Parker has held the role of General Sales Manager at KSAT since 2013. In her 19 years at the station she has been Local Sales Manager, Digital Sales Manager and an Account Executive.

“Ashley has been an integral part of KSAT’s success, helping spearhead major station initiatives and driving KSAT to achieving greater revenue goals year after year,” said Catherine Badalamente, President and Chief Executive Officer, Graham Media Group. “Her commitment to transforming the business and leading KSAT into the future, is, and has always been, a top priority.”

“I am honored and humbled to have this amazing opportunity to lead KSAT,” said Parker. “It has been a lifelong dream that is coming true. I am excited for the future of broadcast television and look forward to serving the San Antonio community through our relentless commitment at KSAT.”

Prior to joining KSAT in 2003, Parker was at KIII/ABC affiliate in Corpus Christi, and KRBC/NBC affiliate in Abilene, Texas. She is a member of the San Antonio Women Leaders Association.

KSAT executive producer named Pride Center Media Icon of 2019

Pride Center San Antonio named its recipients for community Icon Awards at an inaugural brunch ceremony on June 23 at the Pearl Stable. Among the recipients was Diana Winters, executive producer of SA Live at KSAT12. She was named the Pride Center Media Icon of 2019.

Winters was recognized for founding the South Texas PRIDE series on KSAT12 back in February 2018. The series focuses on discussions of LGBTQ+ politics, resilience, identity, diversity and equality (PRIDE).

Each story focuses on what makes the South Texas LGBTQ+ community resilient, how individuals within that community connect with each other and the greater community at large, available resources and how they and others who offer them assistance are working to improve lives socially, economically, and politically and promote mental and physical wellness within the community.

KSAT reporters and producers who work on South Texas PRIDE make it a point to tell these stories from the perspectives of people in the LGBTQ+ community so as to represent them the way they want to be represented, not from the perspectives of outsiders.

People are watching and gaining an understanding of others that they didn't have before.

The series was nominated for a GLAAD award this year for Outstanding TV Journalism - Newsmagazine. It was up against contenders like CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, Nightline and SC Featured.

Winters created the series when she was a news producer at KSAT, where she has worked since Sept. 12, 2005. She moved into her position at SA Live on Oct. 15, 2018. Winters attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism with a focus on broadcast journalism.

Her favorite moments at KSAT were spent on a team with former astronaut Eileen Collins during a mission to Mars simulation, at Market Square during SA Live’s teatime with Lou Ferrigno, during SA Live’s recent Port Aransas primetime special and SA Live’s Show of Thrones, which celebrated the final episode of "Game of Thrones."

KSAT-TV recognized for innovation after building digital newscast from scratch

KSAT-TV in San Antonio is setting the standard for excellence when it comes to digital innovation.

The station realized it had a huge opportunity on its hands, and recently decided to create a brand-new newscast at 9 p.m. to be live-streamed on its OTT channel.

The Knight-Cronkite News Lab -- which is a joint effort between the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University -- works to discover and share experiments from local TV newsrooms around the country. And the news lab is now profiling KSAT and its digital newscast, which the team built from scratch.

The story addresses how the show got off the ground: there were several challenges. For starters, KSAT didn’t really have a space to produce this show. The 10 p.m. broadcast needed the studio and control room to get ready for air. So News@9, as the new program is called, moved out into the newsroom — new set, production area, cameras, prompter, lights and all.

“We are smack dab in the middle of the newsroom,” the show’s anchor, Myra Arthur, told the news lab. “The set is not even five feet behind my desk, so everyone is working and talking around me. And I think that just lends itself to a show that’s a little more conversational and a little more off-the-cuff.”

The story addresses other technical challenges, workflow challenges and the need to create "something completely different."

"It’s one thing to come up with grand ideas about innovation, but it’s an entirely different thing to actually execute on them," the article says.

Hats off to our colleages in San Antonio!

Check out the new lab's article in full.

KSAT12’s “KSAT COMMUNITY” campaign announces 2018 schedule

KSAT12's community-wide initiative, called "KSAT COMMUNITY" uses the power of its media properties to promote local initiatives which will help the greatest number of South Texas residents all year long, it was announced by KSAT12 Vice-President/General Manager Phil Lane.  "We're thrilled to welcome our new partners and are so thankful for our past partners as well", said Lane, "we intend to continue growing our program to help those most in need."

The very first KSAT COMMUNITY project of 2018 will be a city-wide blood drive, with University Health System and the University Hospital Blood Bank. This huge blood drive always draws hundreds of local residents who answer the call. Because blood has a short shelf life, the need is continually on-going as blood banks must supply blood for everyday surgeries and emergencies, as well as for bigger local emergencies. The 2018 KSAT COMMUNITY Blood Drive will be held for 4 consecutive days, January 22nd -25th, at 3 different locations: Texas Diabetes Institute 701 S. Zarzamora on Tuesday, January 23, 10am-2pm, Southwest Clinic at 2121 SW 36th Street, Wednesday, January 24th from 11am-3pm and  UHS at 4502 Medical Drive, Jan 22nd, 23rd ,24th  and 25th.  
Subsequent KSAT COMMUNITY events include a "Healthy Heart" online test, the "San Antonio Book Festival", a school supply drive, a Shred Day, and many others throughout 2018.

All 3 partners, UHS, Energy Transfer Partners, and San Antonio Area Chevy Dealers will also have the ability to spotlight community initiatives that meet with their company goals, and assist the events they support throughout the community.  

KSAT Community intiative produces "Week of Giving" for Texas disaster relief

KSAT12 mobilized several forces to help with Hurricane Harvey relief, just as the South Texas coast was trying to recover, and Houston was facing the wrath of the storm. 

"Our 'KSAT Community' project was built to respond to just such relief efforts," said KSAT12 VP/General Manager Phil Lane, "We have the ability to quickly mobilize our community partners to deliver help when and where it is most needed."

As the flooding waters were invading Houston, KSAT12 produced a "week of giving" holding several relief efforts which netted huge responses.  The first effort launched on the Monday after the Texas coast was blasted with very high winds. 

KSAT12 held a Red Cross Donation Line and raised over $80,000 in just a couple of hours.  Then, later in the week, the station held a food drive with the San Antonio Food Bank and collected over 200 thousand pounds of food and other necessities to keep shelters stocked with items for evacuees.

KSAT12 also contacted our Graham Media Group sister station, KPRC 2 in Houston, to help with their needs.   A blood drive with one of our KSAT Community partners was set up to respond to the need for donations throughout the region.  

KSAT12 Goes On A Cattle Drive!

It’s not the running of the bulls, but it’s close!  KSAT12’s “SA Live” ushers in the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo with the first ever telecast of the Western Heritage Parade and Cattle Drive throughout downtown San Antonio on February 6, 2016.  The tradition of running the Texas Longhorns down Houston Street dates back to a time between the end of the Civil War and the spread of rail lines.  These cattle drives show the importance of San Antonio’s role in driving hundreds of thousands of cattle from Texas ranch lands to Kansas railroads. The broadcast of the cattle drive will kick off the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, which was established in 1949.

KSAT12 launches “KSAT CONNECT” app

KSAT12 launches “KSAT CONNECT’, a brand new app to help local citizens become a part of the KSAT12 News Team.  With “KSAT Connect”, users can shoot news as it happens and send it to KSAT12 with a few simple clicks.  Their photo or video could then make it onto KSAT12 in a local newscast.  Viewers with phones can offer another set of eyes and ears in the community to capture newsworthy events as they happen.  With recent floods in the South Texas area, viewers emailed several photos into the KSAT12 newsroom, showing how the weather was affecting them and their neighborhoods.  KSAT12 saw this as a great opportunity to empower viewers with a tool to quickly get their photos to appear on-air.  

WJXT Telethon brings in $106,000 for Local Children’s Hospital

In conjunction with Baptist Health foundation, WJXT raised $106,000 for the Wolfson Children’s Hospital through our 2016 telethon.  That includes $53,000 in telethon donations and another $53,000 in matching donations from the Baptist Health Foundation.