News & Observer, Herald-Sun win 53 NC Press Association awards

Jessica Banov

The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun took home 53 awards from the North Carolina Press Association Thursday, including top awards for the overall paper.

The awards were announced at the annual conference in Raleigh that honors the best work from news organizations across the state.

The News & Observer won 37 awards as well as second place for General Excellence among the largest newspapers in the state. The Herald-Sun won 16 awards among the state’s small and mid-size daily papers.

The newspaper also picked up several special recognition awards:

▪ Public Service Award (Daily Division): Ames Alexander and Gavin Off of The Charlotte Observer and David Raynor and Richard Stradling of The News & Observer for “Death in the Fast Lane.”

▪ Duke University/Green-Rossiter Award for Distinguished Newspaper Work in Higher Education (Daily Division): Kate Murphy, Martha Quillin and Lucille Sherman for their coverage of North Carolina’s universities.

Carolinas opinion writer Sara Pequeño won the award in the Community Division for her work at Indy Week and the story, “Nikole Hannah-Jones’s experience with UNC emblematic of struggle for Black women in academia.”

▪ The Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Award (Daily Division): Dan Kane, Kate Murphy and Martha Quillin.

Here’s a look at the awards:

The News & Observer

First Place

▪ Staff, Video, Is an “equal Alamance” possible? NC county with bloody past faces battle for racial justice

▪ Carli Brosseau and Julia Wall, Investigative Reporting, “Sound of Judgment”

▪ Tyler Dukes, Will Doran, Clifton Dowell, Election/Political Reporting, “Maps Under the Microscope: Stories and podcast”

▪ Andrew Carter, Sports Enterprise Reporting, Enterprise entry for Kinston basketball series

▪ T. Keung Hui, Education Reporting, “What risk are you willing to take?” NC teachers feel pressure to censor what they say.

▪ Brian Murphy, Beat Feature Reporting, Fear, uncertainty and waiting: What was it like inside the Capitol during the riots?

▪ Adam Wagner, Aaron Sánchez-Guerra and Lynn Bonner, Beat News Reporting, “Beyond the Beach”

▪ Drew Jackson, Ledes

▪ Casey Toth, Feature Photography, Vespa Dog

▪ Travis Long, Spot Photography, Elizabeth City shooting

Andrew Brown Jr.’s sons Khalil Ferebee, left, and Jha’rod Ferebee release doves following their father’s funeral at the Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, NC Monday, May 3, 2021. Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies in April.
Andrew Brown Jr.’s sons Khalil Ferebee, left, and Jha’rod Ferebee release doves following their father’s funeral at the Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, NC Monday, May 3, 2021. Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies in April.

Second Place

▪ Staff, General Excellence

▪ Staff, Sports Coverage

▪ Staff, Photo Page or Essay, Photos of the Year

▪ Staff, Special Section, Roy Williams retires

▪ Dan Kane and Julia Wall, News Enterprise Reporting, Strategic Behavioral Health psychiatric center coverage

▪ Dan Kane and David Raynor, Investigative Reporting, Domestic violence disarray

▪ Kate Murphy, Martha Quillin, Lucille Sherman, General News Reporting, The hire and the fury: Nikole Hannah-Jones at UNC

▪ Adam Wagner, Robert Willett, Kevin Keister, Multimedia Project, N.C. 12: The End of the Road

▪ Luke DeCock, Sports Columns

▪ Sara Pequeño, Lighter Columns

▪ Danielle Battaglia, Election/Political Reporting, Woman urges NC lawmakers to end child marriage: For her it was a “life sentence”

▪ Nina Pasquini, Arts and Entertainment Reporting, NC musicians confront substance abuse, mental health

▪ Kimberly Cataudella, Education Reporting, We read these books that some parents say shouldn’t be in school libraries. What we found

▪ Laura Brache, Beat Feature Reporting, “Crazy about cricket.” How this small NC town became a hub for South Asian community.

A collie named Miss Betty White rides on the back of a Vespa in a backpack with her owner Dave Cunningham, on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Durham, N.C.
A collie named Miss Betty White rides on the back of a Vespa in a backpack with her owner Dave Cunningham, on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Durham, N.C.

Third Place

▪ Josh Shaffer, Brooke Cain, General News Reporting, A TikTok snake star, a viral escape and a panicked neighborhood

▪ Josh Shaffer, Feature Writing, 1 year after George Floyd riots in Raleigh

▪ Martha Quillin, News Feature Writing, After tragic plane crash, resilient NC coastal residents lean on each other, as always

▪ T. Keung Hui, Education Reporting, “How long can we sustain this?” Stress is elevated as NC schools face staffing shortages

▪ Drew Jackson, Beat Feature Reporting, Series of stories on the pandemic’s impact on the Triangle’s restaurant industry.

▪ Martha Quillin, Religion & Faith Reporting, They survived COVID-19. This Thanksgiving, they count the blessings of answered prayers.

▪ Lars Dolder, Business Writing, A new “sense of urgency”: How the pandemic reshaped the Triangle jobs market

▪ Andrew Carter, Sports Columns

▪ Ned Barnett, Editorials

▪ Travis Long, Photography, General News, Andrew Brown funeral

The Herald-Sun

First Place

▪ Staff, Sports Coverage

▪ Charlie Innis, Beat News Reporting, A Durham neighborhood caught in the crossfire. What do its residents want?

▪ Casey Toth, Video, Miss Betty White

▪ Drew Jackson, Profile Feature, In the Crook’s Corner kitchen, Bill Smith followed a legend. Then he became one himself

▪ Julian Shen-Berro, Education Reporting, “They need to see themselves”: NC libraries push for AAPI representation in kids books

▪ Martha Quillin, Religion & Faith Reporting, After a long year of pandemic darkness, churches welcome Easter’s promise of light

Demonstrators talk with Elizabeth City Police Chief Eddie Buffaloe, Jr. outside the Pasquotank County Public Safety Building in downtown Elizabeth City, NC Wednesday, April 21, 2022. A Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., who is Black, on April 21, 2021 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Officials say they were executing a search warrant about 8:30 a.m. on Perry Street. The shooting is under review by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Second Place

▪ Staff, Breaking News Coverage, 6 teens shot in Durham

▪ Brooke Cain and Martha Quillin, General News Reporting, 10 NC Black history lessons you likely weren’t taught in school (but should have been)

▪ Avi Bajpai, Beat News Reporting, Series of stories on police shootings in Durham

▪ Zachery Eanes, Business Writing, “Why a UNC professor is on a quest to remove the ‘trip’ from psychedelic drugs “

▪ Chip Alexander, Sports Enterprise Reporting, Basketball clock-control companies at odds. Ref Roger Ayers, NC State tied to lawsuit

▪ Casey Toth, “Video, Made with Love”

Third Place

▪ Staff, Appearance and Design, Equal for All?

▪ Andrew Carter, Election/Political Reporting, Urban and rural NC were already divided. The 2020 election pushed them farther apart.

▪ Lars Dolder, Education Reporting, Masks may now be optional in Johnston County schools, but not everyone is dropping them

▪ Lars Dolder, Ledes

Other winners

News & Observer reporters won awards for their work at previous publications.

▪ Lars Dolder won awards at The Chatham News & Record: 1st place, News Enterprise Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Profile Feature; 2nd place, Beat News Reporting, Profile Feature, Lighter Columns; 3rd place, Business Writing.

▪ Kristen Johnson won awards at The Fayetteville Observer: 1st place, Investigative Reporting with Fred Clasen-Kelly and William Ramsey; 2nd place, Profile Feature; Religion & Faith Reporting; and City, County Government Reporting

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