Taking time during a rager of a news week to applaud the efforts of 3 N&O journalists

For readers of a certain age, a rager is when your ornery neighbor brings over a six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon — PBR for you hipsters — early on a Friday evening and the banter about weather and politics turns into a heated argument over whether David Thompson could beat Michael Jordan in a game of H-O-R-S-E right NOW.

We learn so much from the young.

Rager has many definitions, some not suitable for publication.

A “wild party” rager these days can prompt a viral GoFundMe campaign that turns into a pseudo-political movement that raises $516,672 — all because of frat bros who recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

The half-million-plus raised could have bought 574,080 half-pitchers at The Bantam Rooster bar in Five Points back in the day. For that much beer, you and your ornery neighbor could add Grant Hill to the greatest Triangle game of H-O-R-S-E ever.

(The Bantam Rooster is closed, but Visuals Editor Scott Sharpe is a reliable source.)

The News & Observer’s party-hardy approach is a bit sedate. We mention standout journalists during our morning staff call. And occasionally we order cake.

So, in a rager of a local news week, let’s politely applaud three N&O journalists (among many) who always deserve a party.

Dawn Vaughan

… for being The N&O’s Capitol Bureau Chief and breaking new ground with our popular Under The Dome podcast.

We tried something different on Tuesday with Under The Dome: Live!, a live event moderated by Dawn with two rising political stars — Sen. Vickie Sawyer, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, and Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Democrat representing Durham and Chatham counties.

Our event was on the same night the Carolina Hurricanes wrapped up its first-round Stanley Cup series, so let’s say we had about 18,000 fewer folks who spread across aisles at the NC Museum of History. But the senators lived up to Dawn’s expectations for podcast guests to be knowledgeable, relevant, intelligent and witty.

This from Dawn: “The most comments I get from listeners are about the asides from the conversation, or an offbeat Headliner of the Week choice. That shows that there’s something for everyone to connect with in North Carolina politics.”

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Tyler Dukes

… for “Private Eyes,” his must-read report on how Flock, a private tech company, has installed at least 700 cameras in more than 70 counties and municipalities across North Carolina while earning millions in public money.

Tyler is a talented investigative reporter who needed to be thorough and resourceful to bring together this detailed assessment. As Tyler reports: “Compared to some other states, North Carolina has little oversight into how law enforcement agencies audit their use of license plate reader systems.”

“Private Eyes” incorporates several stories available in The N&O’s In the Spotlight, one of our new initiatives focused on accountability reporting. He reports on how security cameras are stirring debate for a Knightdale HOA and how police errors with license plate cameras have led to wrongful arrests.

It’s great work in the public’s interest.

Chip Alexander

… who recently celebrated his 45th anniversary at The N&O. We ordered cake and coaxed Chip to let us say nice things. He obliged, accepted the congratulations and finished his version of a late-night rager by covering the Canes’ Game 5 win on Tuesday.

Chip started his career changing ribbons on typewriters. Now, he’s a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) star.

If that greatest game of H-O-R-S-E ever happened, Chip would be on first-name basis with David, Michael and Grant.

Five years ago, some Boston sports-talk radio rager tried to rattle Chip. Didn’t happen. The incident came up during the Reddit AMA and prompted a May 13, 2019 letter to the editor headlined: “Chip Alexander should be commended for his perfect Southern style.”

Wrote Marvin Waldo: “I have known Chip Alexander since we both attended Everett Case’s Basketball School for boys in the early 1960s. It is in his perfect Southern style to simply move on from the outrageous way he was dealt with by the WBZ-FM host who so rudely cut him off because of his Southern accent and the premise that no Southern reporter could know anything about hockey. Hey Beantown, our precious Triangle receives national acclaim every day and is filled with folks from all over the U.S. Chip is the perfect representative for us all, and kudos to Chip for his many years of handling his job with dignity and professionalism. And to the guy that cut him off, your mom taught you better! Y’all come back now, you hear?”

Now, that’s a rager worth celebrating, too.

Bill Church is executive editor of The News & Observer. His definition of rager is “what someone does silently in a long, long line when the customer at the counter who changed their order three times realizes they have to pay for the purchase.”