By Staff
Staff Reports
The Washington Daily News has received a national award for its coverage of the passing of W.R. “Bill” Roberson Jr.
The National Newspaper Association recognized the Daily News with its second-place award in the category of best obituary, daily division, in the organization’s 2010 Better Newspaper Contest. The honored entry, titled “He touched many,” consisted of a front-page editorial written by Daily News Publisher A.B. “Brownie” Futrell Jr. and a profile feature detailing Roberson’s life written by Community Editor Greg Katski.
The judge said of the entry, “Futrell and Katski put together a well-sourced, well-constructed package to cover the very full life of Bill Roberson.”
The contest included the calendar year of 2009. Roberson, the founder of WITN-TV and a former secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, died in January 2009.
The award will be presented at the NNA’s annual convention to be held in Omaha, Neb., in October. The NNA, founded in 1885, is the nation’s oldest and largest newspaper organization.
This year’s winning entry for best obituary, daily division, was the Antelope Valley Press in Palmdale, Calif. The Daily News was previously honored by the NNA in 2008 when it won the first-place award for best serious column, daily division, for a piece on the Turnage Theater.