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(Raleigh, NC) — North Carolina Press Association members were honored for excellence in news and advertising coverage during the 149th annual convention held in Raleigh on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.

The Washington Daily News was named the second-place winner for Overall General Excellence in Division B.
In addition to the overall recognition, the newspaper was presented with four individual awards in the editorial contest.

The Washington Daily News claimed first place in Appearance and Design. Correspondent Karen Thiel earned second place in Feature Photography for “Celebrating Summer.” Publisher Ashley Vansant earned third place in Feature Photography for “Kane seeks assurances on tree protection.” And Sports Editor Steve Barnes earned third place in Serious Columns for “There’s a downside to being nosey.”

NCPA’s advertising and editorial contest is one of the largest in the nation with over 4,000 entries submitted by more than 125 newspapers and news organizations.
This is the second straight year the newspaper placed in the Overall General Excellence category. The Washington Daily News was named first place for Overall General Excellence and first place for General Excellence for Websites in the 2020 contest. It also took the top NCPA award in 2016.

“It’s an honor to again be recognized by our peers as one of the best newspapers in North Carolina,” said publisher Ashley Vansant. “It’s an even greater honor to continue serve our community like this newspaper has for more than 100 years. I’m proud of the hard work of our entire team to produce award-winning journalism and top-notch marketing solutions for local businesses.”

Holly Morgan, a reporter whom the Daily News hired in May, won three awards for articles published by her previous employer, The Enquirer-Journal (Monroe, North Carolina). She earned second place in City, County Government Reporting for a series of articles titled, “The James Series.” Sharing credit with another reporter at the newspaper, she earned second for General News Reporting for a series of articles titled, “ACSO provides details into teacher death.” She received third place in Election/Political Reporting for an article titled “Candidates Explain.”

A list of categories and rules can be found at ncpress.com. For a full list of winners, visit www.ncpress.com.