For the second consecutive year, The Leader newspaper has been awarded Best Newspaper in the state at the Country Press South Australia Awards held at Adelaide on Friday.
The Leader was thrilled to bring home the win in the larger circulation category, ahead of an impressive field of competing publications - taking the coveted title for two years running.
The Country Press SA Awards, held at the InterContinental Hotel on February 23, drew a staggering 400 entries across 19 Award categories, with The Leader and sister paper, The Southern Argus, achieving either an award, a mention or being awarded runner-up in 13 of the Award categories.
Also notably, the Winner in the Best Supplement category was awarded to The Barossa Mag, and The Southern Argus was awarded second for Best Newspaper – smaller circulation, after winning that category last year.
Both the advertising and editorial sections of the newspapers were well represented in the award categories.
With a substantial increase in the number of newspapers joining the Country Press SA fold this year, the judges had a heavy workload to assess the entries, and the results were kept tightly under wraps until Friday evening.
The glittering event was well attended by over 120 newspaper representatives from across South Australia.
Among the speakers and special guests was Clare Scriven, MLC, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development and Minister for Forest Industries while Member for Barker, Tony Pasin, was also in attendance.
In reflecting on the results, The Leader’s Darren Robinson, who is also Country Press SA President, said, “this year’s Awards promised to be the most fiercely contested in recent memory.
“With well over 400 entries across 19 award categories, it was an enormous achievement for your local newspaper, The Leader, to be recognised so prominently across several categories.
“For the second year in a row, The Leader was awarded Best Newspaper in the state, which underscores the commitment and dedication of the team in consistently delivering high-quality news coverage and engaging its readership.
“Building upon last year’s success, these latest achievements reaffirm the newspaper’s exceptional standards and enduring excellence within the local news media industry.
“With such a commendable track record, The Leader continues to set the benchmark for excellence in journalism and remains a pillar of integrity.”
The Leader’s editor, Melissa Siri said she was thrilled to accept the award for Best Newspaper alongside Managing Director, Tony Robinson, after starting work with the publication one year ago.
“It was wonderful for our talented and hard-working team to be recognised with a second consecutive win,” Mel said.
“Our united passion for bringing local news to our loyal Barossa readers is what drives us.
“It’s so important to remain focussed on local stories relevant to our community - and to be recognised and awarded for that is a bonus.”
Award wins reflect dedication of staff
Managing Director, Tony Robinson said, “The number of award wins and placings by both The Leader and The Southern Argus demonstrates the commitment by the entire team at both of our newspapers.
“Potential employees considering a career in newspapers and printing will find if they join the team at The Leader or The Southern Argus they can be assured of being well trained.
“Furthermore the company continues to invest in modern technology to ensure staff are provided the tools and training to produce the best work possible.
“So whether school leavers are considering a position as a journalist, photographer, salesperson, pre-press, printing, clerical work, newspaper delivery or even newspaper collator they can be assured that their training will stand them in good stead for their future.”
