Island Free Press wins seven North Carolina Press Association Awards for journalism, including Public Service Award
The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) recently announced the winners of its annual contest for journalism across the state, and the Island Free Press (IFP) was honored with seven awards for work published between March 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, which included the NCPA’s special Public Service Award.
The Public Service Award is given to one newspaper in each division – daily newspapers, non-daily newspapers, and online – and “recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service of a newspaper to its local community, reflecting exceptional courage or enterprise.” Joy Crist of the IFP won the Public Service Award for the state’s Online Division for her 2024 coverage of the contamination issues at Buxton Beach.
Don Bowers earned three NCPA awards, which included a third-place win for Feature Photography for the annual Blessing of the Fleet event in Hatteras Village, a third-place award for General News Photography for his coverage of Buxton Beach deterioration, and a first-place award for Spot Photography for images he captured during a March 2024 storm.
Crist also won a second-place award in the Editorials category, while co-founder and publisher Donna Barnett won third-place awards for magazine or niche publications for her supplemental area guides, as well as in the advertising category.
The North Carolina Press Association was established in 1873, and is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the United States. The NCPA is a member-owned and operated nonprofit group that helps to maintain high industry standards, represents the interests and rights of established newspapers throughout the state, and promotes literacy and education through the N.C. Press Foundation (NCPF).
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, such as awards for General Excellence, will be officially announced on Sept. 19 at the North Carolina Press Association’s annual convention in Raleigh, North Carolina.
