Four ABC-7 Anchors Honored At El Paso “Best Of Best” Awards For “What’s Up” Magazine.

Four KVIA, ABC-7 anchors received high honors at the El Paso “Best of the Best” awards ceremony for “What’s Up” Magazine. Estela Casas, Stephanie Valle, Paul Cicala and Whitney Burbank were all finalists in one of the dozens of categories. It was a clean, 1-2-3 sweep for KVIA in the category of “Best TV Newscaster Under 40”.

The awards ceremony showcases the “Best of the Best” in the El Paso/Juarez/Las Cruces in categories as wide ranging as the best restaurants, to the best tourist attractions, to the best hangouts along the border. The winners are determined by voting from readers of the magazine. There are also a few categories that range in the “extreme”. For instance: the”Best TV Eyebrows” category. ABC-7’s Stephanie Valle took home the top honor. Estela Casas, a longtime winner in news, also placed in the same category.

KVIA’s Paul Cicala volunteered as the MC for the awards for the second straight year, and little did the borderland journalist know, that he’d also take home the first place honor for the “Best TV Newscaster Under 40” in El Paso. The entire list of winners can be found in the latest issue of the periodical now hitting news stands.

In the description of Stephanie Valle’s 1st place finish in the “Best TV Eyebrows” category, it said:
“Reporting the news is a hard, sometimes thankless business. Journalists brave extraordinary conditions and circumstances to bring the public vital information about the ever-changing state of the world. It’s no time for these men and women to worry about the superficial. That would be our job. In this day of high-def TV, it’s not enough to be smart; people have to look good, too. Stephanie Valle and her eyebrows make El Paso proud. Although she won this honor by a hair, we hope to see her perfectly groomed arches grace our screens for many years to come.”

In the description for Paul Cicala’s 1st place finished in category of “Best TV Newscaster Under 40”, it reads:
“What makes Paul Cicala the Best Newscaster Under 40? His easygoing manner? Dashing good looks? His way with a teleprompter? Or could it be his actual award-winning work? We’ll leave it to you to decide. As sports director, sports anchor and news reporter at KVIA ABC-7, Cicala has been nominated for Emmy Awards and has won two Edward R. Murrow Awards for his three-part-series comparing Juarez to Medellin, Colombia. His experience and poise under pressure belie his youth, making us wonder whether we should make him show us his driver’s license.”

To see more on all the winners, go to http://www.elpasoinc.com/whatsup or look for recent issues hitting news stands along the border.