Journalistic values celebrated at awards

Budding reporters from the Graduate Diploma in Journalism class gathered this week to celebrate the end of their study year and honour some of their peers who made a particular impression with their work in the class, online and out reporting for community and daily newspapers.

Industry professionals including Dominion Post editor Bernadette Courtney, editor of the Wellingtonian Joseph Romanos and Newspaper Publishers’ Association chief executive Tim Pankhurst, were on hand to present both new and long-standing awards.

Lucy Townend was awarded the Alex Veysey Memorial Prize, named for the legendary Wellington journalist who matched a hard-working professionalism with an appreciation of life and culture. Classmates voted for the winner, who epitomises Mr Vesey’s love of life and journalistic values. The Dominion Post sponsors the $500 award.

Chris Hyde was presented with the inaugural Brian F O’Brien Memorial Prize in Sports Journalism worth $1000.  The award is funded by Dennis O’Brien as a tribute to his late father, who produced, edited and published Sports Digest. Portfolios of students’ work comprising of their two best sports stories were judged by Mr Romanos, a noted sports journalist in his own right, who remembers Mr O’Brien as being extremely supportive and encouraging to young journalists. “If today’s young sports journalists turn out to be half as good, they’ll be well worth reading.”

Other awards presented were to Selina Powell for investigative journalism, Chris Hyde and Mary Baines shared the converged media award and Olivia Wannan won the prize for shorthand. She and Selina are both Fairfax interns, which means Fairfax funds them through the Massey course and gives them jobs at the end of the programme.

Senior lecturer and head of journalism, Dr Grant Hannis, says the close links between the journalism industry and the Massey course are vital to the course’s success. “This course is a partnership between industry and Massey, one which we greatly value and appreciate.”