Carolina Public Press will be recognized with at least 20 journalism awards from the North Carolina Press Association in the newspaper organization’s annual contest, the most that CPP has ever won in a single year.

CPP, which competes in the online-only division of the state press association, was notified Friday that it has won eight first-place awards, eight second-place awards and four third-place awards. The awards will be presented at the NCPA’s annual awards banquet in September, at which time additional special awards could also be given. 

Much of the award-winning work related to CPP’s extensive coverage of Tropical Storm Helene and its aftermath, as well as Tropical Storm Debby. The contest year covers the period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

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“I can’t say how proud I am of our team,” said CPP Executive Director and acting editor Frank Taylor. “These awards went to longtime freelancers as well as staff reporters in their first year with CPP. They are all great and deserving people.

“Every one of our team members was committed to outstanding work in service to the people of North Carolina. We are dedicated to our mission of impactful storytelling about issues that affect the lives of people in our state and this recognition from our industry, as the state press association acknowledges the quality of our work, is gratifying.”

A full list of the awards, by category, follows. Links connect to the winning content: 

News Enterprise Reporting

• 1st Place, Jack Igelman, Out of the Mud
• 2nd Place, Lucas Thomae, Mountain Island flooding
• 3rd Place, Sarah Michels, Bunch of bull

Special Section

• 1st Place, CPP staff, Mountains Unbowed
• 2nd Place, CPP staff, Coastal Kindling landing page
• 3rd Place, CPP staff, Deserting Women landing page

Breaking News Coverage

• 1st Place, CPP staff, Helene’s first days
• 2nd Place, CPP staff, Tropical Storm Debby coverage

Feature Writing

• 1st Place, Jack Igelman, Voices after the storm
• 2nd Place, Lucas Thomae, Safe Babies Court

Spot photography

• 1st Place, Colby Rabon, Asheville inundated
• 2nd Place, Colby Rabon, Surviving Helene in Yancey and Mitchell counties

Illustration

• 1st Place, Mariano Santillan, Deserting Women
• 2nd Place, Mariano Santillan, Coastal Kindling

Photo essay

• 1st Place, Colby Rabon, Images of Yancey and Mitchell counties
• 3rd Place, Colby Rabon, Western NC battered but defiant

Profile feature

• 1st Place, Jane Winik Sartwell, From addiction to peer support

Ledes

• 2nd Place, Sarah Michels, Ledes by Sarah (“Ledes” is journalism slang for the introductory sentences of an article.)

City, county government reporting

• 2nd Place, Jane Winik Sartwell, Cities dumping dioxane

Headlines

• 3rd Place, Frank Taylor, Bunch of Bull and other headlines

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Carolina Public Press wins 20 awards from NC Press Association

by Staff Reports, Carolina Public Press
July 11, 2025

<h1>Carolina Public Press wins 20 awards from NC Press Association</h1> <p class="byline">by Staff Reports, Carolina Public Press <br />July 11, 2025</p> <p><a href="http://www.carolinapublicpress.org">Carolina Public Press</a> will be recognized with at least 20 journalism awards from the North Carolina Press Association in the newspaper organization’s annual contest, the most that CPP has ever won in a single year.</p> <p>CPP, which competes in the online-only division of the state press association, was notified Friday that it has won eight first-place awards, eight second-place awards and four third-place awards. The awards will be presented at the NCPA’s annual awards banquet in September, at which time additional special awards could also be given.&nbsp;</p> <p>Much of the award-winning work related to CPP’s extensive coverage of Tropical Storm Helene and its aftermath, as well as Tropical Storm Debby. The contest year covers the period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-subscribe-for-free-to-carolina-public-press-alerts-and-weekend-roundup-newsletters"><strong>[<a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/sign-up-for-our-mailing-list/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe for FREE to Carolina Public Press’ alerts and weekend roundup newsletters</a>]</strong></h5> <p>“I can’t say how proud I am of our team,” said CPP Executive Director and acting editor Frank Taylor. “These awards went to longtime freelancers as well as staff reporters in their first year with CPP. They are all great and deserving people.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://carolinapublicpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024HeleneOct4_54.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-66222" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Zan Sistare, owner of the McCalls building in Spruce Pine, works Oct. 4, 2024, on cleaning up the building, a week after flooding from Tropical Storm Helene left massive damage. Colby Rabon / Carolina Public Press</figcaption></figure> <p>“Every one of our team members was committed to outstanding work in service to the people of North Carolina. We are dedicated to our mission of impactful storytelling about issues that affect the lives of people in our state and this recognition from our industry, as the state press association acknowledges the quality of our work, is gratifying.”</p> <p>A full list of the awards, by category, follows. Links connect to the winning content:&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>News Enterprise Reporting</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Jack Igelman, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/66167/out-of-the-mud-talking-with-storm-survivors-in-yancey-and-mitchell-counties/">Out of the Mud</a></li> <li>2nd Place, Lucas Thomae, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/67350/lake-home-flooding-avoidable-nc-residents-duke-disagree/">Mountain Island flooding</a></li> <li>3rd Place, Sarah Michels, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/67412/nc-residents-furious-about-being-on-challenged-list-of-voters/">Bunch of bull</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Special Section</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, CPP staff, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/mountains-unbowed/">Mountains Unbowed</a></li> <li>2nd Place, CPP staff, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/coastal-kindling/">Coastal Kindling</a> landing page</li> <li>3rd Place, CPP staff, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/deserting-women/">Deserting Women</a> landing page</li> </ul> <p><strong>Breaking News Coverage</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, CPP staff, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/65778/holding-on-in-western-nc-three-days-after-helene/">Helene's first days</a></li> <li>2nd Place, CPP staff, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/64921/debby-leaves-trail-of-destruction-across-north-carolina/">Tropical Storm Debby coverage</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Feature Writing</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Jack Igelman, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/65996/voices-after-the-storm-talking-with-people-in-asheville-following-helene/">Voices after the storm</a></li> <li>2nd Place, Lucas Thomae, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/65566/safe-babies-court-pilot-program-nc/">Safe Babies Court</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Spot photography</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Colby Rabon, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/65699/images-of-asheville-after-helene/">Asheville inundated</a></li> <li>2nd Place, Colby Rabon, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/66167/out-of-the-mud-talking-with-storm-survivors-in-yancey-and-mitchell-counties/">Surviving Helene in Yancey and Mitchell counties</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Illustration</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Mariano Santillan, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/deserting-women/">Deserting Women</a></li> <li>2nd Place, Mariano Santillan, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/coastal-kindling/">Coastal Kindling</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Photo essay</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Colby Rabon, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/66167/out-of-the-mud-talking-with-storm-survivors-in-yancey-and-mitchell-counties/">Images of Yancey and Mitchell counties</a></li> <li>3rd Place, Colby Rabon, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/65840/from-rescue-to-recovery-receding-waters-reveal-hellscape-as-western-nc-relief-begins/">Western NC battered but defiant</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Profile feature</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>1st Place, Jane Winik Sartwell, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/64877/addiction-peer-support-recover-nc/">From addiction to peer support</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Ledes</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2nd Place, Sarah Michels, Ledes by Sarah ("Ledes" is journalism slang for the introductory sentences of an article.)</li> </ul> <p><strong>City, county government reporting</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2nd Place, Jane Winik Sartwell, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/68167/chemical-dumped-nc-cities-haw-deep-rivers-toxic/">Cities dumping dioxane</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Headlines</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>3rd Place, Frank Taylor, <a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/67412/nc-residents-furious-about-being-on-challenged-list-of-voters/">Bunch of Bull</a> and other headlines</li> </ul> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; 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