Century Farms, Wayne Collier, Indian Ridge, Linden, NC
Wayne Collier walks to a cabin built in 1963 where he and his wife often spend the cooler months of the year on their farm Indian Ridge in Linden on Oct. 7. The cabin, along with other homes on the property, were built with timber from the farm and cut on a sawmill from the early 1900s that is still in use today. Melissa Sue Gerrits / Carolina Public Press Credit: Melissa Sue Gerrits / Carolina Public Press

Carolina Public Press has won at least 11 awards in the annual contest among North Carolina journalism organizations, according to the N.C. Press Association.

Carolina Public Press won first place in six categories, for investigative reporting, public service reporting, political/election reporting, photojournalism, illustrations and feature writing. Carolina Public Press is a wholly independent nonprofit investigative news organization founded in 2011 and serving all of North Carolina.

“We are honored to be recognized for providing some of the best investigative, public service and political reporting in the state,” said founder and Executive Director Angie Newsome. “I’m so grateful for the hard work and dedication our news team and contributors have poured into telling important and impactful stories that traditionally go overlooked. I hope that our audience, members and supporters know that they join us in this work, because, as a nonprofit organization, we wouldn’t be here without them.”

The in-depth reporting project “Dodging Standards” attracted multiple awards, including first place in investigative reporting for former lead investigative reporter Kate Martin and first for public service journalism for the entire Carolina Public Press staff. Martin has since joined the news team at NBC, and CPP’s new lead investigative reporter is Jacob Biba.

While at Carolina Public Press, Martin’s long-term investigative reporting on Department of Social Services issues in Cherokee County led to the statewide “Dodging Standards” project. It examined how social service agencies across the state may be in the hands of people who don’t meet minimum job qualifications. The multimedia series examined how it happens and how other states avoid the problem within similar agencies.

Additional top awards went to Jack Igelman for his coverage of “ghost forests” along the North Carolina coast and to Shelby Harris for her examination of when and where gerrymandering began in the state. Melissa Sue Gerrits won top honors for her photo essay on a 100-year-old farm in Cumberland County. Brittain Peck also won top honors for an illustration for the series looking into how climate change is impacting public forests in the state.

Melissa Sue Gerrits’ photo essay from Indian Ridge in Cumberland County won first place in the recent NC Press Association journalism contest. Here, Wayne Collier walks to a cabin built in 1963. He and his wife often spend the cooler months of the year at the cabin, located on their Indian Ridge farm. The cabin was built with timber from the farm and cut on a sawmill from the early 1900s.
The entire awards list is as follows:

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