2023
Thomas Goldsmith was awarded the N.C. Coalition on Aging’s Champion Award in September 2023 for his extensive coverage of aging issues. “His reporting has been key in keeping aging issues front and center among decision makers,” the group wrote about why Goldsmith was honored.
His sister, accompanied by NC Health News founder and editor Rose Hoban, accepted the award for him:
2022-23
NC Health News wins 17 state press awards
NC Health News won 17 awards in the annual N.C. Press Association contest for 2022-23. The tally includes five first place awards along with two second place General Excellence wins — for website and overall publication in the online division.
First place
Anne Blythe, ledes. Read them here, here and here.
Staff, headline writing:
- Congestion, fever and vomit… oh my! Other viruses are back
- Not socially distant: NC rates of sexually transmitted disease climb during the pandemic and beyond
- Reading through the lines: The correlation between literacy and incarceration
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, feature writing, Airport therapy dogs
Will Atwater, business writing, Hog farming family charts new path
Taylor Knopf, arts and entertainment reporting, ‘Suicide Noted’ podcast
Second place
Anne Blythe, Rose Hoban and Sarah Sloan, special section, Youth climate stories: Outer Banks edition
Rachel Crumpler, profile feature, Carrying precious cargo
Rachel Crumpler and Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, news feature writing, Communities struggle with maternity care. Read the stories here and here.
Taylor Knopf and Aneri Pattani, news enterprise reporting, Tension builds around funding for opioid treatment. Read the stories here, here and here.
Taylor Knopf, investigative reporting, Seeking help and getting handcuffed
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, education reporting, Schools struggle to retain special ed teachers
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, beat feature reporting, Comparing care for those with complex behavioral needs. Read the stories here and here.
Third place
Jennifer Fernandez, illustration/photo illustration/print or interactive graphics, Period Poverty
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, education reporting, Edgecombe County HOPE program
Rose Hoban, beat news reporting, Post-pandemic, nurses navigate a rocky health care system. Read the stories here, here and here.
2022
Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, 2023 Occupational and Environmental Medicine Media Excellence (OEMME) Award for the story: Study finds Latino workers die of occupational injuries at higher rates than other groups
2021-22
NC Health News brings home 16 awards in state press contest
North Carolina Health News won 16 awards in the annual N.C. Press Association contest for 2021 (and part of 2022), including four first place awards.
First place
- Anne Blythe, beat feature reporting for a series of stories, “How has COVID affected our teeth?”
- Staff, education reporting, “COVID-19 creates learning gaps, challenges for teachers, parents and students.”
- Greg Barnes, ledes.
- Greg Barnes, enterprise reporting, environmental justice stories.
Second place
- Taylor Knopf, arts and entertainment reporting, “The therapeutic power of art in mental health recovery.”
- Rose Hoban and Hannah Critchfield, beat feature reporting, “Dissecting the abortion debate in North Carolina.”
- Hannah Critchfield, election/political reporting, “Getting out the vote in jail.”
- Anne Blythe, Rose Hoban and Shelbi Polk, general news reporting, Coronavirus Today.
- Taylor Knopf, investigative reporting, “Seeking help and finding handcuffs.”
- Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, ledes.
- Melba Newsome, feature writing, “Industrial animal farming in eastern North Carolina spurs long environmental fight.”
- Mariama Jallow, profile writing, “Their father survived 9/11, but could not beat COVID.”
Third place
- Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, beat feature reporting, “Drug overdoses climb precipitously in North Carolina, the US during pandemic.”
- Taylor Knopf, beat news reporting, “Tracking the increasing role of fentanyl in overdose deaths.”
- Rose Hoban, ledes.
- Staff, multimedia project, “NC Health News: Health Care Half Hour.”
* * *
2020
NC Health News receives 14 awards from NC Press Association
North Carolina Health News won 14 awards for the 2020 N.C. Press Association’s annual awards, five of which were first place honors for online publications.
First place
- Greg Barnes, ledes.
- Greg Barnes, news enterprise reporting.
- Thomas Goldsmith, beat feature reporting.
- Melba Newsome, news feature writing.
- Anne Blythe, NC Health News board member Brett Chambers (a journalism instructor at N.C. Central University) and Rose Hoban, special section.
Second place
- Greg Barnes, public service award.
Third place
- Greg Barnes, investigative reporting.
- Rose Hoban, beat feature writing.
- Rose Hoban, news enterprise writing.
- Rose Hoban, religion and faith reporting.
- Anne Blythe, ledes.
- Staff, headlines.
- Hannah Critchfield, beat news reporting.
- Taylor Knopf, news feature writing.
* * *
2019
NC Health News receives 15 awards from NC Press Association
North Carolina Health News won 15 awards in the 2019 N.C. Press Association contest.
First place
- Greg Barnes, beat news reporting.
- Yen Duong, ledes.
Second place
- Rose Hoban, Yen Duong and Taylor Knopf, breaking news coverage.
- Taylor Knopf, headline writing.
- Greg Barnes, investigative reporting.
- Anne Blythe, ledes.
- Thomas Goldsmith, news enterprise reporting.
- Taylor Knopf, beat feature reporting.
Third place
- Yen Duong, arts and entertainment reporting.
- Yen Duong, beat feature reporting.
- Rose Hoban, breaking news coverage.
- Greg Barnes, ledes.
- Thomas Goldsmith, news enterprise reporting.
- Taylor Knopf, photography feature.
- Taylor Knopf, video.
* * *
2018
NC Health News receives seven awards from NC Press Association
North Carolina Health News won seven awards in the N.C. Press Association’s annual contest in 2018, including four first place awards.
First place
- Taylor Knopf, beat news, coverage of North Carolina’s opioid epidemic.
- Taylor Knopf, general news reporting, “For 11-year-old in ER Wait for a Psych Bed is 10 Days.”
- Taylor Knopf, investigative reporting, “NC Prison Breaks Its Own Rules for Suicide Prevention.”
- Rose Hoban, Thomas Goldsmith and Jared Weber, education reporting, coverage of North Carolina’s school nurse shortage.
Second place
- Catherine Clabby, beat news reporting, “Challenging Swine Farming in Hog Country.”
- Taylor Knopf, profile feature, “Family Ties Keep One Rural OB-GYN Practicing in Eastern NC, Despite Challenges.”
Third place
- Rose Hoban, feature writing, “With Opioid Overdoses Rising, Medical Cannabis Gets a Second Look.”
* * *
2017
NC Health News receives 12 awards from NC Press Association
The reporting team at NC Health News was honored with 12 writing awards for stories published in 2017. The awards were presented at the annual N.C. Press Association awards dinner held Feb. 22, 2018, in Raleigh.
Beat Feature Reporting:
1st place: Taylor Knopf There’s hope for the Increasing Number of Babies Born Opioid Dependent
2nd place: Catherine Clabby Camp Lejeune toxic water battle continues
3rd place: Catherine Clabby Fight, then flight from poultry research
Beat News Reporting:
1st place: Taylor Knopf Providers of disability services see state budget cuts passed down
2nd place: Taylor Knopf ECU helps expand telemedicine at Duplin County Schools
News Feature Writing:
1st place: Catherine Clabby Better housing for better health in Greensboro
2nd place: Thomas Goldsmith, Rose Hoban Goldsboro caskets unearthed by Matthew reveal NC “Achilles’ Heel”
Online Breaking News Coverage:
3rd place: Rose Hoban Coal ash language late addition to bill at NCGA
General News Reporting:
1st place: Staff Opioid epidemic coverage
3rd place: Thomas Goldsmith, Rose Hoban, Taylor Knopf Mental health coverage
Profile feature:
2nd place: Rose Hoban The doctor is in…the House of Representatives
3rd place: Rose Hoban Mandy Cohen: “I’m here to focus on work.”
2016
NC Health News received 9 writing awards and was honored with First in General Excellence for Online outlets by the NC Press Association.
2015
Rose Hoban, Media Award recognizing outstanding coverage of mental health from the North Carolina branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.