| Rank | Newspapername | City | Author | Title | JudgeNote |
| General News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Staff | Con-Agra Plant Explosion | Great, comprehensive coverage of a major news event and it's aftermath. |
| 2nd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Michael Biesecker | She Shot Him: Shooting Of Ex-Convict | Why in the world was this not on 1A? Great writing means great material. Where's the screenplay? |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Failed By System, Dead At 15 | Good writing and reporting. Comprehensive work. |
| Deadline News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Mandy Locke, Yonat Shimron & Josh Shaffer | Seven Arrested In Terror Plot | Gripping, complete and well told. Readers got a real sense of some of these men, all in a spot news story. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Whiplash | Intelligent and sophisticated turnaround. Showed real ownership of story. |
| 3rd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Anne Blythe & Jesse Deconto | Castillo Trial, Gavel To Gavel | Day after day of quality spot news reporting and writing. |
| Online Breaking News | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Wells Fargo Wins Wachovia | Impressive, thorough package of stories and graphics on events at a Charlotte institution with 20,000 jobs at stake. It offered clear and concise writing, knowledgeable sources, and superb graphics. Excellence in online deadline work. |
| 2nd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | J. Andrew Curliss, Jay Price & Staff | Easley Investigation | Authoritative writing on a key figure's fall in on-going investigative effort. Nice job of bringing it all together with links to past deep reporting. A very close second to the first place choice. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Ken Lewis Retires | A comprehensive and sophisticated package on an abrupt resignation of a major corporate chieftan. |
| News Feature | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Elizabeth Leland & Fred Clasen-Kelly | The New Homeless | This was the clear winner in a very tough category to judge. While many of the entries were incredibly strong, there was no doubt that this story of people who are homeless because of the economy. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Cleve R. Wootson Jr | Hidden Valley's New Day | This was another story that rose to the top of a crowded field. It was nice to look at a hard-won battle. It was nice to see the good guys can win. Very well told. Good job! |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | We're Crashing. I Love You | Bravo. In a time when you are looking for a local angle to a national story, you found a big one. Compellingly told, this is a gut-wrenching tale of survival. |
| Feature Writing | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Elizabeth Leland | Fighting To Get Lexi Up And Running | Leland takes a story that is every parent’s nightmare and infuses it with love and hope. She tells the story of a young girl horribly debilitated by an easily preventable disease. But the story transcends sadness and guilt to become one of the courage of her parents, of a minor miracle offered by modern medicine and of a brave young girl hoping to speak unaided and to walk for the first time. It’s an extraordinary story delivered with all its pathos and power. |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Lorraine Ahearn | Back On The Horse | In many writers’ hands, the story Ahearn tells in "Back on the Horse" would have been unremarkable. Many may not have seen a story here at all. But through exceptional writing skill and an understanding that the quiet acts of good people can also capture readers’ interest, she lovingly tells the story of the female owner of a horse farm and riding school who treats horses and people with compassion. It's the sort of beautifully written, warm-hearted story that readers feel they see too seldom in newspapers. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Kathleen Purvis | Disappearing Art Of Country Ham | Purvis has taken a food that everyone in the South knows about and through a fine, in-depth look shows that most of us don’t know it at all. She follows a traditional country ham from pig to plate, along the way explaining details that diners never knew and probably never thought about. |
| Profile Feature | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Elizabeth Leland | Who In The World Is Delmar | In the hands of Elizabeth Leland, a remarkable character becomes an equally remarkable profile. Painstakingly researched, she captures both the life and the personality of one of Charlotte’s true eccentric’s Delmar Williams. The subject is irresistible and the writing and extensive research are first class. It’s a superb story. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Chick Jacobs | A Father's Gift | It is difficult to believe that any category was as hotly contested as profile features. Evidence of this is Chick Jacobs’ beautifully written story about a father who has spent more than 40 years taking care of his disabled son. It’s a wonderful and wonderfully crafted portrait that will have many readers wiping tears from their eyes. |
| 3rd | News & Record | Greensboro | Lorraine Ahearn | Circling Home | It’s a good story: The Greensboro community uniting to help a longtime restaurant owner who is hospitalized and that restaurant owner’s eventual fulfilling a lifetime goal — being able to visit the West Bank where his father had planted an olive orchard for him. While the facts are there for a good profile, it is often Ahearn’s creative writing that carries the story. She takes chances and they pay off. |
| News Enterprise and Investigative Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | J. Andrew Curliss & Staff | Executive Privilege | The N&O's investigation into the privileges claimed by former N.C. Gov. Mike Easley was both revealing and compelling. The newspaper unmasked a spoils system and sweetheart deals that benefited Easley and his family in extraordinary ways - from jobs and cars to travel and cheap land at the coast. This was dogged, textbook investigating: Never giving up on getting the records, digging deeply to see where those records lead, and then following those leads to the next level. The N&O's reporting landed results, prompting state and federal investigations that continue to unfold. "Executive Privilege" was exemplary work. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Ames Alexander & Franco Ordonez | Hard Labor At Tender Age | Ames Alexander and Franco Ordonez not only exposed a pervasive problem in North Carolina's poultry industry, they also put the reader into the story with deep reporting, strong interviewing and terrific storytelling. Their work hit on the human level, but also prompted the NC legislature to act to close loopholes in the state's labor laws. |
| 3rd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Staff | Losing Track | This N&O investigation of the NC parole system came after the University of North Carolina's student body president was slain - and marked a terrific example of tough follow-up on questions from a breaking news event that ultimately exposed serious and dangerous flaws in the system. |
| Business Writing | |||||
| 1st | Winston-Salem Journal | Richard Craver | Downfall Of Wachovia | A more than admirable attempt to provide breadth, depth and context for a rapidly developing story. | |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Stella M. Hopkins | How A Board Lost A Bank | Well written. Meticulously researched. Just a jaw-dropping expose of this board's ineptitude and its cost. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Rick Rothacker & Ted Mellnik | Minority Loan Gap | Excellent use of statistical data to tell a story with real human and social impact. |
| Sports News Reporting | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Postseason: Bye | It would be easy to praise this entry by the sheer volume. Instead, this entry is everything it should be: informative, entertaining and thorough. Seems to be classic example of how to cover a big event. It's well written, too. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Sammy Batten & Paul Shugar | Crackdown On Cursing | Batten & Shugar covered a difficult and unusual subject with depth. There is tons of information, but it never gets boring or routine. Branching out to the bigger picture - the trend - was the key. |
| 3rd | News & Record | Greensboro | Tom Keller | Smith Ends Drought | A perfect example of making a game story interesting. Game stories usually are boring and routine. This one was not. Keller included lots of non-traditional game story info. A good read. |
| Sports Feature Writing | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | David Scott | Unheralded History | The standout story among dozens of wonderful reads in this category. I'm glad this was told, and told well. |
| 2nd | Star News | Wilmington | Rachel George | Leveling The Playing Field | Thorough reporting on important subject. |
| 3rd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Luke Decock | A Monster For Left Fielders | Very fun story. |
| General News Photography | |||||
| 1st | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Lauren Carroll | Where Is The World I Used To Live In: Nan Griswold | Moving picture. Nice storytelling moment. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Andrew Craft | New Kind Of Mission | Beautifl image. Nice emotion. |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Jennifer Rotenizer | A Day To Mourn: Robert Staley's Funeral | Nice symmetry - that and emotion make a nice photo. |
| Feature Photography | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Ethan Hyman | A Date With Dad | |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Jeff Siner | Avett Brothers Take Leap | |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | T. Ortega Gaines | A Vacant House Becomes Home | |
| Sports Photography | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | David T. Foster Iii | 49ers Finally Have Final | Nice package of emotion and action. Great storytelling. Photographer captured importance of game. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Jason E. Miczek | Patriots Ousted | Great capture of emotional storytelling moment. Very clean and attractive. Love the scoreboard. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Jeff Siner | Dufner's Lap Shot | Great capture of highly unusual situation. Very talkable photo. |
| Photo Page | |||||
| 1st | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Andrew Craft | Back On Call | Great visual variety. Can tell photographer was really thoughtful when making the images. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Jeff Siner | Unexpected Turn | Nice classic story-telling. Solid moments. |
| 3rd | Star News | Wilmington | Staff | Honoring The Fallen | |
| Illustration/Photo Illustration | |||||
| 1st | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Mariano Santillan | Giant Killers | |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Margaret Baxter | Turning Point | |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Richard Boyd Ii | Spinning A Comeback | |
| Best Video | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Travis Long | Native Truth | Excellent storytelling makes good use of natural light and camera effects. Gorgeous. Location shooting allowed it to skip past competition. |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Jerry Wolford | Engineer That Could | As meticulously crafted as any of the pieces of woodwork shown in the video. A very strong contender. |
| 3rd | Star News | Wilmington | Veronica Gonzalez | Unforgettable Love | |
| Best Use of an Interactive Feature | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Lamonte Garrett | Nc State Football | You can never give fans enough about their football team, but this online project with a bit of razzle-dazzle interactivity reaches out even to the non-fan with its Xs and Os. Lots of team information in nicely digestible nuggets that will keep people on-site and looking. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Wm Pitzer | Black History Month | Not much design flash but a simple, effective system to attract readers, keeping them engaged with the news organization on a continuing bais. It also rewards the news staff with lots of story leads that are meaningful to readers because the audience has been given the opportunity to show what they want. |
| 3rd | Star News | Wilmington | Vaughn Hagerty | Myreporter.Com | Lovely art work. Nice nuggets of information in a simple to discover form. |
| Best Multimedia Project | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Hurrican Hugo 20 Years Later | A BIG project, in all the best senses. It was broad, it was deep. Technically brilliant, emotionally engaging, informative. An epic. Bravo! |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Bruce Henderson & John D. Simmons | Great Smoky Mountains Turn 75 | An excellent application of varied forms of storytelling to shape this big story into something that informs and entertains. Lovely images. |
| 3rd | News & Record | Greensboro | Tim Rickard & Alyse Knorr | Watchmen | Nice melding of media, I just wanted more. |
| Editorials | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Mary Newsom | Golden Parachutes; Judge Belk; Roving Sc Governor | Your editorials are clearly thought out, clearly explained and clearly written. They are thought-provoking. Well done. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Tim White | Lavish, On Us; Common Sense, Past Due | Of all of the Easley editorials I read, yours was the only one to explain the issue to me clearly. And the editorial on the arrest at the funeral was clear and to the point. |
| 3rd | Star News | Wilmington | Tricia Vance | Police Videos; This Game; Open File | Tight writing shows clear thought. Arguments are well laid out. Nice work. |
| Lighter Columns | |||||
| 1st | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Bill Kirby Jr. | Ice Cream; Cupid | The columns were funny, pithy and with a solid point. Kirby is a modern day curmudgeon who doesn't take himself too seriously. |
| 2nd | Asheville Citizen-Times | Asheville | John Boyle | An Essay Contest; Mumpower & Me; Braving A Pool | Unlike many columnists, John Boyle isn't all about "me." When he writes about himself as in the Essay Contest, It's to make a greater point. He picks his subjects well as in the goat hero. |
| 3rd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Myron Pitts | Key To City; Cute Isn't The Word | Reading Myron Pitts' columns was like sitting in an easy chair listening to him tell me a story. His style is accessible and friendly. |
| Serious Columns | |||||
| 1st | News & Record | Greensboro | Lorraine Ahearn | Living; En Route; She Did | Ahearn has written touching and extremely in-depth profile columns of people whose lives are in crisis: She focuses on the lives of African refugees who have come to an America in which shortages of jobs and aid may leave them homeless. There is the Alzheimer’s patient who had set up an annuity and taken out home health insurance to make sure that she doesn’t wind up in a nursing home — who now finds herself in a nursing home, and the firefighter who is heading to Iraq, where three of his longtime friends have already died. Ahearn not only finds great topics, but finds the humanity in each of them. |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Jeri Rowe | Bound; Learn; His Crime | Rowe offers more in-depth and well-written human interest columns from the News & Record. Fine writing, extensive reporting and emotionally gripping subjects combine to create a trio of compelling columns. |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | John Railey | Deliver On Promise; Daughter Reconciles; Journalist Experiences | Railey has written some fine, hard-hitting columns. The editorials take on subjects from the need for the state to finally help victims of North Carolina’s misguided sterilization program to a sexually abused daughter’s ordeal in gaining support because the father who abused her was a civil rights icon and some thought her charges would hurt the movement. |
| Sports Columns | |||||
| 1st | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Dan Wiederer | Tar Heel's Fate | Others wrote about more momentous topics, but Wiederer did a wonderful job of creating well-written, incredibly readable columns on topics sure to seduce sports fans of all sorts. The best was undoubtedly "Tar Heels’ fate rests on Lawson’s whim." It’s a column in which he points out how the hopes of some of the country’s most fervent basketball fans are now resting on the unpredictable temperament of a talented, but perplexing player who even his own teammates have quit trying to figure out. The result is not just an interesting profile of a college player, but of the predicament of fans who place their happiness in the hands of young, not-to-grounded student athletes. Wiederer is a joy to read. |
| 2nd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Lenox Rawlings | Swan Songs; Another Shot; Saving A King | The competition in sports columns was close, determined almost as much by style as by quality — which is to say Lenox Rawlings wrote some wonderful columns. Rawlings’ columns are less opinion pieces or even traditional columns than they are beautifully written features with the little extra freedom that a column permits. All the columns here were fascinating profiles, more about the lives of those in sports than the sports themselves. While all were excellent, the Fuzzy Zoeller column was the standout and one of the best submitted in the entire category. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Scott Fowler | Tackling; Heart; Candid Speech | Fowler does an excellent job of giving readers the stories behind the famous (pointing out that the Michael Jordan whose remarks caused irritation at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction is the "real" Jordan) and the virtually unknown (from the teenager with Downs Syndrome who got to play in a football game and made a tackle to the story of a high school player dealing with both the pressures of football and of being homeless) Fowler finds good topics and does them justice. |
| Criticism | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Craig Lindsey | Iron Mike; Beyond The Curtain; Uneven 'Girlfriend' | Lindsey’s reviews cover everything from failed boxing contenders (Mike Tyson) to dance contenders trying desperately not to fail (a documentary on performers trying to be cast in the revival of "A Chorus Line." What connects his movie reviews is a real interest in not just decisions on how and why the works are put together but the people involved with them. He offers what most readers want in their criticism - clear and concise writing and interesting opinions. |
| 2nd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Laura Giovanelli | Restaurant Reviews | Giovanelli’s dining reviews are both extremely informative and great fun. She makes it clear that it is not just the places where she dines that know about capturing flavor. Her descriptions put you in the restaurants, sitting in booths and seeing and smelling the food as it comes out. This alone would make for some fine reviews, but she also throws in interesting history of the food and people cooking it. Forgive the pun, but these reviews are truly well done. |
| 3rd | The News & Observer | Raleigh | David Menconi | Axl; Turining; Sad | The best part of Menconi’s reviews are when he simply lets his mind take off, worrying little about form and instead giving us an informed, interesting and eclectic commentary on the music he is hearing. His review of the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson/John Mellencamp concert is like getting together with a particularly intelligent and somewhat irreverent friend to talk about a show you’ve just seen. He also has an interesting piece on Guns N’ Roses’ "Chinese Democracy’ in which he tries to put the group’s insanity into perspective by relating the past insanity of other well-known rock and of lesser-known area bands. The criticism is interesting, informative and fun. |
| Headline Writing | |||||
| 1st | News & Record | Greensboro | Bill Wolverton | Acc; Nfl; 3d | |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Vinny Kuntz | Economy; Strategists; End Was | |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Tom Fluharty | Singin; Beddy, Bye; Eating It Up | |
| Graphics | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Wm Pitzer | America; Conflagration; Hugo | All entries contain a tremendous amount of information. Attractive design for all. Extremely comprehensive. Impressive and amazing. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Mariano Santillan | Fight For Nc; Venus | Pinelake is a fine example of everything the reader needs to know. Very interesting - draws reader into story. Humorous and informative. |
| 3rd | News & Record | Greensboro | Margaret Baxter | Cool Pool; Dragonflies; Cuts Too Unkind | Dragonflies: Very pleasing to the eye and informative as well. Pools: Nice organization. Cute design. |
| General Excellence Web Site | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Www.Charlotteobserver.Com | Clearly the best. Everything is where you expected it to be, even things you weren't looking for. |
| 2nd | Star News | Wilmington | Staff | Www.Starnewsonline.Com | |
| 3rd | Asheville Citizen-Times | Asheville | Staff | Www.Citizen-Times.Com | |
| Appearance and Design | |||||
| 1st | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Staff | March 28 & 29, 2009 | |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Staff | March 21 & 22, 2009 | |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Staff | March 3 & 4, 2009 | |
| Sports Coverage | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Staff | November 8 & 9, 2008 | Nice rounded coverage in your section. Stories ranged from Ken Tipioc's great story on the Duke/NC State rivalry to high school wrestling to girls' hoops. Nice writing, great packaging. Very well done! |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Staff | November 14 & 15, 2008 | The section led with an interesting and often overlooked part of high school sports - who pays when teams make the playoffs? The sections showed you cover a variety of sports. Well done. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | November 9 & 10, 2008 | Your section is nicely laid out,which helps your stories sing even more. Lots of breakout info (love the 3 Things To Watch) which makes the pages even more accessible. |
| News Section Design | |||||
| 1st | Star News | Wilmington | Staff | July 4 & 5, 2009 | Design has a modern look and is well organized. Paper is easy to navigate and has effective tools to benefit readers. Best overall design in extremely competitive category. |
| 2nd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | October 10 & 11, 2008 | Exceptional design to handle big news. Good use of graphics and photos. Top notch effort. |
| 3rd | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | Staff | October 10 & 11, 2008 | Design leaves little question about the big news of the day. Nice tools to aid the reader. Nice product. |
| Feature Section Design | |||||
| 1st | The News & Observer | Raleigh | Staff | November 8 & 9, 2008 | Retro look appears modern, clean, fresh; Arts & Living filled with handsome and well-designed pages. Sections readable and engaging. Reader drawn to all pages. |
| 2nd | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville | Suzanne Schubert & Merry Eccles | September 13 & 14, 2009 | Sunday Life section very impressive. Wonderful use of color and graphics. Life Section front had white space to spare. |
| 3rd | News & Record | Greensboro | Staff | November 29 & 30, 2008 | Creative use of color, very attractive graphics, clean look. |
| Special Section | |||||
| 1st | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Double Trouble | This section has it all - great writing, great photography and great design. Terrific job. |
| 2nd | News & Record | Greensboro | Staff | Wyndham Preview | Nice writing, art and design. It's a complete guide to this tournament that interested even me - and I hate golf! Great job. |
| 3rd | The Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | Staff | Living Here | This is the section many of us do, even though we hate doing it. None of that shows in your section. I loved the intro story especially. I can't imagine what else I would need to know when I moved to Charlotte. Well done. |
