Island Free Press Wins 16 North Carolina Press Association Awards

The Island Free Press was honored to win 16 North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) Awards at the NCPA’s annual convention and awards banquet in Raleigh on Thursday, February 27.

The IFP took home 13 editorial awards and three advertising awards, which included first-place wins for photography, feature writing, e-mail newsletter, use of social media, and photo page or essay, as well as a second-place win for general excellence among online news publications in N.C.

2019’s annual NCPA contest garnered approximately 4,400 entries from more than 200 newspaper organizations across the state.

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).

Publisher and Co-founder Donna Barnett, Editor Joy Crist, Photographer Don Bowers, and Columnist Kristin Hissong attended the convention and awards banquet, which attracted hundreds of journalists, editors, freelancers and supporters from newspapers and publications throughout North Carolina.

IFP’s 2019 NCPA Editorial Awards are as follows:

• Email newsletter – 1st Place – Donna Barnett, and Meg Phillips
• Feature Writing – 1st Place – Joy Crist (multiple stories)
• Photo Page or Essay – 1st Place – Don Bowers and Jenni Koontz for Hurricane Dorian in Pictures
• Photography, General News – 1st Place – Don Bowers for Dorian storm coverage
• Use of Social Media – 1st Place -Donna Barnett and Joy Crist
• Niche Publication – 1st Place – Donna Barnett for Gallery Guide
• General Excellence for Websites – 2nd Place – Donna Barnett, Joy Crist and Meg Phillips
• Lighter Columns – 2nd Place – Kristin Hissong for A Beachcomber’s View columns
• Sports Feature Writing – 2nd Place – Joy Crist for Worrell Race Returns to Hatteras Island
• Community Coverage – 3rd Place – Donna Barnett and Joy Crist (multiple stories)
• General News Reporting – 3rd Place – Joy Crist for Opening of the Bonner Bridge Replacement
• Photography, General News – 3rd Place – Don Bowers for Community Bridge Day in Pictures
• Serious Columns – 3rd Place – Joy Crist for Editor’s Blogs

IFP’s 2019 Advertising Awards are as Follows:

• Food Ad – 1st Place – Donna Barnett for Sonny’s Restaurant
• Institutional Ad – 1st Place – Donna Barnett for Outer Banks Preservation Association
• Real Estate Ad – 1st Place – Donna Barnett for Charlie Barnett Construction

All of us at the Island Free Press would like to thank you – our readers, advertisers, and colleagues – for your continued support. We are grateful for your commitment to our local paper, and we will continue to strive to provide the best news coverage possible on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

We would especially like to thank and acknowledge our co-founder, mentor, editor, and friend, Irene Nolan, for giving us a real-life blueprint on what exceptional journalism should be.

Irene founded the Island Free Press in 2007, and although she passed away in March of 2017, she continues to influence every aspect of our work.

Thank, you Irene, for always being our beacon, and for continuing to guide us every day. All of us at the IFP know that these awards and recognitions truly belong to you.