By Abbey Cannan
Noosa Today brought home seven awards from the 2023 Queensland Country Press Association (QCPA) Awards night at the Pullman Hotel in Brisbane on Friday 26 May.
MC Dave O’Neil from Comedy Fun House and ABC Spicks and Specks fame entertained and gently bullied the 134 newspaper enthusiasts who filled the room with a buzz of wine and laughter.
Noosa Today’s sales team won five awards for their hard work on advertising campaigns and features throughout the year, impressing the judges with features like Noosa Festival of Surfing, International Women’s Day and a Digital Health Check.
“This feature made me want to jump on a plane and attend the Noosa Festival of Surfing,“ judge Pascale Budge said.
“Editorial was well written for the target audience. The layout was aesthetically pleasing with well thought out colour schemes and style. Supported by well designed, eye catching ads, that worked in with the overall layout of the feature. Well done.“
Noosa Today advertising manager Simone Bell said it was thanks to the support of our local businesses and readers that we were able to bring home these awards.
“Without the contribution and support from our community and its local businesses each and every week, we wouldn’t be able to produce and deliver this entertaining and informative free newspaper to the Noosa Shire,“ Simone said.
Walkley Award-winning freelance photographer Rob Maccoll took out second place for Best Community or Portrait Picture with his shot, Carrying on the Tradition.
Judge Peter Owen said it was a pleasure to review the work of Phil Jarratt, whose long but compelling story about the background to a woman who stole $600,000 from a Noosa restaurant, was packed with interest, and a pleasure to read.
“Though it’s not always appreciated in some areas of contemporary media, the ability to tell a story well is, and always will be, at the heart of good journalism,“ Peter said.
“Storytelling is the very essence of our craft and should be encouraged and applauded.“
Noosa Today took out third place for Best Online Digital Presence, with judge Rohan Gosstray complimenting a well-presented website which includes a flip book of the newspaper and real estate section.
“Their social media extended the brand online and was a good promotion for their print publication and website resulting in good readership growth overall,“ Rohan said.
Judge Rob Duffield said the ’Leave it to the professionals’ campaign was an absolutely outstanding campaign which would have naturally attracted the attention of local business owners.
“Fantastic headlines on all ads with complementary and value adding images. What a beautiful unique fresh campaign on digital,“ Rob said.
Judge Pascale also complimented a nicely laid out and powerful editorial for International Women’s Day.
“This really spoke to the reader about what International Women’s Day means to these businesses.“
To wrap up what it means to work in community news, judge Peter Owen said, “It was good, old-fashioned journalism that demonstrated meticulous research, unwavering commitment to the story, and confirmed the role of a newspaper to uphold the interests of the community, and fight for the underdog.“
