Texas TV station, Pennsylvania newspaper honored with American Legion’s journalism award.
An Austin, Texas television station and a Bucks County, Pennsylvania newspaper will receive American Legion Fourth Estate Awards during the 107th National Convention of the nation’s largest veterans organization in Louisville, Ky., on September 3.
The Fourth Estate Award has been presented annually by The American Legion since 1958 for outstanding achievement in the field of journalism. Nominations in 2026 were considered in broadcast and print categories for work posted, published or broadcast in 2025. They were selected by the organization’s Media & Communications Commission during its meeting in Indianapolis earlier this month.
Taking top honor in the broadcast category for the second year in a row is KXAN, an NBC affiliate. In a series of reports, “ Preventing Disaster: Investigating Hospital Safety,” KXAN’s investigative team explored tragic instances of vehicles crashing into emergency rooms or medical clinics, sometimes causing death and serious injury. KXAN reported that more than 580 of these instances have occurred at 157 medical sites resulting in at least 20 fatalities since 2014. Most of these accidents could have been prevented with the installation of crash-proof bollards, according to safety advocates. The KXAN reporting inspired a number of local ordinances and action in the Texas Legislature to require the barriers.
The Bucks County Courier Times of Levittown, Pa., is being recognized for its 2025 series “The Unclaimed.” Reporter Jo Ciavaglia told the story of hundreds of decedents kept in county morgues for months or years because they were unclaimed by relatives or legal representatives, even when their identities were known. Thanks to the Courier Times, at least 240 sets of remains were eventually claimed, including three dozen veterans who were identified and awarded military honors.
“Our Fourth Estate winners not only produced informative reports, but their work has made a positive impact on society,” said Dan K. Wiley, national commander of The American Legion. “The American Legion has always valued the role of a free press, one of the most cherished constitutional rights for which veterans have defended since the founding of our country. I look forward to congratulating our outstanding winners when I present them their Fourth Estate awards in Louisville this summer.”
Previous winners of the award include CNN, CBS, USA Today, ABC News, C-SPAN, the Milwaukee Journal, and Life Magazine, among others.
- Convention