The judges, drawn from across the newspaper industry, said The Courier-Mail had “continued the pursuit of excellence in contemporary journalism, earning a reputation as a fearless newsmaker.”
They said: “The Courier-Mail has a strong grip on the news that interests Queensland. Its news approach has changed lives and saved lives.”
They said The Courier-Mail had also upgraded its packaging and increased its overall readership – especially in the AB group – by 19 per cent.
The judges said this year’s awards had attracted more competition and a consistently better quality of entries than previous years.
While The Courier-Mail took the award in the category of daily and Sunday newspapers with a circulation over 50,000, the Herald-Sun was one of four finalists. The Gold Coast Bulletin took the top award among dailies and Sundays with a circulation between 20,000 and 50,000. The Post-Courier in PNG, also a News Limited newspaper, was highly commended in this section.
Townsville Bulletin marketing and promotions manager, Doug Kingston, was named Marketer of the Year. Kingston also won the inaugural award in 2000.
John Hartigan, News Limited chief executive officer, congratulated the Courier-Mail, the Herald Sun, The Gold Coast Bulletin, the Post-Courier and the Townsville Bulletin.
“Our newspapers continue to make a difference. We are not afraid to take tough positions on big issues, we set the daily news agenda and we have the most courageous, campaigning and sheer hard-working staff,” says Hartigan.
“Our newspapers have a strong sense of responsibility to our readers, our advertisers and the communities in which we live.”
David Fagan The Courier-Mail editor, says, “We’ve put a lot of emphasis in the past year on better serving our readers and reporting on the issues that are important to them. Our reporting has led to important changes in government policy to the benefit of our readers. The award is a validation of the entire team at the newspaper and its commitment to making The Courier-Mail the authority on Queensland.”
The Courier-Mail (Monday –Friday) boasts more readers than at any time in the past seven years with total readership now 622,000 – an increase of 22,000 (3.7 per cent) year on year. Advertising revenues grew by 13 per cent, with standout performances in retail (+24 per cent) and employment (+18 per cent).
The PANPA Newspaper of the Year awards attracted more than 100 entries from Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia. The judges said that if last year’s entries represented the year of the big stories, this year was more “grassroots” for the Pacific area newspaper industry.
“Based on entries in this year’s PANPA newspaper awards, newspapers are going back to basics and rediscovering their role to campaign heavily on behalf of the ordinary citizens’ interests. They had in their sights Government, the bureaucracy, criminals and the judiciary,” the judges said.
“The quality of the entries available and the depth of the research and writing into the issues demonstrated clearly that newspapers are succeeding in making a healthy difference in our society,” judges said.
They said entries also showed an emphasis on improving the look and feel of the product; adding readable sections, particularly in the Sunday market and trying to better understand reader interests and preferences.
“Newspapers showed they have not lost their soul with campaigns actively supporting fund-raising ranging from $30,000 to $1m for needy families and popular causes,” judges said.
They said The Gold Coast Bulletin was “a strong campaigner with a results-oriented attitude to making a difference in its community. It’s campaign for the immunisation of children against meningococcal disease ensured Queensland children had access to a $40 million Government-funded vaccination program.
“Similarly, The Bulletin’s leadership was demonstrated with the Gold Coast Honours Awards. While judging of this category was close, The Bulletin distinguished itself with its community leadership, lively headlines and news content and presentation. It uses these strengths to interact with the community and it is not surprising that circulation gains are the result.”
Of the Post-Courier, the judges said, “A valiant effort in appalling circumstances. Despite being constantly pressured on many fronts, the paper is prepared to take on tough issues. Efforts to increase readership by women have been tackled radically. The circulation department must be congratulated for its struggle against what can only be described as ‘the forces of evil’.”
It was the “outstanding marketing initiatives” that saw the Townsville Bulletin increase its circulation by 4.6 per cent for its Monday to Friday editions, and by 4.9 per cent for its Saturday edition, despite a cover price rise in 2003, that earned Doug Kingston the Marketer of the Year Award.
The judges said some of those initiatives included: a chance for readers to win a $1 million insurance policy; staging a Centenary Heroes Parade to celebrate Townsville’s 100th birthday; welcome home signs at Townsville airport; and running the ‘Everybody’s Reading It’ TV campaign.
In the five years the PANPA Newspaper of the Year awards have been running, News Limited newspapers have taken the top award as Newspaper of the Year three times. The Australian was 2001 Newspaper of the Year.
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