Outer Banks Insider wins two press awards, including inaugural Center for Integrity in News Reporting award in North Carolina
Corinne Saunders (left) accepts the inaugural Center for Integrity in News Reporting award in North Carolina from Rufus Friday, executive director of the center, on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Cary. (Photo by Anthony Leone)
By staff reports
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Outer Banks Insider co-founder and editor Corinne Saunders received two awards, including the inaugural Center for Integrity in News Reporting award in the state of North Carolina, at the North Carolina Press Association’s annual convention on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Cary.
Saunders won the Center for Integrity in News Reporting for impartial, objective and fair reporting among publications of all divisions and sizes in the state for her article, “Dare sheriff candidate Theodore ‘Teddy’ Daniels.”
Engraved on the clear, 3D award Saunders received is the statement: “Award for best example of impartial, objective and fair news reporting exhibiting the courage not to fear, and the discipline not to favor in the state of North Carolina.”
Rufus Friday, executive director of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting, presented the award to Saunders during the North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) awards ceremony.
As Friday shared verbally during the ceremony, and as also included in the NCPA press release about the 2026 awards, the judge for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting award called Saunders’ article “an interesting story about a candidate for sheriff. Great use of public documents that offers a detailed story of the candidate. The story is well-written in a very readable format. It also shows the importance of not just accepting a candidate’s word or social media posting. Details matter.”
The award included a cash prize and was made possible through a new partnership between the Center for Integrity in News Reporting and the North Carolina Press Association.
The Arkansas-based Center for Integrity in News Reporting has been expanding its statewide awards program, which includes 23 states as of August, with a mission of reducing bias in news reporting and rebuilding public trust in the media, according to its website.
“I’m just incredibly proud of her, and for her to be recognized this highly for her work,” Anthony Leone, Saunders’ husband and business partner, said in a written statement. “A lot of people don’t see the actual amount of work this woman does EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.”
Saunders also won third place in sports enterprise reporting in the online NCPA division for her article about an Outer Banks woman running for suicide awareness and prevention.
This category is for sports articles “going beyond routine reporting and demonstrating initiative and thoroughness in examining a trend, issue or problem,” according to the award category’s description.
Wisconsin Newspaper Association members judged this year’s NCPA entries, which numbered over 3,000 from over 100 newspapers and news organizations. The NCPA was established in 1873, and its annual contest is one of the largest in the country, according to its Thursday press release.
This is the first year Outer Banks Insider was eligible to enter the contest. News organizations are required to publish for a full year before becoming eligible to apply for membership, and only members may enter the contest. Established in fall 2024, Outer Banks Insider applied and was accepted as an NCPA member in late 2025.
The NCPA is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing newspapers across North Carolina. It supports newspapers, readership, advertising and “the public’s right to know,” according to its website.
Outer Banks Insider is an independent, advertisement-free local news outlet focused on in-depth, original reporting and supported by community subscriptions and donations.
Corinne Saunders of Outer Banks Insider holds her awards at the North Carolina Press Association’s 153rd annual convention on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Cary. (Photo by Anthony Leone)
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