Cindy Watts receives her CMA recognition from country music star Chris Young.
Tennessean country music writer and College of Media and Entertainment alumna Cindy Watts was awarded the 2015 Country Music Association (CMA) Media Achievement Award on Nov. 4 prior to the start of The 49th Annual CMA Awards. Former MTSU student Chris Young presented Watts with her statue.
“I grew up watching the CMAs in Sevierville and remember lying on my stomach on the floor waiting to see who would win,” Watts said. “I never imagined one day I’d win an award from the same organization. It’s completely surreal. For Chris to have worked this into his crazy busy schedule means so much. It truly was the most perfect moment.”
Watts has been covering music in Middle Tennessee for 15 years. She started her career at The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro as a sophomore Recording Industry major. She spent seven years at the DNJ covering music in Middle Tennessee including concerts, music news and album releases before moving to The Tennessean in 2007.
Since joining the paper, Watts has assumed responsibility for the bulk of country music coverage including festivals, awards shows, music news, personality profiles, trend stories and more. She works closely with artists and their teams to find compelling, relatable stories and strives to tell them honestly and accurately.
The CMA Media Achievement Award was established to recognize outstanding achievements in the media as they relate to country music. Print and Internet journalists, columnists, authors and editors; television writers, producers and bookers; and syndicated radio reporters are eligible to win this award.
“Cindy is respected in the industry for her passion for the music and artists, her tenacity, creativity and professionalism,” said Wendy Pearl, CMA vice president of Corporate Communications. “She sets a very high standard for journalistic coverage of country music and is very deserving of this honor.”
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