THE Land has been awarded one of the newspaper industry's top titles for the fifth year in a row.
The Land was last night named best non-daily regional newspaper in the prestigious Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association (PANPA) Newspaper of the Year awards which is open to papers across Asia Pacific.
Judges described it as "one of the more entrepreneurial publications in Australia" and praised it for being unafraid to campaign and take a stand on the key issues facing its readers.
"Not resting on its laurels after 100 years of serving regional Australia, The Land has maintained its incredible heritage and trust while beginning its metamorphosis into a true multi-platform brand," commented another judge.
"To win our first PANPA award was very satisfying, but to win five in a row is simply amazing," said The Land's general manager John Dwyer.
"The win is just reward for our dedicated editorial team and confirmation that despite the changing media landscape a paper such as The Land is still the voice of the bush."
Editor Andrew Norris said it was gratifying to see The Land pick up five consecutive awards.
"It shows how successfully we're tackling the issues that matter to our readers and is testament to the team effort that goes into every issue and our website.
"We will keep striving to be the best in our field."
Congrats to @thelandnews, which has just been recognised as the best Non-Daily Regional Newspaper #NOTY14
The Land team wins newspaper of the year... That's five in a row @thelandnews pic.twitter.com/nJ5LAFBryM
Congrats to all rural & regional media recognised #NOTY14 #PANPA @newcastleherald @thelandnews #CountryLabor
Congratulations to @thelandnews on winning the newspaper of the year award. See all winners of #noty14: http://t.co/eUeElbXSCa
Well done @thelandnews - Non-Daily Regional Newspaper of the Year #NOTY14 #PANPA
Fifth consecutive Newspaper of the Year award for @thelandnews Sensational effort team! #NOTY14
Its sister paper Queensland Country Life was highly commended in the same category along with Bunbury, WA's South Western Times and Surf Coast Daily.
Other big winners on the night included The Newcastle Herald which was named regional daily newspaper of the year; The Courier Mail named best daily national or metropolitan title; The Weekend Australian named best weekend newspaper; The Gympie Times named best daily community paper and the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader which was named best non-daily community paper.
Fairfax Media's North Richmond print and distribution centre - which prints The Land among many other titles - was named print centre of the year.
Earlier in the week The Land was also recognised by PANPA for the best regional cause-related or community campaign for its Glove Box Guide to Mental Health.
