The North Carolina Press Association has recognized Carolina Public Press with six awards in the news media organization’s annual news contest for 2023-2024.
The results, revealed last month, cover content that CPP published over 13 months between March 2023 and March 2024. CPP competed in the association’s division for online-only members. Additional awards may be announced at the NC Press annual awards ceremony in September.
CPP took first place in Feature Photography for longtime CPP contributing photographer Colby Rabon ’s images of Samiullah Yosife , a teen Afghan refugee living in Buncombe County, which accompanied an article about Yosife in December 2023.
In the Elections and Political Reporting category, CPP took both 2nd and 3rd place respectively, for a September 2023 article by former CPP staff writer Grace Vitaglione on millennial and GenZ involvement in North Carolina politics and a March 2024 article by staff writer Mehr Sher on the rapid loss of elections directors by North Carolina counties.
That March story paved the way for the recent CPP investigative project Elections Brain Drain , also by Sher, which appeared after the publication window for this year’s contest.
Longtime CPP contributing writer Jack Igelman took 3rd place for Investigative Reporting for his multipart August 2023 series on efforts to designate the North Fork of the French Broad River as Wild and Scenic , which would grant a layer of federal protection. Igelman has previously won multiple awards for his environmental coverage for CPP, including his Aug. 2022 article on coastal ghost forests , which won 1st place in Beat Feature Reporting in last year’s contest.
CPP Editor-in-Chief Frank Taylor , who returned to the organization in December 2023, took third place for Headline Writing. The contest entry included headlines appearing in early 2024, such as this one from February: What HCA has told feds it’s doing to fix staffing issues at Mission Hospital. Why nurses say it’s not happening. .
Taylor also won 3rd place for Lighter Columns for his sometimes humorous commentary appearing in CPP’s Weekend newsletter, including ones from early 2024 on the state’s geographically mismatched place names, the misplaced value associated with political signs and CPP’s approach to covering primary elections.
Taylor previously served as CPP managing editor from Oct. 2015 to July 2022, during which time he won or shared in multiple awards for Investigative Reporting, Freedom of Information, Public Service, County and City Government Reporting, General Reporting, Elections and Political Reporting, Photo Illustrations and Headline Writing, for both his solo work and team projects at CPP.
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