Hi Everyone,
Last week we attended the Queensland Country Press Awards in Brisbane with high hopes and big dreams, and we are incredibly proud to announce that we returned home with four state awards for the newspaper, a huge achievement for our team and the broader region!
I’d like to say a special congratulations to our Whitsunday-based Sales and Advertising Manager, Mike McCann, who was instrumental in bringing the ‘Steve and Jenny’ campaign to life – we were all thrilled to watch him get up on the stage and collect the top gong for Marketing Campaign of the Year.
Congratulations also to our Mackay journalist, Sam Gillespie, who was awarded third place for the Best Editorial Campaign for his work in bringing the story of homelessness to life.
We also received 2nd place for Best Newspaper Feature for our coverage of The Great Barrier Reef Festival and 3rd for Best Locally Produced Advertisement for a stand-out design on a Mother’s Day ad.
Congratulations goes to our entire team; everyone contributes to every element of success, and we all share in this incredible achievement.
Special mention, of course also goes to Founder, Publisher and Owner Bec Douthwaite, whose vision, determination, and grit got us all to where we are today.
While we were at the Media Awards we enjoyed a full day conference, listening to some industry experts where we were enlightened by veterans in the trade.
One piece of information that I will always remember is when an Editor, who had been working in newspapers for over 40 years, said that a local community newspaper provides a vital public service.
When many people say, ‘print media is dead’, I see that in regional communities, local news delivered in print is very much alive.
Every week we attend events where excited parents wave us over to get a photo of their kid.
Every week we are helping Council get information out to the community.
Every week we are sharing important stories about local lives and issues that matter to our region.
We are honoured to deliver that public service to all of you.
Rach
