In an unprecedented year of news dominated by Covd-19, the New Zealand Herald’s editorial teams have collected the coveted “digital double” at the annual Voyager Media Awards winning the supreme Website of the Year and App of the Year accolades.

It’s the second year in a row that New Zealand Media and Entertainment’s (NZME) flagship news teams on the NZ Herald have won both awards and comes as nzherald.co.nz celebrates 9 months as New Zealand’s most popular news website - drawing in more than 1.73 million people a month.

The Voyager judges described the nzherald.co.nz as “a clear winner” and of the NZ Herald App, they said that along with the apps clear edge in design and functionality “the Herald's range of contributors, ability to own the big event and more consistent targeting to a national audience got it home.”

“Winning Website of the Year is a massive achievement in any year, to win it this year, and for a second straight time, holds special significance,” said NZME managing editor Shayne Currie.

“Our audiences have turned to us in record numbers over the past 18 months, seeking clarity and understanding of the Covid pandemic. Our journalists have worked extremely hard, from our newsrooms and their own living rooms and kitchens, to produce unrivalled, trusted, exclusive and innovative coverage and analysis of the pandemic and the country’s response.

“This award recognises the world-class effort of our journalists and how hard the team stepped up to our mission and purpose, striving to keep ‘Kiwis in the know’. I’m extremely proud of the team,” said Currie.

NZME’s newspapers, magazines and individual journalists were also big winners at the Voyager Media Awards in a year when record audiences turned to trusted media sources for the latest developments and exclusive insights into the Covid pandemic.

The Herald’s sister newspaper, the Rotorua Daily Post, was named Regional Newspaper of the Year and the Herald’s Travel magazine was judged best newspaper magazine. Voyager judges commented that The Rotorua Daily Post is an absolute stand-out and “delivers a meaty read that is both fresh and relevant. This newspaper has also enjoyed what is almost unheard of these days, higher circulation and readership figures. It’s not hard to see why.”

The judges said the NZ Herald’s Travel magazine contained “inspiring imagery, meticulously researched stories, and helpful breakouts, it always puts the needs of its readers first. An admirable portfolio that inspires us all to explore.”

NZ Herald and NZME journalists also claimed some of the 2021 Voyager media Award’s biggest individual prizes, among them: investigative reporter Matt Nippert was named Political Journalist of the Year; Nicholas Jones - Feature Writer of the Year, Brett Phibbs - Photographer of the Year and Kurt Bayer - Best Regional Journalist.

Bayer also won the best crime reporting category, while NZ Herald Personal Finance editor Tamsyn Parker won best personal finance category and reporter Tom Dillane the best general reporting category.

As well as the supreme photography prize, Phibbs won two photography categories, Best News Photograph and Best Sports Photograph while Greg Bruce was named winner of the Best Feature Writing-General category

“As CEO of NZME I’m incredibly proud of the great journalism our news teams constantly deliver for our audiences and I congratulate all of our winners and finalists,” said NZME CEO Michael Boggs.

“In addition, these awards can be celebrated by the development and support teams across the company. These teams allow NZME to deliver the best content, in a dynamic and interactive way across our award-winning digital platforms.

“As Chair of the News Publishers Association I’d like to also congratulate all of the finalists and winners from across our industry. Covid-19 meant 2020 was a year when all news teams were not only covering the pandemic, but they were also experiencing first-hand the concerns and disruption it created alongside all the Kiwis they were reporting for.

“Reflecting on the judge’s comments, it is clear New Zealanders can have confidence that they are served by ‘world class’ editorial teams who strive to deliver news, information, analysis, commentary, and entertainment that Kiwis can trust and have confidence in,” said Boggs.

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