Local Receives “Best of the West” Journalism Recognition

Emilie Eaton, a 2010 graduate of Rio Vista High School, is a criminal justice enterprise reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. Her work was recently recognized by the “Best of the West” journalism and grants program for journalistic excellence.

Eaton won second place in the Social Justice Reporting category for her series, “Flaws in the justice system – from police to courts to jails.”

About Eaton’s entry judge Kathy Chaney of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote, “The series perfectly laid out how the innocent are kept under lock and key for unjust reasons.” Further, the judge wrote, “It showcased the systemic failures within the criminal justice system and hopefully put institutions on notice that it won’t be tolerated any longer.”

“Best of the West” is a professional journalism contest recognized as the West’s most prestigious. It began in 1988 and draws about 1,000 entries each year from journalists in the 14 states from the Rockies west to Alaska and Hawaii.

The proceeds from the contests are used to help finance media hotlines that provide journalists with free, on-the-spot legal advice on public records and open meetings issues. This year’s grant went to the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

Eaton is the daughter of Susan Whitesell and the late Al Eaton of Rio Vista. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.