General News
3 November, 2025
Country Press NSW Awards and celebrations
Member newspapers of Country Press NSW Inc. gathered on Friday night (October 24, 2025) to celebrate the 2025 Awards of Excellence, at a special joint conference event hosted in conjunction with the Victorian Country Press Association (VCPA).
A gala dinner for 170 guests was held at the Sebel Resort at Yarrawonga to help commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the NSW association at nearby Corowa.
The major guest of honour was NSW minister for agriculture, regional NSW, and western NSW, The Hon Tara Moriarty MLC, and a highlight of the evening was the awarding of life membership to retiring NSW president Lucie Peart and former Corowa Free Press proprietor, Noel Loughnan.
In the Awards of Excellence, the Coonabarabran Times was a major winner, taking home four awards, including Best Special Publication/Magazine. Times photographer Jess Richards won Best Agricultural Photo and the inaugural Overall Photographic Excellence award, while Times editor Kait Britton was judged the winner of Best Opinion.
In the overall category for paid newspapers with a print run under 700 copies weekly, the Narromine Star racked its second successive win, and Star reporter Sophia McCaughan was also Young Journalist of the Year.
The Narrabri Courier won the category for paid mastheads with a weekly print run of more than 700 copies, and in doing so, it was also the fourth win achieved in the major category by editor Dylan Smith.
The Byron Coast Times, from the Far North Coast division of mastheads recently established by Times News Group, had a breakthrough win in Best Free Newspaper.
Broken Hill Times won two awards, with staff photojournalist Em Jensen demonstrating her ability with both pen and camera to receive Best Agricultural Story and Best News Photo.
Christine McKee of the Corowa Free Press was Journalist of the Year, and colleague Emma Prior from the same masthead won Best News Story.
Renee Powell of the Forbes Advocate was judged to have the Best Sports Story, and in the Best Sports Photo category, it was Josh Gidney of the Tumut and Adelong Times who emerged victorious.
Best Editorial Campaign was awarded to The Bugle for its series, “M.V. Signa.”
In the advertising awards section, Best Commercial Feature again received dozens of competing entries.
The 2025 winner was the Monaro Post with its “75 Years of the Snowy Scheme” feature.
The Best Locally Produced Advertising Campaign award went to the Cowra Guardian, while the Canowindra News was judged to have produced the Best Locally Produced Print Advertisement.
The Best Digital Presence award was won by the Riverine Grazier.
At the annual general meeting held during the conference, Lucie Peart officially retired after eight years, the longest run of any president in the association’s history.
Edward Higgins of the Cowra Guardian was elected as the next NSW president, while Mark Griggs, Wellington and District Leader, will serve as the next NSW vice-president.
