Mountain Xpress is swelling with gratitude in the wake of accolades from the North Carolina Press Association.
The 2015 News, Editorial and Photojournalism awards were presented Thursday, and Xpress was honored with first and second place in the Best Feature Reporting category, as well as second place for Election/Political Reporting and second place for a niche publication with our Best of WNC 2015-2016 Pocket Guide.
Not only was our editorial work recognized, but the design department received nods as well. Alane Mason received the Best Food Ad top honor with an ad for High Five Coffee. The design staff’s Wick & Green Jewelers ad also took home third place for Best Apparel, Jewelry & Accessories Ad.
Xpress also took third place in the hotly contested General Excellence for Newspaper Websites category.
The articles that captured the top spot in Best Feature Reporting were from a series exploring farming in minority or otherwise marginalized communities in Western North Carolina, “Who are the new farmers?” (part 2, part 3, part 4), by former staff writer and Green Scene editor Carrie Eidson, former staff member Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt and staff member Jordan Foltz.
Following up with second place in the same category was a piece on the awesome lady brewers in Asheville, “Life in her boots: Stepping into the brewhouse with Asheville’s women brewers,” by former Beer Scout and current food writer, Thom O’Hearn.
Asheville FM Slumber Party co-host and then-Xpress staff writer Jake Frankel (along with freelance writers Cameron Huntley, Jesse Farthing and Pat Barcas) reported on the 2014 general elections. While much of North Carolina saw big wins for Republican candidates for the General Assembly, in Buncombe County, Democrats won two big victories to claim state House seats and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners kept a Democratic majority by a narrow margin. “Buncombe goes blue” won second place for Election/Political Reporting.
Mountain Xpress competed in the category for the highest circulating Community (non-daily) Newspapers.
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