SUID-KAAP NEWS - George Herald, sister paper of Oudtshoorn Courant, is bursting with pride after editor Lizette da Silva and Group Editors managing editor Ilse Schoonraad returned home from the 30th annual Caxton Excellence Awards ceremony with the award for best sold newspaper of the year.
No mean feat - Caxton Local Newspapers and Group Editors boast more than 140 newspapers with a combined weekly print order exceeding 3,7 million copies.
In a first for George Herald, it scooped a total of six awards at the prestigious ceremony last Thursday evening at the Maslow Hotel, Time Square in Pretoria.
George Herald also won the laurels for the best front page of the year, while digital editor Tanya Watson and her team took the award in the category for best website in the country and digital presence, and the 2018 Group Editors Holiday Guide was awarded as best major advertisement feature of the year under the creative leadership of Annalene Lindeque.
Journalists shine
Among the journalists, Kristy Kolberg was victorious in the category for best headline writing. Sport editor Hugo Redelinghuys snatched up the award for best sport photo, with a second photo by him also a finalist in this category. Furthermore, Redelinghuys was a finalist in the category for best sport writing. He is a four-times winner of the best sport writer award of the Forum for Community Journalists.
Elated at winning Caxton's award for best sold newspaper of the year: George Herald editor Lizette da Silva (left) and Group Editors managing editor Ilse Schoonraad.
Journalist Michelle Pienaar, 2018 Group Editors journalist of the year, was a top finalist in three categories: multimedia journalist of the year, best headline writing, and best human interest photo. Graphic designer Portia Maree made the top three in the non-editorial advertisement feature in print and/or digital with her Black Friday sales supplement design.
George Herald a 'fine product'
Judges described the George Herald as a "fine product" that stood out in the highly contended sold newspaper category. They lauded the balance and synergy between online and print, the strong school and sport sections, readers' engagement with the newspaper, and topical, "gutsy" reporting that relates to the community.
Another plus point was the good use of photos and graphics for a "visually appealing product", and special mention was made of the "outstanding" reporting on the massive fires last year.
Group Editors online editor Tanya Watson, who helped launch the George Herald web site a decade ago, received the Caxton award for best digital presence, beating community newspapers in the major centres.
Website impresses
The George Herald website also impressed judges with its "high quality of content", frequent updates and constant flow of relevant stories that ensure that the George community is well represented and always on top of the latest happenings in their area. Reference was made to the overall traffic growth of the website in 2018, which saw an "impressive" 85% increase in page views and an increase of 44% in unique visitors.
Judges said the site always has something fresh for its visitors, and reflects the people it serves.
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