Stuff scoops 20 prizes at annual NZ media awards

Masterful podcasts and videos, brilliantly edited newspapers, muscular reporting, and heartbreaking photos earned Stuff an impressive 20 prizes at the Voyager Media Awards.

At last night’s annual showcase of New Zealand’s best journalism, the

Waikato Times was crowned Newspaper of the Year (up to 30,000 circulation) for the third year in a row. Judges praised its campaign to teach New Zealand history in schools, coverage of the Whakaari/white Island eruption, and scoops on the NZ First Foundation.

‘‘The Waikato Times showed how local papers can not just reflect what’s happening in the community around them but work to make that community better.’’

The Sunday-star Times claimed back-to-back wins as Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Judges described it as ‘‘a bright, engaging and compelling paper that gives readers something fresh and different: a brilliantly edited assemblage of fresh news, arresting opinion, and solid analysis.’’

Stuff scooped both podcast categories, with Erebus podcast

White Silence – conceived by

Michael Wright and co-produced with RNZ – named Best Narrative/ Serial Podcast and Adam Dudding’s mental health series, Out Of My

Mind, the joint winner of Best Episodic/recurrent Podcast.

The judges said the masterful

White Silence was ‘‘a compelling new take on Newzealand’sworst peacetime disaster’’, while Out Of My

Mind was ‘‘powerful and incredibly engaging, with the trickiest of subject matter.’’ The Press won Best Newspaper Front Page with entries that ‘‘demonstrated a strong ability to remain true to the paper’s design identity and appropriate to the story and the reader by knowing when to shout and when to whisper in a noisy news-stand environment’’.

The ‘‘well-edited, well-written and confident’’ Sunday was named Best Newspaper-inserted Magazine.

The Nelson Mail’s Barnaby Sharp won Best Headline of the Year.

Judges said his ‘‘word-plays are well-thought-out, effective and – most importantly – completely relevant to the stories they accompany’’.

Stuff editorial director Mark Stevens said the accolades reflect the vital role of quality, local journalism, at a time when the media industry is under great strain.

‘‘I’mimmensely proud of this year’s winners – from Stuff and across the wider industry – and all journalists who work hard every day to uncover and report stories that matter.’’

Reporting and feature writing

National correspondent Dana Johannsen continued an incredible streak, winning Sports Journalist of the Year for the fourth time in five years. ‘‘Her entry about a swimming scandal, a cheating runner, a pair of athletics defectors, and cannabis doping was disturbing, a little dismaying, and sometimes delightful,’’ the judges said.

‘‘But when the end of each story crept up on you, you felt you were in the know – and relished the ride.’’

Otago reporter Hamish Mcneilly was named Regional Journalist of the Year – a unanimous pick in a competitive category. ‘‘Mcneilly is a reporter with an exceptional eye for detail and a curiosity that keeps him tracking new leads.’’

Aaron Leaman, of the Waikato Times, was named joint winner of the Regional Journalism Scholarship. With the shortage of doctors in regional New Zealand reaching crisis point, Leaman will use his prize to travel to Ontario, Canada to research ways of ensuring regional residents receive safe and adequate medical services.

Virginia Fallon, of the Ka¯piti Observer, won Community Journalist of the Year for ‘‘a great mix of stories that got to the heart of issues and people’’.

Andrea Vance, Blair Ensor and

Iain Mcgregor won Best Team Investigation for Product Of

Australia – ‘‘storytelling of the highest standard’’ that ‘‘glaringly exposed the consequences of Australia’s shameful policy of using New Zealand as a dumping ground for people it doesn’t want’’.

Ensor also won the Crime and Justice category, with ‘‘investigative clout, initiative, impact, beautiful writing and presentation’’ making him a standout in an ‘‘extraordinarily strong’’ field.

National correspondent Florence Kerr won the Feature Writing (Social Issues) category. ‘‘Kerr was a standout with an evocative, yet confronting portrait of Horeke, a community living in poverty that few New Zealanders imagine – supported by amoving account of the measles outbreak in Samoa,’’ the judges wrote.

Joel Macmanus was a ‘‘clear winner’’ in the Best Feature Writer (Junior) category. ‘‘All three of his entries were amaster class in storytelling,’’ the judges said.

Video

Lawrence Smith won Video Journalist of the Year for his ‘‘beautifully shot’’, ‘‘well-constructed’’ and engaging stories.

Stuff Circuit’s documentary

Infinite Evil was named Best TV/ Video Documentary. ‘‘This world-class investigative documentary takes the viewer beyond the horror of Christchurch to look at the dark driving forces that lead to the massacre,’’ the judges said.

Photography

George Heard’s photographs from the Christchurch mosque attacks earned him the Best Photography (News) prize. ‘‘A heartbreaking set of photographs, skilfully captured under great pressure and the most trying of circumstances,’’ the judges wrote.

Stacy Squires’ ‘‘heartbreaking and haunting’’ image of a bloodstained survivor emerging from the mosque’s police cordon won him the Judges’ Prize for the Single Best News Photo.

Braden Fastier won Best Photography (Features). ‘‘The work has a strong and engaging narrative while at the same time being sensitive to the emotion of his subjects,’’ the judges said of Fastier’s entry.

Stuff’s runners-up included Matt Shand (Best Individual Investigation),

Michelle Duff (Feature Writer of the Year – Short Form), Nikki Macdonald (Business Journalist of the Year), Paula Penfold (Broadcast Reporter of the Year), and Iain Mcgregor (Best Photography – Sport).