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Phoenix, Ariz., Jul 1, 2025 / 10:35 am
EWTN News properties received 27 awards at the recent 2025 Catholic Media Association (CMA) awards in Phoenix for journalistic excellence across Catholic News Agency, the National Catholic Register, and ChurchPop.
For the second year in a row, EWTN Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Michael Warsaw led the way, winning in the “Best Regular Column — General Commentary” category for his regular column “A Note From the Publisher.” A CMA judge hailed Warsaw’s columns for their “exceptional, frank, and forthright candor.”
Meanwhile, the Register won coveted top honors as best Catholic newspaper of the year. “There’s something for every reader in this fine publication,” one CMA judge said of the paper, which has received this honor multiple times in recent years.
For its incisive coverage of in vitro fertilization, CNA also took first place in the category of “Best Analysis/Background/Round-Up News Writing — National Newspaper or Wire Service.” A CMA judge commented that the articles on the topic by reporters Tyler Arnold and Peter Pinedo gave “a detailed explanation of the science behind in vitro fertilization and how it can be viewed through a Catholic lens.”
CNA’s editor-in-chief, Ken Oliver-Méndez, also took first place in the category “Best News Writing One Shot — National Event” for his story “Spiritual tone at RNC heightened in wake of Trump assassination attempt.” A CMA judge heaped praise on this “standout” piece for its “good insights and smart writing.”
Judges also recognized the agency’s top-notch global coverage, with CNA’s Marinella Bandini receiving first place for what one judge described as a “gripping, firsthand account” of a Catholic woman who survived the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in the category “Best News Writing One Shot — International Event.”
The Register also took first place in the “Best Coverage — Disaster or Crisis” category for articles on the Middle East by Solène Tadié, Alberto Fernández, and Michele Chabin.
The Register also led in the category of “Best Coverage — Religious Liberty Issues” with its articles by Alberto Fernández, Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, and Jonathan Liedl on “Religious Liberty in the Crosshairs.” The coverage, one CMA judge said, provided “diverse perspectives and present differences evenhandedly.”
CNA also won top honors for “Best Use of Video on Social Media — Ongoing Series — Radio, Television Stations, and Film Companies” for Francesca Pollio Fenton’s coverage of the new season of “The Chosen.” Pollio Fenton’s reporting of the press junket was described as “highly engaging.”
In the “Best Feature Writing — National Newspaper or Wire Service” category, the Register won first place for Matthew McDonald’s article “Surrounded by Halloween Witchery, Catholics in Salem Wage a Battle for Souls,” which a judge said was “grounded in history and well-known cultural themes.”
In addition, CNA, the Register, and sister EWTN News outlet ChurchPop amassed runner-up awards in 18 additional categories for coverage of ecumenical and interfaith issues and religious freedom as well as other events and topics ranging from 2024 papal travel to the National Eucharistic Revival to the issue of smartphones in the confessional.
Celebrating the bevy of awards, EWTN News President and COO Montse Alvarado commented that “it’s humbling for all of the EWTN News team to be recognized among our peers, who understand what it takes to deliver news faithful to our shared mission and unmatched in quality, journalism that informs rather than inflames.”
Likewise, Register Editor-in-Chief Shannon Mullen emphasized that “it means a great deal to us to be recognized by our peers in the Catholic media.”
“These honors are a testament to the hard work our journalists do every day to deliver the excellent journalism that our Church deserves and our readers have come to expect from the Register,” Mullen added.
In a similar vein, CNA editor-in-chief Oliver-Méndez called the awards a “testament to both the quality and value of the agency’s coverage of important events and issues of interest to Catholics in the United States and around the world.”
“Receiving such recognition serves to stimulate our entire team as we strive to achieve excellence across the entire scope of our news coverage,” he concluded.
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Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register, and CatholicVote, and she graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.
