FORT WORTH / DALLAS, TX – (May 3, 2022) – The National Headliner Awards program, one of the oldest and largest annual awards programs in the country honoring the best in journalism, has recognized two eye-opening and in-depth NBC 5 Investigates series impacting North Texas and beyond: “Paper Tag Nation” and “Powerless.”
The series “Paper Tag Nation” won first place in Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Documentary or Series of Reports on the Same Subject. NBC5 Senior Investigative Reporter Scott Friedman, Producer Eva Parks, and Photographer Jose Sanchez exposed how security gaps at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) have allowed criminals to obtain and sell hundreds of thousands of temporary license plates, some of which were then used on cars involved in other serious crimes. NBC 5’s reporting used the DMV’s own records to show how licensed car “dealers” with no storefronts continued to issue temporary plates in massive numbers even though they did not appear to be selling cars. The reports sparked new calls for reform, and since the series began in early November 2021, the head of the Texas DMV has resigned, a board that supervises the agency has promised sweeping changes, and the Texas legislature has launched hearings aimed at halting the widespread abuse of temporary plates.
A National Headliner Award Judge said, “KXAS (NBC 5) uncovers a huge scam operating right under your nose – or at least on the bumper in front of you. Texas temporary tags are being sold fraudulently on a $200 million black market abetted by a lack of oversight at the Texas DMV. KXAS pioneered media oversight into the DMV database in exposing this scam.”
“Our team is dedicated to identifying fraud, critical safety concerns, and holding public officials accountable,” said Freidman. “Our goal is to produce stories that spark conversations about how we can generate real change in North Texas, when needed. I am proud of the impact of my team’s work on this important issue.”
“Powerless” placed third in the Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Public Service category. The series examined the events of Texas’ power grid failures during winter 2021 and exposed how ERCOT’s electricity forecasting methods during inclement weather could put North Texans at risk of even more power outages. The reporting also revealed how the gas industry profited while downplaying its role in the winter crisis.
“It’s an honor for our hard-working NBC 5 Investigates team to be recognized with another prestigious award. We are proud of their tireless and relentless work,” said John Stone, NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 Vice President of News. “While ‘Powerless’ was powerful, revealing deep concerns about ERCOT and pushed for accountability, ‘Paper Tag Nation’ continues to generate legal action, as lawmakers take steps to address these issues impacting Texas and beyond.”
Click Here for all available online content regarding “Paper Tag Nation”
Click Here for all available online content regarding “Powerless”
For complete details on all the winners and categories, please access The Press Club of Atlantic City’s 88th National Headliner Awards awardee list here.
About NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth / KXAS
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth / KXAS is the NBCUniversal Local station serving the communities of North Texas with quality local news, weather forecasts, consumer and investigative reports and sports and entertainment programming across all platforms, including the station’s dedicated website NBCDFW.com, its mobile app, social media channels and on COZI TV (Digital 5.2) NBCLX (Digital 5.3) and OXYGEN (Digital 5.4) the station’s multicast channels.
(This post taken from a release sent to me by KXAS)
