The Riverine Grazier walked away with five awards at the 2024 Country Press NSW Annual Conference and Awards Dinner in Dubbo last week.

Our commemorative edition celebrating the 150th anniversary of The Riverine Grazier was judged Best Special Publication, with the judges making special mention of the rich history and cultural value of the publication which provided readers with a sense of nostalgia and continuity.

“The combination of historical content, engaging stories and high-quality presentation make it a worthy winner, an exceptional contribution to preserving and celebrating local heritage,” the judging panel wrote.

The [Riverine] Grazier also took at the coveted Best News Story award for Krista Schade’s article, Explosive Allegations which details alleged breaches which occurred on district property, Gundaline.

“This is quality newswriting that represents the challenge facing regional reporters who walk a fine line between balancing the investigative skills required for the job, and the repercussions of doing that sometimes difficult work and managing community expectations,” the judging panel noted.

Our Carrathool Races 2024 ad was awarded Best Print Advertisement and in the panel’s view, promoted a sense of community and tradition, highlighting an event that brings people together.

Runner-up awards were received for our feature story on Pragnesh’s fresh vegetables being grown on the outskirts of Hay and sold at IGA, literally from “paddock to plate” and the engaging image taken at the annual school fete, titled Hay Public School Rocks!

Our neighbouring paper, The Pastoral Times won Best New Advertising Product and was runner-up in the category Best Sports Story. The Awards of Excellence was a feature event of the 2024 annual conference, and received a 25 per cent increase in entries this year. Guest of honour was Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW, Tara Moriarty MLC.  

This article appeared in  The Riverine Grazier, 23 October 2024.