AUCKLAND, Today: Stuff recognised as New Zealand’s best digital news site at the Voyager Media Awards, further cementing its position as the largest news site in the country.
At Friday night’s celebration of journalism amid a challenging year for the industry, Stuff Group swept the highly competitive digital categories. They won Digital News Provider of the Year, Video Journalist of the Year, and Editorial Leader of the Year for Tracy Watkins, editor of The Post and the Sunday Star Times, which launched digital subscriptions last year.
The Digital News Provider category covers both website and app, which Stuff.co.nz won last year. Judges praised Stuff’s innovative approaches to reaching new audiences across different platforms, especially live and mobile, setting it apart from the competition.
On Watkins’ role leading two national titles, judges said she had “shown exceptional leadership… the audience for the Post has grown dramatically and it has established itself as a powerful voice in the Capital and beyond.”
Lawrence Smith, one of several national Stuff video journalists to win at the awards, was named Video Journalist of the Year. Newshub’s Alexa Cook was News Journalist of the Year, and a team from RNZ including host Guyon Espiner won Best Innovation in Digital Storytelling.
NZME also won several newspaper awards including Newspaper of the Year for Hawkes Bay Today, Metropolitan Newspaper of the Year, and Weekend Newspaper of the Year for the New Zealand Herald. Stuff Group’s Sunday magazine won Best Newspaper Magazine, and Michael Craig from the Herald won Best Photographer.
“This year, Stuff has replatformed, launched new vertical video and audio products, partnered with other major media organisations, and now won a slew of digital awards.”
The shuttered consumer affairs show Fair Go was recognised with an award for Best Editorial Campaign or Project. Newshub’s Paddy Gower Has Issues won Best Current Affairs (short), while TVNZ’s John Campbell, Andrew Dalton, and Dallas Smith won Best Current Affairs or Documentary.
Stuff’s Brand Connections Managing Director Matt Headland congratulated all media organisations for continuing to produce excellent work and attract large audiences despite industry challenges.
“This year, Stuff has replatformed, launched new vertical video and audio products, partnered with other major media organisations, and now won a slew of digital awards. That’s no mean feat in a year where our industry is facing some headwinds,” said Headland.
He added, “I’m thrilled too for our commercial partners, the people who support our journalism day in, day out, and make a real difference to media in Aotearoa. We couldn’t exist without that support.”
- Click here for a full list of category winners
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