The Memphis Flyer is the winner of two 2006 Green Eyeshade Awards. Staff writer Chris Herrington received a first-place award in the Criticism category for a series of film reviews published in 2005, and senior editor John Branston received a third-place award in the Investigative division for his four-part series on the bizarre trial of medical examiner O.C. Smith. Security guards found Smith wrapped in barbed wire, with a bomb strapped to his chest, but after a lengthy investigation, police accused Smith of staging the whole thing.

Sponsored by the national Society of Professional Journalists, the Green Eyeshades — the name derived from the green visors work by old-timey newspaper editors — are an annual competition saluting the best print and broadcast journalism in 11 Southern states.