Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey has been awarded the 2009 MOLLY National Journalism Prize for a series about immigration. The awards, presented annually by the Texas Observer, recognize great American journalism and honor the memory of former Observer editor Molly Ivins. "Molly would have been thrilled at the scores of worthy entries and taken a little amused pride that this year's winner is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, the newspaper where she began reporting as a summer intern," Observer CEO and publisher Carlton Carl says.
Carlton Carl is the new CEO and executive publisher of the Observer. He most recently was vice president of media affairs and policy and strategy for the American Association for Justice. The Observer is also bringing back Brad Tyer, who has been named its new managing editor. Tyer, who did a stint as the Observer's interim editor a few years ago and has worked at the Houston Press and Willamette Week, was most recently editor of the Missoula Independent.
