THE Rural Press Club of Victoria held their annual journalism and photography awards in Melbourne last week, and Fairfax Media took home a handful of awards.
See all of the photos here:
The Australian Dairyfarmer journalist Carlene Dowie took out best on farm story, for her story ‘Calf rearing choices reap awards’.
The judge said Ms Dowie’s story was the sort of story that would “evoke changes in the industry”.
“This is a fascinating story of how one dairy farming couple recognised they had a problem, sought advice and made changes,” the judge said.
“It is full of detail and costings, and presents a how to manual for other farmers to tackle the same challenges.”
Ms Dowie said it was a privilege to be recognised.
“I love telling farmers’ stories, especially about the innovative things they are doing on their farms,” she said.
“It’s great to be recognised for doing that, although the true champions are the farmers who are happy to let me feature them in the magazine.
“I was especially happy that the judges saw this as a story that could change what happens on farms in Australia.”
Australian Community Media Victorian group managing editor Andrew Eales took out Best Campaign, for his #HomeSafe initiative.
The campaign was commended by the judge for turning “the traditional and somewhat tired road safety message into an engaging, innovative, multi-masthead, multi-platform campaign.”
Fairfax Media national sheep and wool writer Annabelle Cleeland took out a highly commended for her campaign on the Australian wool industry.
The judge said Ms Cleeland offered a series of “hard hitting” articles on the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).
“[The articles have] shone a light on how the corporation spends its funds and helped drive a national campaign to ensure greater scrutiny and accountability of the group’s investments and executive payouts,” the judge said.
“As a result, the AWI is now being held to closer account to ensure it delivers genuine progress on research and development in the wool industry.”
Fairfax Media publication The Bendigo Advertiser took out one of the biggest awards of the night, Media Outlet of the Year.
The judge said the media organisation is a “fierce advocate for its community”.
“The depth and quality of its journalism and the creativity in design is a feature of the printed paper and online,” the judge said.
“It has clearly worked hard to create not just a presence, but a relationship, with the Bendigo community, and has been rewarded by an increase in print readership and a surge in online traffic.”
To see a full list of the winners, visit the Rural Press Club of Victoria’s website, here.