For the second consecutive year, the Ocracoke Observer won a first-place award for its editorials in the annual NC Press Association newspaper contest. In 2020, it also got a second-place prize in this category.
The Ocracoke Observer will receive six awards at this year’s North Carolina Press Association annual convention in September.
The Observer competes in the Online Division in which there are 24 eligible newspapers.
In addition to the first place in editorials, it also won a third-place award. Editorials are written by Observer co-publishers Connie Leinbach, editor, and Peter Vankevich.
The first-place editorial was “What can we do about NC 12” and the third-place editorial was “Why we need community newspapers.”
Leinbach also won first place for “ledes,” which are the first sentences of stories. That story was “Marci Mason’s daily detritus duty draws honor,” and she won first place in the Religion & Faith category for “The miracle church of Swan Quarter.”
Vankevich captured third place in Religion & Faith category for his reporting on the new Stella Maris Catholic Chapel in “New Catholic chapel opens on Ocracoke.”
Leinbach also won third place in Spot Photography for a photo she took of a morning ferry in the Hatteras Inlet. Photo appears above.
The winning stories were published on ocracokeobserver.com between March 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, Although the Observer prints a monthly issue 10 times a year, it competes in the online division in the press association’s annual contest.
It has won more than 60 awards, many in first place, since joining the N.C. Press Association in 2015 and entering the contest starting in 2016.
NCPA’s annual contest is one of the largest in the country, with over 3,500 entries submitted in 2023 from more than 125 newspapers and news organizations.
All winners and additional awards will be officially announced on Sept. 19 at the Raleigh convention.
Founded in 1873, the North Carolina Press Association is one of the oldest and largest journalism trade organizations in the nation. It is a member-owned and operated non-profit association established to protect First Amendment freedoms, promote the business interests of North Carolina newspapers and maintain high standards in the industry.