Your paper is the leader in its class

THE Mercury has been recognised as the best news brand serving a regional area anywhere in the Asia-Pacific.

The award was presented at the prestigious News Media Awards in Sydney on Tuesday night.

The judges said the Mercury was a “powerhouse publication” that had cut through a field of strong competitors to stand out — and “impress”.

“Strategic digital start-ups and innovative extensions have rewarded the Mercury with stellar readership and subscription growth,” the judges said. “Its righteous — and at times courageous — campaigns have been eminently successful and made a significant difference to the lives of Tasmanians.”

In accepting the award, editor Chris Jones said it was a reward for hard work and for a masthead that took seriously the important role of newspapers in fighting for their community.

“The Mercury turned 165 years young this year,” Mr Jones told the function.

“And if you look back to the very first editorial, on July 5, 1854, two promises are made: that we are the servants of one master, the public; and second, that we desire to do all the good we can. Living up to those promises has been our focus this year.”

Among the successful campaigns that impressed the judges was the Mercury’s Give Them Shelter series which successfully called on the State Government to increase its funding for crisis accommodation. The campaign also raised awareness of the need for Canberra to waive our state’s historic housing debt — a win that will see an extra $230 million spent on public housing over the next decade.

The Let Them Speak campaign was also mentioned. It calls on the State Government to remove the ban that is in force in Tasmania — and Tasmania alone — on sexual assault survivors telling their stories using their own names, without the approval of a judge. The Government now plans legislation to do so before the end of the year.

The Mercury’s win in convincing the Government to extend its free meningococcal vaccine program to all kids also impressed the judges, along with our campaigning for the AFL to care more about Tasmania.

On readership, special mention was made of the Mercury’s industry-leading 120 per cent growth in digital subscriptions in the last financial year — and the fact our print readership is now larger than the combined audience of the Examiner and Advocate newspapers in the North.

The mastheads that were recognised as highly commended in the regional category were the NT News, the Sunshine Coast Daily, the Geelong Advertiser, and the Newcastle Herald.

The Herald Sun was named both metropolitan News Brand of the Year and the overall winner. The Herald Sun was also recognised as having broken the News Story of the Year for its “Truth at Last - Lawyer X” coverage.

The Weekend Financial Review was named Weekend News Brand of the Year.