Anglican Media Sydney has reconfirmed its position as the top Christian news team in Australia and New Zealand, flying out of the Word Power awards in Auckland with 5 gold awards from the 12 categories they were eligible.
For the second year in a row Features Editor, Jeremy Halcrow, and former News Editor Madeleine Collins between them won two of the Australasian Religious Press Association’s key writing awards.
In the most competitive category, Jeremy Halcrow’s Southern Cross article ‘Silent witness: Christians in the Muslim World’ took gold in the Best Feature (Newspaper and Magazine) category ahead of 50 nominations.
The judges said: “This is superb piece of journalism. Through a compelling mix of personal stories, comprehensive reporting, hard data and powerful illustrations it vividly conveys the sacrifices Christians make for their faith when they live as threatened minorities.”
He won the same award last year.
The team’s print publication Southern Cross was also awarded gold in the Best Newspaper Layout category and Dr Annette Bemand’s account of her battle with cancer won best article by a non-professional writer.
Southern Cross cartoonist Paul Dallimore won the gold award in The Best Humourous Item category for his Christmas cartoon which put the nativity in the midst of the current Middle East conflict.
“The winning cartoon was simple, witty and barbed, colourful and clear and highly original,” the judges said.
Website win
Your.Sydneyanglicans.net was not overlooked with Madeleine Collins’ online account of the fire that destroyed St Barnabas’, Broadway, winning gold in the Best News item category.
“In this instance, the Sydney Anglican news website was right up with the play. One of Sydney’s historic and well-loved churches was gutted by fire one night and the next morning the Anglican website told what happened briefly, tightly, concisely, in the manner of all good news stories,” said the judges. “Well done Madeleine and the team who put it together.”
However, the team’s long-held crown as the top religious website in the region has passed across the Tasman, with New Zealand Catholic winning the Ansvar Insurance Award for Best Website. The silver award went to the Seventh Day Adventist website Sign of the Times.
Apart from Anglican Media Sydney, only three other organisations won multiple categories. The Jesuit’s flagship magazine Eureka Street, Wesley Mission’s Impact and Journey from the Uniting Church in Queensland each picked up two gold awards.
The Rev Bob Weibusch’s twelve years of service as ARPA president, which ended last year, was recognised when he was awarded with the 2007 Gutenberg Award.
