UNC Asheville student media win eight statewide awards

UNC Asheville’s student news outlet The Blue Banner and literary journal Headwaters won eight awards at the annual statewide North Carolina College Media Association (NCCMA) conference held February 24 at High Point University.

The conference featured breakout sessions and awards presentations. Each year the NCCMA co-host with different college campuses in the state.

The Blue Banner received the following awards for 2023:

• First place for Sports Writing: Addison Wright, “Bulldogs basketball ranks first in conference after collaboration brings record-high attendance.”
• Second place for News Writing: Addison Wright and Joshua Staley, “UNC Asheville loses its composting program.”
• Second place for Feature Writing: Jernigan Neighbors, “An enlightenment of witchcraft in Asheville.”
• Honorable mention in Newswriting: Jake Wilson, “Asheville’s homeless population drastically rises.”
• A Best of Show in Online News: The Blue Banner

Headwaters received the following awards for 2023:

• Third place for Nonfiction: Mallory Edwards, “America’s Gospels.”
• Honorable mention in Poetry: Mike Islas, “I’m Still Learning.”
• A Best of Show in Literary Magazine, Headwaters.

Sponsored by the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill, the one-day NCCMA conference takes place on a different campus each year to hold educational workshops and recognize outstanding work from the state’s student newspapers, yearbooks, and online news organizations.

For more information, contact the Blue Banner’s faculty adviser Michael Gouge, a senior lecturer of mass communication, at 828.232.2423 or mgouge@unca.edu.