The hardware may have been virtual, but the accolades were real as the N.C. Press Association announced the winners of its 2020 contest on Feb. 26. Mountain Xpress came away with eight honors in Division C, which includes North Carolina’s largest weekly newspapers.
The paper’s staff as a collective received three awards, including first place for appearance and design. The 2020 Field Guide to Asheville, a new print offering aimed at visitors to the community, earned second place for niche publication, while the 2020 general election voter guide — which received significant funding support from the community — bagged third place for public service.
Xpress’ most decorated staffer was graphic designer Olivia Urban, who nabbed three awards for her work on local advertisements. Editorial cartoonist Brent Brown earned a second-place nod in the illustration category for his pandemic-related cover from April, “The New Normal.”
And Daniel Walton, the paper’s assistant editor, took home first place in the feature reporting category for “Head for the hills: Climate migration could bring influx to WNC.” The story analyzed how extreme weather and sea level rise driven by climate change could stress the area’s already-burdened real estate market.
The full list of NCPA award winners is available at avl.mx/93f.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.