Editor wins prestigious honor for news photography
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Murphy – The Cherokee Scout, the primary local news and information source for Cherokee and surrounding counties since 1889, won four first-place awards and picked up three others during the N.C. Press Association’s 2024 Better Newspapers Editorial Contest for Division C.
The biggest honor for the Scout goes to Editor Randy Foster, who was honored as the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year. Former Scout photographers Ryan Revock and Ben Katz were previous recipients of the award, as the local newspaper has long emphasized visual appeal.
These awards, as well as winners of categories like General Excellence, will be announced Thursday, Sept. 18, at the NCPA annual convention at the Embassy Suites in Cary. Judges were from the Nebraska Press Association along with volunteers across the nation. Foster also won two other first-place prizes for his reporting and writing.
The Scout’s honors for the last year are:
- First place, Community Coverage, staff.
- First place, Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year, Foster.
- First place, News Enterprise Reporting, “County by the numbers,” Foster.
- First place, General News Reporting, “But for the grace of God,” Foster.
- Second place, Best Editorials, Publisher David Brown.
- Third place, Sports Coverage, Sports Editor Cannon Crompton.
- Third place, Spot Photography, “Foster’s Flea Market,” Staff Correspondent Anngee Quinones-Belian.
“Randy really earned the Hugh Morton award by putting himself into great position to capture high-quality images and not missing them when they occurred,” Brown said.
“I’m especially happy that we took the top spot for overall Community Coverage, which is at the heart of what we do as your local newspaper. Anngee has become a great photographer in addition to her writing prowess. And for our one-person sports staff to finish in the top three for Sports Coverage says a lot about the kind of job Cannon is doing.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team.” Details: Visit cherokeescout.com.