Best of community news celebrated at CNA awards
Whakatane’s The Beacon took out the top honour at this year’s New Zealand Community Newspaper Association awards in Christchurch on Friday
night.
The Beacon won the Frank Veale Memorial Award for Community Newspaper of the Year, capping off a big night for the newspaper which
recently celebrated its 80th birthday. Earlier in the evening The Beacon won best supplement and best community involvement.
The annual awards celebrate the very best of community newspapers and magazines throughout the country. It is run by the
New Zealand Community Newspaper Association, an industry body with members from more than 80 independent newspapers and
magazines.
Kiwi Gardener, owned by Allied Press, picked up the award for best magazine while sunlive.co.nz won best website/digital platform.
Best senior news journalist went to Charles Anderson of Nelson Weekly while the award for best senior sports journalist went to Jon Rawlinson of Rural Living. Martin Hunter of The Star (Christchurch) won best photographer.
CNA president David Mackenzie says the awards recognise the best of the industry.
“Congratulations to The Beacon on this well-deserved win. The calibre of entries received was extremely high and came from some of the best community
newspapers across New Zealand. This made the competition for this prestigious award really tight.”
He says community newspapers are thriving up and down the country and that can be put down to the power of print
advertising and the hyper-local stories produced each week by highly-connected, local journalists who work for
independent publishers.
The awards were the centre piece of the CNA’s annual two-day conference, where members heard from a range of speakers
about the industry, including Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Hon Kris Faafoi.
Full list of award winners:
Best idea/innovation – Ashburton Guardian; Runner up – The Beacon
Best feature/supplement – The Beacon; Runner up – Metropol Magazine
Best community involvement – The Beacon; Runner up – The Star, Christchurch
Best campaign – Star Media (Christchurch); Runner up – Metropol Magazine
Best news journalist (junior) – Claire Kaplan, Advocate South; Runner up – Charlotte Jones, The Beacon
Best news journalist (senior) – Charles Anderson, Nelson Weekly; Runner up – Terry Moore, Hibiscus Matters
Best sports journalist (junior) – Kayla Hodge, The Ensign; Runner up – John Cosgrove, Clutha Leader
Best sports journalist (senior) – Jon Rawlinson, Rural Living; Runner up – Jon Rawlinson, Eastlife Magazine
Best photographer – Martin Hunter, The Star; Runner up – Loius Klaasen, The Beacon
Best sales professional (junior) – Tessa O’Shea, Gulf News and Waiheke Weekender
Best sales professional (senior) – Emma McDermott, Mountain Scene; Runner up – Bianca Lawton, The Weekend Sun
Best front page (newspaper) – Botany and Ormiston Times; Runner up – The Beacon
Best front page (magazine) – Metropol; Runner up – Express
Best website/digital platform – sunlive.co.nz; Runner up – Waiheke Gulf News
Best magazine – Kiwi Gardener; Runner up – Express
Frank Veale Memorial Award for Best Community Newspaper – The Beacon;
Runner up – Mountain Scene. Special commendations to The Star (Christchurch), Ashburton Guardian and Nelson Weekly.