Maya Fawaz
Hays County ReporterWhat I do at KUT
Where most reporters have a certain beat they focus on, my reporting includes a little bit of everything: education, politics, the environment, business and housing. My coverage area is also vast, I travel frequently across San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Wimberley and Dripping Springs.
I love what I do and the ever-changing nature of my beat, but it frustrates me to know I can’t cover everything. I try my best to bring attention to what’s most important to the communities in Hays County and will always lend an ear to someone willing to chat. I work hard to keep people at the heart of every story I tell, whether it be on the air or on our website.
My experience
I was labeled an “excessive talker” in every classroom growing up, often having to be moved away from friends and exiled to the other side of classrooms — where I inevitably would strike up a new conversation with a stranger. I got accepted into the University of Texas at Austin and didn’t know what would come next. All I knew was I loved telling stories and was obsessed with learning languages. I took a journalism class, which led to another, and yet another.
I graduated with a bachelor’s in Journalism, a minor in French and with a first-level Arabic class under my belt. I produced an investigative podcast under our student-run audio production house called Crooked Power, a five-episode series reported entirely in Spanish. It followed a family of journalists in Ecuador as they fought for a free press amid a national controversy in 2011.
I freelanced for a while, editing and producing podcasts, until I landed an internship at KUT. I was given a chance to stick around as a part-time general assignment reporter and, to my delight and surprise, was hired as the Hays County reporter in January 2023.
Journalistic ethics
I care more about covering the news fairly and with context than to be the first reporter to break the news. I believe in producing accurate stories while treating sources with compassion and care. At the end of the day, reporters are people, with our own opinions and beliefs. I take great care to not let my own experiences and opinions impact my reporting.
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A medida que la ciudad de San Marcos sigue creciendo, también lo hace el número de personas que visitan los parques y el río San Marcos. La "prohibición de latas" de la ciudad pretende atajar la contaminación impidiendo la utilización de los envases de bebidas de un solo uso en el río y en determinados parques.
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You may have heard the term in recent years. A recent rainfall may have recharged one, another may not have enough water to keep up with demand. But what exactly are they?
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As the City of San Marcos continues to grow, so does the number of people visiting parks and the San Marcos River. The city's "can ban" hopes to tackle pollution by prohibiting single-use beverage containers on the river and in certain parks.
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El día de las elecciones es el martes 5 de marzo. Aquí está todo lo que necesitas saber acerca de lo que está en la boleta electoral del Condado de Hays.
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Election Day for the primary election is Tuesday, March 5. Here's everything you need to know about what's on the Hays County ballot.
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Alex Villalobos and Daniel Law are vying for the Democratic nomination in the March 5 primary. KUT asked each how he would approach jail conditions and the fentanyl crisis, and how they would improve the department’s relationship with the community.
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University police hope Duke and Lyndon will bridge the gap between students and law enforcement, but some students and staff fear the horses may have the opposite effect.
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The popular swimming hole stopped flowing over the summer for the sixth time in its recorded history, signaling poor health of the local aquifer. Thursday morning it had its highest flow in over a year following recent rainfall.
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If you can't foster a pet, both Austin Pets Alive! and the Austin Animal Shelter are accepting supplies and monetary donations.
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Aqua Texas has refused to pay the fee for pumping more water than allowed in 2022. It claims it is receiving "unlawful and unequal treatment."