Weekly reporter wins big at media awards

Nelson Weekly reporter Jonty Dine won the biggest prize in community journalism at the prestigious Voyager Media Awards in Auckland on Friday night.

Jonty was a finalist in the Community Journalist of the Year award, alongside Weekly editor Charles Anderson and Auckland journalist Justin Latif.

The prize is the largest available for community newspaper reporters in the country.

Judges said Jonty’s win was down to his empathy, strong reporting, and range of quality work.

It is the second major journalism award for Jonty after he won the TP McLean Award for best regional sports journalist in 2019.

“These are insightful, thoughtful and well-constructed stories told with heart and energy. Jonty has tackled some tough and challenging subjects and crafted them into compelling and thought-provoking reads,” said the judges.

Jonty’s work included 13-year-old Liam Seelen’s donation of bone-marrow to his older brother, a primary school student facing deportation due to learning difficulties, a push for an investigation in the mental health services at Nelson Marlborough Health and an interview with the widow of a crash victim.

It was also a night to remember for Charles, who also co-owns Vanishing Point Studio which won the award for Best Innovative in Digital Storytelling for its project on New Zealand’s video game industry.

Game Change, published by RNZ, used gaming technology, design, and mechanics to give audiences an insight into a new burgeoning industry with colourful and rich subjects at the heart.

Another of Vanishing Point’s projects, The 100 Year Forecast, also came runner-up in the award.

Published with The Spinoff it used data to show potential futures for New Zealand according to various forecasts in carbon emission reduction.

Fellow Nelson company Shadow Space also worked on both projects which judges called “innovation in digital storytelling at its best”.

Nelson Weekly publisher Andrew Board says it was a huge night for the region.

“I’m so thrilled for both Jonty and Charles, we’re extremely fortunate to have such talented story-tellers here in Nelson and I’m delighted that they were both recognised, they deserve it.”

He says the win validates the Weekly’s investment in quality journalism.

“As the Weekly has grown, we’ve ensured that we’ve continued to add to our news team, we’ve only been able to do that because of the support in our community for our paper. To all the businesses and organisations that choose the Weekly to market their business – thank you.”