Best Media Power Moves

Debbie Hiott and Andrea Valdez

In a shifting media landscape where a lot of stories don't end well, these two women taking the reins at two of Austin's most important media institutions – KUT-FM and the Texas Observer – is worthy of celebration. After a career laboring at and then leading the Statesman, Hiott jumped into broadcasting at just the right time, as a shaken-up KUT looked to heal from internal turmoil. Meanwhile, Valdez, a former rising star at Texas Monthly, returned home from a stint at Wired to become the first Latina to lead a statewide news publication. We value them both as colleagues and as competitors.

Debbie Hiott
twitter.com/dhiott

Andrea Valdez
twitter.com/andreamvaldez