The Paper wins 9 national awards, earns praise for Burke coverage

The Paper has received nine national awards from the National Newspaper Association Foundation, including First Place for Local News, a showing that judges said reflected strong Burke County reporting, clean presentation, compelling storytelling, and an editorial voice rooted in the community.

The honors were in the 2026 Better Newspaper Contest, in which 93 newspapers in 32 states submitted a combined 1,798 entries.

The Paper’s awards recognized a wide range of work: local news coverage, editorial writing, business reporting, obituary writing, investigative reporting, column writing, and overall general excellence.

Founded in 2022 as an independent, locally owned print and digital newspaper based in Morganton, The Paper’s recognition reflects both the caliber of its staff and the community’s embrace of thorough local journalism.

National Newspaper Association judges praised The Paper’s “commitment to a balanced local news landscape” and its ability to bring together local, state, and national topics “all with a Burke County perspective.”

Judges also cited The Paper’s strong graphics, clean layout, and storytelling.

“Judges’ comments capture a larger point of the recognition,” said Allen VanNoppen, publisher of The Paper. “The Paper was not honored for one isolated story. It was recognized for consistently reporting important issues through a Burke County lens.”

The Paper won second place for the prestigious General Excellence award, with judges noting its “clean, attractive layout and readable local coverage,” and third place for Best Editorial Page(s), where judges praised the variety of relevant local content and the compelling design.

Several individual stories and writers also received national recognition.

Editor Emeritus Bill Poteat won first place for Best Obituary Tribute for “A cup of coffee, an empty chair: Remembering John Greene.” The judge wrote, “I feel this was the best written. I felt like I knew the man.”

Poteat also earned third place for Best Serious Column for “Who would want to sleep through a perfect November morning?” The judge wrote, “Ahhh, I could smell the bacon.”

Executive Editor Angela Kuper Copeland won second place for Best Business Story for “Restaurants in Burke County: A year of change, comebacks, and confidence,” which a judge called “a well-told tale of comeback and perseverance.”

VanNoppen won first place for Best Business Feature Story for “From Morganton to Mexico and back: How tariffs complicate local auto manufacturing.” The judge said the feature helped readers understand a business principle rather than simply profiling an unusual business.

The Paper staff earned third place for Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series for its Synthron Explosion coverage. Published in January 2026, the 20th anniversary of the fatal accident, the story package featured exhaustive investigative work by industrial engineer Bryan Raughley.

“It was the result of a unified team effort with special thanks to Bryan,” VanNoppen said. “The package reflected excellent graphic and page design, editorial writing, coordinated local reporting, research, and editing. The series, and the national award, showcased The Paper’s capability and flexibility that is only seen in locally owned and operated newspapers like The Paper.”

An editorial about the Burke County School Board’s censorship of The Paper garnered a second-place award for Best Editorial. It was titled, “When a School Board punishes scrutiny, the public pays the price.”

The judge called that editorial “outstanding” and praised The Paper for calling out “illegal/shameful behavior.”

Taken together, the National Newspaper Association awards reflect the range of The Paper’s newsroom in breaking and enterprise reporting, explanatory business journalism, accountability work, strong opinion writing, feature storytelling, and a local presentation that readers recognize as their own.

“The significance goes beyond trophies,” VanNoppen said. “The awards are a national measure of how The Paper’s staff, coverage, and editorial work are being viewed by journalism professionals across the country — and of how a locally owned paper in Burke County is competing with community newspapers nationwide.”

“A newspaper does not produce work like this in isolation. It depends on readers who care, sources willing to talk, institutions willing to be examined and a community engaged enough to support serious local journalism,” VanNoppen said. “In that sense, the awards are a reflection of Burke County’s appetite for thorough, independent local news.”

Two other North Carolina newspapers, The Alamance News in Graham and The Pilot in Southern Pines, both independently owned, were recognized. “That in itself speaks of the strength and integrity of local, independent journalism,” VanNoppen said.

The National Newspaper Association, founded in 1885, is one of the country’s largest organizations representing community newspapers. Its foundation focuses on news literacy, the First Amendment, and strengthening the role of community journalism.