Charlotte Observer staffers take home 33 NC Press Association awards
The Charlotte Observer won 33 awards, including for Overall General Excellence, in the annual N.C. Press Association competition Friday.
The Observer earned 14 first-place awards, 10 second-place awards and nine third-place awards.
Friday’s ceremony was all-virtual because of the pandemic. The Observer’s NCPA winners were:
First Place
Staff: General Excellence.
Cristina Bolling: Arts and Entertainment Reporting, “Culture at the crossroads: Charlotte arts groups on edge ahead of sales tax referendum.”
Michael Gordon: Beat News Reporting, “Ronnie Long is a free man. ‘They will never, ever, ever lock me up again.’”
Staff: Editorial Page.
Peter St. Onge: Editorials, collection of editorials.
Théoden Janes: Feature Writing, “TV anchor held her baby for less than 2 hours. But she’ll hold onto her memory forever.”
Scott Fowler: Ledes, collection of ledes.
Michael Gordon, Hannah Smoot, Laurel Deppen, Caroline Petrow-Cohen: News Feature Writing, “‘Everything felt like it was on fire.’ Floyd marchers say they walked into police ambush.”
Jeff Siner: Photography, General News, “No more tear gas during Charlotte protests, sheriff says.”
Jeff Siner: Photography, Sports, “Too much stuffing.”
Théoden Janes: Religion & Faith Reporting, “Is this man trying to share Jesus’s love with protesters? Or is he just being a nuisance?”
Staff: Sports Coverage.
Alex Andrejev: Sports News Reporting, “Meet Kirk Price, the NASCAR official who took a knee during the national anthem.”
Jessica Koscielniak, Casey Toth: Video, “After 44 years in prison, Ronnie Long adjusts to freedom.”
Second Place
Alison Kuznitz, Fred Clasen-Kelly, Lauren Lindstrom: Breaking News Coverage, “Wave goodbye, they’re all about to get gassed’: CMPD planned tear gas attack, video shows.”
Austin Weinstein: Business Writing, “We need to do more’: Seven high-ranking Black women leave Wells Fargo.”
Melissa Oyler, Heidi Finley: Email Newsletter, Charlotte Five.
Austin Weinstein, Danielle Chemtob: Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Award, “Mecklenburg County meets businesses in secret to discuss re-opening Charlotte economy.”
Ames Alexander: Investigative Reporting, “Despite COVID-19 threat, inmates were sent to public buildings to work. Now they’re sick.”
Théoden Janes: Lighter Columns, collection of lighter columns.
Jim Morrill: Election/Political Reporting, “Joe Biden, Jesse Helms and an unlikely friendship that’s hard to imagine today.”
Jeff Siner: Photography, Feature, “Protesters urge reopening of Mecklenburg economy.”
Théoden Janes: Religion & Faith Reporting, “A high-schooler struck back at anti-Semitism the best way she knew how: On Instagram.”
Langston Wertz Jr.: Sports Feature Writing, “Dylann Roof murdered her mom in a church. Why the Mallard Creek hoops star forgave him.”
Third Place
Staff: Website.
Staff: Appearance and Design.
Devna Bose, Sophie Kasakove: Beat News Reporting, “The pandemic has sounded an alarm bell on North Carolina’s digital divide.”
Ames Alexander, Matthew Griffin, Donovan Thomas: General News Reporting, “On Beatties Ford Road, there was music and dancing — then a ‘whole lot of gunshots.’
Hannah Smoot: News Feature Writing, “Inside a quarantine hotel: Black mold, armed guards, and TV dinners.”
Jeff Siner: Photography, Spot, “2 dead after severe storms on Friday in Charlotte area.”
Théoden Janes: Profile Feature, “How Maya Pillai became a rising GOP star — and one of Davidson’s most controversial students.”
Scott Fowler: Serious Columns, collection of serious columns.
Théoden Janes: Sports Feature Writing, “Can he be the Hornets’ head coach and the dad he always wanted to be — at the same time?”
