Tri City Record Wins Sunshine Award, Multiple Statewide Honors

The Tri City Record earned multiple distinctions at the New Mexico Press Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper Contest held November 13, with reporter Debra Mayeux receiving the Sunshine Award and the newsroom taking top sports and photography awards in its class. In addition to those top honors, the paper placed in statewide categories for education and news writing and received several writing and design awards, according to the contest results.

Judges singled out investigative pieces and community coverage in their evaluations, a validation of reporting efforts that aim to hold power to account and inform local decision making. The awards event also emphasized professional development opportunities, which newsroom leaders cited as an important component of sustaining and improving public service journalism at the local level.

Staff members at the Record expressed pride and gratitude for the recognition, and described the awards as both an affirmation of ongoing work and a spur to deepen coverage. For residents of San Juan County the honors matter because they reflect resources and capability behind stories that investigate government, report on schools, and document community issues. Strong local reporting can increase transparency, encourage civic engagement, and provide voters and officials with vetted information essential to democratic oversight.

The mix of honors across reporting, photography, design, and sports underscores the multifaceted role of a community newsroom. Sports and photography awards signal strengths in visual storytelling and local culture coverage, while placements in education and news writing point to substantive reporting on institutions that affect daily life. The Sunshine Award, meanwhile, connects to the newsroom’s stated focus on public service accountability and access to information.

Beyond immediate recognition, the contest serves as a forum for small newsrooms to benchmark their work, learn from peers, and bring new skills back to their communities. The New Mexico Press Association event paired judging with professional development that participating journalists said will inform future reporting choices.

As the Tri City Record prepares coverage of local government, school boards, and community institutions, the contest results are likely to bolster trust among readers and may help the newsroom secure support for expanded reporting. For San Juan County residents, the awards are more than trophies, they are an indicator that a local news outlet is investing in the reporting needed to keep public life transparent and accountable.