The Daily Tar Heel took first place in the Duke University Green-Rossiter award for higher education reporting, besting other professional and student papers in the state for the first time since 1997.
Former University Editor Kevin Kiley, former State & National Editor Ariel Zirulnick, senior writer Eliza Kern and staff writers Dean Drescher and Courtney Tye were honored for their collective coverage of grade inflation, Erskine Bowles’ tenure and administrative hiring practices.
The Daily Tar Heel won three other awards when judged against papers with a circulation size between 10,000 and 34,999. Former sports editor Powell Latimer won first place for sports feature writing for his story about field hockey team captains Dani Forward and Illse Davids. A video, The MP3 Experiment, took first for best video. The design staff, led by Kelly McHugh, took second place in the news section design category for papers on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24.
The awards will be presented Thursday night at the Carolina Club by the North Carolina Press Association as part of its 86th annual winter institute. They will also present the North Carolinian of the Year Award at the ceremony.
