The Mitchell News-Journal placed first in editorials in the 2025 North Carolina Press Association Contest recently.
The NCPA awards ceremony will be held during the organization’s annual convention, Sept. 18-19 in Cary.
MNJ is being honored for three specific editorials about the early recovery period following Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land). Those editorials are “Exhaustion” (Oct. 30, 2024), “How to respond to rumors” (Dec. 11, 2024), and “Lazarus Aguayo is not dead” (Nov. 20, 2024).
In additional to editorials, MNJ also placed in four other NCPA categories. Reporter Sarah Atkins placed second in the profile feature category for “Reflecting on pins and needles,” a profile of seamstress Ina Hillmon.
Editor Mariel Williams placed second in the lighter columns category for three personal columns — “A feature, not a bug,” “Bah humbug,” and “Let the grown-ups play.”
Publisher Rachel Hoskins also placed third in the feature writing category for “Stepping into faith,” a story about Amish disaster-recovery group Plain Compassion Crisis Response.
Additionally, the staff as a whole placed third in the full editorial page category for “Celebrating Thanksgiving in Disaster,” the paper’s day-before-Thanksgiving editorial page.