From the editor: Our newsroom is filled with shining stars

I recently had the pleasure of looking back over the work done by the StarNews staff from March 2023 to March 2024 as we prepared entries for the North Carolina Press Association’s annual contest.

It includes dozens of categories, such as general news, breaking news, city/county government reporting, news enterprise, sports writing, feature writing and photography.

When I see so much great work all in one place at the same time, I couldn’t be prouder of the StarNews staff.

I’ve never met a journalist who got into this business for the awards. But it sure is nice to get positive feedback whether in the form of an award or a kind email from a reader.

The StarNews has several veteran journalists – Gareth McGrath, John Staton, Allison Ballard, Cheryl Whitaker and Ken Blevins – who've dedicated years to covering this community. Their jobs have evolved but what hasn’t changed is the fact that they are good at what they do. They’re passionate, dedicated and hard working.

More: Meet the StarNews staff members bringing you local news every day

Meanwhile, we have some newer faces – Jamey Cross, Michael Cuneo, Molly Wilhelm, Madison Lipe and Sarah Gleason. While they haven’t been here as long, we’ve already seen outstanding work from them all. They are go-getters and have a desire to bring you top-notch stories.

And, of course, we couldn’t do what we do without editors. Owen Hassell, our local news editor, and Renee Spencer, our community engagement editor, spend time every day talking to reporters about their stories, fine-tuning the writing and planning our overall coverage.

We won’t know for quite some time whether we won any awards, but what I do know is that the StarNews staff produced a lot of award-worthy content. I hope you’ll join me in thanking this incredible group of journalists for the enthusiasm and commitment they bring to their work every day.

Sherry Jones is the StarNews executive editor. You can reach her at sjones1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: From the editor: StarNews newsroom is filled with shining stars