J.R. Ortega

J.R. Ortega has a knack for community journalism. Raised in the small town of La Feria, Texas up until college, J.R. understands the issues smaller communities face as well as the stories they harbor. J.R. graduated from The University of Texas-Pan American in May 2009 with his Bachelors in Print Journalism. While at his alma mater, J.R. climbed the ranks of being a reporter for the university paper, The Pan American, to becoming the editor-in-chief. He also held an internship with a local weekly paper, The Valley Town Crier, and wrote stories for the FESTIVA feature insert in The Monitor, the Rio Grande Valley's leading daily newspaper. Now, J.R. works covering health issues while covering Refugio County at The Victoria Advocate, a 165-year-old daily newspaper in Victoria, Texas. In his two years there, he has helped establish a solid monthly health section and won the Texas Medical Association's 2011 Citation of Merit award for newspapers under 100,000 circulation with his feature story on a husband caring for his Alzheimer's-stricken wife of 60 years. He has also helped bring home the Frank M. Adam's award for raising community awareness of mental illness through the Victoria Advocate and was selected as one of 12 fellows for the Maynard Institute's Multimedia Editing Program in June 2010.