| Rank | Newspaper Name | City | Author | Title | Judge's Note |
| General News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Staff | We Have Our Serial Killer | Well written and extremely well covered. Nothing was missed on this fact-filled, fluid, important story. Obviously organized and bases were covered. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Corey Friedman & Amanda Millard | Teen Shot In Neck, Killed | Wonderful job of quickly combining senseless violence with the turbulence surrounding what many believe is a lost neighborhood. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Steve Huffman | High Rock Rescue | Excellent job of capturing the frantic pace and disposition of the rescue. Readers felt they were there as events unfolded. |
| Deadline News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Hendersonville | James Shea | Gas Leak | Very detailed report of what could have been a major disaster. Reporter has abundant sources, considering the chaos that must have been all around. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Staff | Forced To Jump To Safety | Well-written story. Nice accompanying pieces on available aid and hotel's history. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Steve Huffman | Spencer Standoff | Almost surreal happening made clear. Story must have sold many papers given its topic of community interest. |
| Online Breaking News | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Hendersonville | Staff | Hotel Fire Still Under Investigation | This coverage is the ideal way newspapers can approach breaking news online with a wide array of media presentations. |
| 2nd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | Lindell Kay | Police Investigate Homicide | Timely presentation of information on a non-traditional deadline schedule served readers well. Multimedia aspect a plus. |
| 3rd | Times-News | Burlington | Staff | Former Governor Bob Scott Dies | Preparation and fast work by the staff covered a lot of ground in a short time with this story. |
| News Feature | |||||
| 1st | News-Argus | Goldsboro | Kenneth Fine | Justice For Craig | Nicely written story with telling details of how a family deals with the loss of a son. I felt like I was at the gravesite with the father when he went to pay his respects to his son. |
| 2nd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Mark Wineka | Goodbye Mr. Rogers | Nostalgic but not overly sentimental story about the passing of a family-owned service station that goes back to the days when a gas station was more than just a place where you got a fill-up. I got a real sense of what the place was like and a real feel for the personality of the man who carried the family business started by his father. |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Diane Turbyfill | Gaffney's Eerie Echo | Excellent reporting and compelling writing that connects two murder sprees that happened decades apart and shows how they both gripped a small town in fear. |
| Feature Writing | |||||
| 1st | Hickory Daily Record | Hickory | Ragan Robinson | 45 Years Beatlemania | A fun look at Beatlemania through the eyes of people the Beatles touched. Their stories of moptops, hotel rooms and dancing in the streets gave a picture of the era. Fab job! |
| 2nd | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Jimmy Tomlin | Running Like Crazy | There are preview stories for events, and then there is Running Like Crazy. It is inspiring, a bit wacky, and the best way to advance an event I've read in a long time. |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Bernie Petit | Linked By Ink | This is an interesting story about a trend I haven't heard of, which makes it even more interesting. Good job. |
| Profile Feature | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Hendersonville | Beth Beasley | Reflections: From The Mirror Of Her Mind | Wonderful story that was wonderfully written. Reader is uniquely transported with the subject. You feel you are not just reading about her but you are living pieces of her life with her. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Michael Barrett | Restricted Freedom, Lingering Resentment | Excellent job of diving into a subject- both the person and the issue. This certainly tells a side of a difficult local issue that many people had not learned. |
| 3rd | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Jimmy Tomlin | A Very Special Santa | Very moving and extremely well written. The devotion of Santa to his community and to children was inspiring. |
| News Enterprise and Investigative Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Michael Barrett | Better Way; Unpopular; State Considers | Very thorough look at an issue very dear to the hearts of many. Well written and researched. |
| 2nd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Sara Nagem | Video Games, Suspensions Prove Too Steep To Hurdle For Diploma | Excellent job of putting a face on a community problem. Story also tells me what's being done to correct the issue. |
| 3rd | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Monica Chen | Rtp Turns 50 | Well done piece that is significant to the community and state. |
| Business Writing | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Corey Friedman | Freightliner Workers Show Up | Great lead followed by serious reporting. |
| 2nd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Kim Grizzard | Hair-Raising Success | Clever way of introducing topic. |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Corey Friedman | Repo Man Cometh | |
| Sports News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The Daily Tar Heel | Chapel Hill | David Ely & Jesse Baumgartner | Runaway Champions | |
| 2nd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Nathan Summers | Stadium Lights | |
| 3rd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | Rick Scoppe | 6-Year Old Finds Joy | |
| Sports Feature Writing | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Phillip Gardner & Gabe Whisnant | Keeping Players Safe | |
| 2nd | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Steve Hanf | Jennings Soars Over Life's Hurdles | |
| 3rd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Tony Castleberry | More Than A Game | |
| General News Photography | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Benjamin Patton | Shootout | The raw emotions caught in this photo made me hurt. Award winning photos should speak to you; this one screamed at me. |
| 2nd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | John Althouse | Marines | I smiled when I looked at this photo. The joy of children as well as the adults is so genuine. Great photo. |
| 3rd | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Mark Dolejs | Service Honors Eve | Nice tight composition of a touching moment. Nice angle and good eye for light. The flowers providing a nice highlight is the icing on the cake. |
| Feature Photography | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Peter Schumacher | Reflections | Great composition with a good eye for light. Clear winner in a very strong category. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Burlington | Peter Schumacher | Snow Village | Great collection of photos from a snowy day. Each photo is strong enough to stand alone, but together they are a winner. Excellent work! |
| 3rd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | Don Bryan | Hand In Hand | What a great, cute feature photo. Good composition and nice moment. Good to see a photographer paying attention. |
| Sports Photography | |||||
| 1st | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Christine T. Nguyen | Historic Whipping | Great capture of emotion contrasted by the dejection of the losing team. |
| 2nd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Jon C. Lakey | Safe | The emphatic safe call by umpire really makes this photo work, while the catcher is sure he had him out. |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | John Clark | Stiff Arm | Classic receiver versus defender battle. |
| Photo Page | |||||
| 1st | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Eric Beam & John Clark | Panther Camp 09 | All strong photos with great layout makes for a winner. Easily the best page. Good work guys. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | John Clark | Forestview Celebrates | Well laidout page with a nice variety of images. Good combination of photos. |
| 3rd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | John Althouse | Point Of Recovery | Great choice for lead photo! Strong layout with good photos. |
| Illustration/Photo Illustration | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Staff | Predator | Powerful. Thought provoking. Makes it difficult for readers to pull away from illustration and almost forces them to read. |
| 2nd | Hickory Daily Record | Hickory | Robert C. Reed | It's Smokin' | Very clever way to illustrate issue. Offers a "must think" for readers and allows issue to really hit home. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Jon C. Lakey | A Look Back On Cruising | Great job. Fun and interesting, which is exactly how people remember cruising. |
| Best Video | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Alex Kreitman | Wings Of Freedom | Story told over the backdrop of striking footage. Video well executed, planned and edited. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Michael Dirks | Crews Search For Missing Hiker | The overall video was well done, but the interview with the hiker at the end pulled it all together nicely. |
| 3rd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Michael Justus | Dogs Survive Glue Incident | Video, images of glue molds, x-rays, etc tell the story better than the print story could alone. |
| Best Use of an Interactive Feature | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Staff | Www.Timesnewsvarsity.Com | This site exemplifies what an online newspaper sports site should be. The variety and depth of features serves the readers well and goes far beyond what the print product can offer alone. Great work. |
| 2nd | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Staff | Www.Your.Heraldsun.Com | Micro- and hyper-local social networking and reader content are the future of online news media. The readers having their own site sets this apart from the other publications. Excellent model. |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Kevin Ellis & John Hoffman | Gaston County Lockup | Good job of taking the crime builder and building an interactive online product around something so popular in print. |
| Best Multimedia Project | |||||
| 1st | The Daily News | Jacksonville | Staff | Beirut - 25 Years | The comprehensive approach to this story combined with the ease of use for readers and appealing presentation made this project a stand-out. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Staff | Remembering Hurricane Hugo | The use of media, especially combining old print edition online, worked well in covering all angles of this story. |
| 3rd | News-Argus | Goldsboro | Staff | Floyd Revisited | The use of online material, especially video and maps, gives depth to this coverage far beyond what any single media could do. |
| Editorials | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Madison Taylor | Allred; Kay Yow; Easleys | Editorials make good points & the message is delivered firmly. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Jennifer Heaslip | July & August, 2009 | Well researched columns. Each column is focused on point and relevant to the community. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Elizabeth Cook | Inconvenient; No Issue; Schooling | Writer focuses on point and provides info to back it up. |
| Lighter Columns | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Jay Ashley | Halloween; Valentine; Defendants | Very entertaining. Columns are well written and engaging. Enjoyable reading. |
| 2nd | News-Argus | Goldsboro | Laura Collins | Workin' It | Great idea and execution. Column's were well written and kept the reader's attention. Fun to read and informative. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Steve Huffman | Good Girl; How Are You; Character | Columns engage readers early and maintains their attention. |
| Serious Columns | |||||
| 1st | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Bob Ashley | Teach; Landmark; Speech | Well written & insightful columns that are extremely relevant to the community. His perspective on freedom of speech is well stated. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Burlington | Roselee Papandrea | Samantha; Honored; Beautiful | Columns were well crafted and engaging. "Samantha" column was particularly moving. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Chris Verner | Endings; Way Of Death; Married | Well written columns that provoke thought & debate. |
| Sports Columns | |||||
| 1st | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | David Shaw | West Refused; Denied; One Pitch | Good visual details draw readers into column. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Steve Reed | Panther Fans; You Must Step Past Pep; Who Are Panthers? | |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Mark Wineka | High-Five Win | |
| Criticism | |||||
| 1st | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Steve Huffman | Converted Runner; Shipwreck; Valkyrie | Your Converted Runner story was interesting. Your sultana review made me want to read the book. Valkyrie review pushed your entry to the top - at times funny and poignant. All together show a nice body of work and a full range of writing skills. |
| 2nd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Sarah Hall | Nutcracker; Holy Ghost; Opera Carolina | What I loved about this entry is it went beyond the basics. Not only is it a critique of the performance (Nutcracker) but the story talks about the future of the event in a place that is too small to support it. Hall covers a range of subjects in her entry. |
| 3rd | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan | Yes Those Are Handprints; Humanity Told; Purple | Vaughan has a nice easy writing style. She is sweet but not syrupy in her praise and offers lots of backup to her opinions in a nicely written package. |
| Headline Writing | |||||
| 1st | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Jimmy Carroll | His Office Is A Zoo; Signs Of The Thames; Quaker Oaths | Clever turns of phrase make readers smile and draw them into the stories. |
| 2nd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Ronnie Gallagher | Yabba Dabo; Tynamite; Heel Yeah | Punchy & clever. |
| 3rd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Steve Cagle | It's All Her Vault | |
| Graphics | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Burlington | Linda Bowden | Detour; Dice; Facebook | |
| 2nd | The Daily Tar Heel | Chapel Hill | Kristen Long | Mult | |
| 3rd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Randy Erwin | Stimulus; Hugo; Abuse | |
| General Excellence Web Site | |||||
| 1st | Times-News | Hendersonville | Staff | .Com | |
| 2nd | The Daily Tar Heel | Chapel Hill | Staff | .Com | |
| 3rd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Staff | .Com | |
| Appearance and Design | |||||
| 1st | Hickory Daily Record | Hickory | Staff | December 13 & 14, 2008 | |
| 2nd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Staff | December 1 & 2, 2008 | |
| 3rd | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Staff | December 12 & 13, 2008 | |
| Sports Coverage | |||||
| 1st | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Jim Gentry | November 15 & 16, 2008 | |
| 2nd | Times-News | Burlington | Staff | November 8 & 9 | |
| 3rd | The Daily News | Jacksonville | Sports Staff | May 22 & 23, 2009 | |
| News Section Design | |||||
| 1st | The Herald-Sun | Durham | Staff | October 1 & 2, 2008 | Good visual punch, starting with the promos and nameplate, to the centerpiece display on Wednesday, October 1 front page. Typography is clean with a good mix of typefaces and styles, though reefer lines and see lines could use some sprucing up. Sans serif lead headline helps guide reader to top story. Good space inside for wire content, which had a nice mix of stories and briefs (the open, lead Nation and World page is a plus). Good use of photos big and small. |
| 2nd | Times-News | Hendersonville | Staff | July 10 & 11, 2009 | Clean, straightforward design that's functional as well as easy to follow. Enough white space that pages don't feel cramped, but not so much so as to be wasted. Typography is fresh with touches of sophistication. Good mix of type styles, particularly sans serif lead headline. Good photo play. |
| 3rd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Staff | July 11 & 12, 2009 | Clear presentation with strong photo play. Mix of typefaces helps guide the reader through content. Layout is clean and modular. For a midsize paper, a solid news presentation and mix of stories. Color throughout is a bonus for readers. It's used for photos and advertising but not much for other design elements, which may be a missed opportunity to enhance inside pages and navigation. |
| Feature Section Design | |||||
| 1st | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Staff | September 6 & 7, 2009 | Crisp, clean, well executed, striking use of photos. Nice balance of type and photos. |
| 2nd | The Gaston Gazette | Gastonia | Randy Erwin | November 13 & 14, 2008 | Striking & creative. Nice shape and photo composition. Both sections engaging visually to draw reader in. |
| 3rd | Salisbury Post | Salisbury | Staff | Time Out; Food Page | Clean - easy to follow; awkward photo cut-ins on food section front. |
| Special Section | |||||
| 1st | High Point Enterprise | High Point | Staff | Hometown Heroes | Good design. Well thought out. Well presented. Good photos. Once you start reading it is hard to put down. A great gift for any veteran. |
| 2nd | The Daily Reflector | Greenville | Brock Letchworth & Janet Storm | Floyd Remembered | Nicely designed. Inviting. Front page photo tells you what section is about and draws reader inside. |
| 3rd | News-Argus | Goldsboro | Staff | Roads Less Traveled | Consistent good design. Good use of white space. Easy to read. |
