By MELISSA MEEHAN
MAIL journalists were judged as some of the best in their fields on Friday night at the Community Newspaper Association awards.
Community newspapers from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia came together for the southern division awards held at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in St Kilda.
Named finalists in three awards, the Mail enjoyed the fruits of its hard work and dedication to community news.
The Ferntree Gully Belgrave Mail was judged fourth in the Best Newspaper under 30,000 circulation, Kath Gannaway was judged as a runner up for Best Sports Story for her article on gay footballer Jason Ball and photographer Donna Oates photo of a baby hearing her mother’s voice for the first time thanks to a cochlear implant came third in the Best News Photograph category.
Our colleagues at Star News Group also did well, with Cranbourne News reporter Bridget Cook named the National Best News Photograph Award winner for her photo of a former councillor scuffling with police while being forcibly removed from a council meeting.
Photographer Stewart Chambers also won an award for Best Feature Photograph as well as named runner up for Best Sports Photograph.
Cranbourne News sports reporter Jarrod Potter’s story about a cricketer’s last game after being diagnosed with terminal cancer came third in the Best Sports Story category too.
The Pakenham Gazette was also named Best Paper over 30,000 circulations and came second for Best News Story for Lilly O’Gorman’s story about a party gone out of control.
The Dandenong Star was also awarded the Best Special Publication for its Dandenong Business Awards coverage.
The advertising team also featured named second and fourth for their work on the Pakenham Gazette and Pakenham News in the Best Advertising Feature category.
Our design team was also celebrated, coming second and third in the Outstanding Design category for their work on the Pakenham Gazette and Pakenham News.
Mail editor Melissa Meehan said it was great to see the Mail reporters and photographers rewarded for their hard work.
“Just to be named a finalist in such a strong field is a great effort by our relatively small team,” she said.
“Week to week you put the paper to bed thinking you do a good job, but to be recognised for our work over a year – it’s nice for someone to say you’re doing it right.
“Congratulations to all at the Mail, and to our friends at Star News Group.”
