The Dallas Morning News Names District Attorney Craig Watkins as 2008 Texan of the...

The Dallas Morning News Names District Attorney Craig Watkins as 2008 Texan of
the Year

DALLAS, Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas Morning News names Dallas
County District Attorney Craig Watkins as its Texan of the Year. The
newspaper's Editorial Board recognizes Watkins for his uncommon impact on the
Dallas criminal justice system. As noted in the editorial, for his efforts to
reform an imperfect criminal justice system and for his willingness to stake
out politically precarious territory somewhere between "hug a thug" and
"convict at all costs," Watkins is the 2008 Dallas Morning News Texan of the
Year.
"Watkins will always be known for his aggressive prosecution tactics,"
said Keven Ann Willey, vice president and editorial page editor of The Dallas
Morning News. "Because of his dedicated stance and commitment to helping those
wrongly convicted and making sure those that have committed crimes stay behind
bars, the Board's decision was clear."
The full text of the editorial is in Sunday's paper and posted at
http://www.dallasnews.com/texanoftheyear. Also, readers can share their
opinions on the newspaper's selection by visiting the editorial blog,
dallasmorningviews.beloblog.com.
Sunday's editorial culminated a 10-part series that named the following
finalists for Texan of the Year: Texas A&M University president Elsa Murano;
UT Southwestern diabetes researcher Roger Unger; home foreclosure good
Samaritan Marilyn Mock; former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm; High Island high
school football coach Paul Colton; Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin; First
Lady Laura Bush; oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens; and the students and educators
of the Brownsville ISD.
"We had so many thought-provoking nominations this year, it was very
difficult to choose just 10 for our series," said Keven Ann Willey, vice
president and editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News. "We
deliberated and debated a lot during the selection process, but ultimately I'm
proud of the decisions we made."
The annual Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year series draws from reader
nominations to the newspaper's Editorial Board. The criteria call for finding
"a Texan (or Texans) who has had uncommon impact; who exemplifies Texas traits
of trailblazing, independence and staring down adversity; and who has affected
or influenced lives (positively or negatively)." The board selected the
finalists and winner through an internal vote.
Past Dallas Morning News Texans of the Year include the illegal immigrant
in 2007 (for the profound ways in which this group of people impacted Texas),
Roy Velez of Lubbock in 2006 (for exemplifying love and compassion in the face
of overwhelming tragedy following the war-related loss of his two sons), the
city of Houston in 2005 (for its stellar response to Hurricane Katrina
victims), Karl Rove in 2004 and George W. Bush in 2003.
For more information or to schedule an interview with Keven Ann Willey or
editorial writer Rodger Jones, please contact Jasmine Bouyer at 214-891-5817
or jasmine_bouyer@richards.com.
About The Dallas Morning News
Established in 1885, The Dallas Morning News (dallasnews.com) is Texas'
leading newspaper and serves a readership of more than 1.5 million. The
newspaper has received eight Pulitzer Prizes since 1986, as well as numerous
other industry awards recognizing the quality of its investigative and feature
journalism, design and photojournalism. In 2005, The News received the Scripps
Howard Foundation National Journalism Award for its editorial series calling
for mandatory record votes in the Texas legislature, and its Web site,
dallasnews.com, also was honored for Web reporting. In 2003, the paper
launched the leading Spanish-language daily in North Texas, Al Dia, and the
nation's first editorial blog. The Dallas Morning News is the flagship
newspaper subsidiary of A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC, ahbelo.com), a news
and information company that owns and operates four daily newspapers and 12
associated Web sites.
SOURCE Dallas Morning News

Jasmine Bouyer, +1-214-891-5817, jasmine_bouyer@richards.com, for Dallas
Morning News