Westpac Business & Financial Journalism Awards

2 November 2004

Record Entries In 41st Westpac Business & Financial Journalism Awards

New Zealand’s top business and financial journalists have been recognised by Westpac in its 41st Business & Financial Journalism Awards.

This year the awards – created in 1963 – attracted a record 48 entries.

Westpac CEO Ann Sherry said the purpose of the awards was encouraging the highest possible standards of business and financial journalism.

“It has been made very clear to us by our customers that quality of information and advice is becoming more and more important when it comes to making business and financial decisions,” Ann Sherry said. “This, together with providing vital scrutiny, is the important role and consumer service that business journalism fulfils.”

“Westpac is proud to recognise journalism excellence and, judging by the ever-growing number of high-quality entries we continue to receive for these awards, we are also pleased to acknowledge that New Zealand business and finance journalists see them as worthwhile.”

Jim Tully, the head of Canterbury University’s Mass Communications and Journalism Department, and Adrian Orr, Deputy Governor and Head of Financial Stability for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, judged the awards.

Jim Tully said that the standard of the Print News section was a highlight this year. “The best entries offered a sense of immediacy and the tight, focussed writing good news stories demand,” he said. “More importantly they broke the news on significant business issues.”

However, the standout category was the Print Features section.

Adrian Orr said: “the specialist business magazines and the quality general interest magazines produced in-depth, well-crafted features that combined excellent content and high-quality writing.”

The Supreme Award went to Fiona Rotherham of Unlimited Magazine for her examination of the challenges of growing a small business into a medium sized enterprise. The piece also won the Feature section.

“The article offered a fresh take on an ongoing debate, probing into the issues, avoiding clichés in a way that got readers thinking about the human aspects of enterprise,” said Jim Tully.

Added Adrian Orr: “Fiona’s article got me thinking about the human, even psychological aspects, of enterprise. Of all the entries this originality in a field already well covered impressed me the most.”

The winners of each category receive a $1500 prize. Fiona Rotherham’s Supreme Winner prize secures her an additional $1500. The awards will be presented to the winners at a Westpac function in Auckland, hosted by Westpac CEO Ann Sherry, on 19 November.

Award winners Supreme:
1. Fiona Rotherham (Unlimited)
Features: 1. Fiona Rotherham (Unlimited).
Highly commended: Mike White (North and South).

Columnists:
1. Brian Fallow (NZ Herald)

Print News:
1. Anthony Davies (Independent).

TV and Radio Award:
1. Owen Poland (TVNZ).

Please note: There was no award made for Electronic Media this year.

ENDS

© Scoop Media