THE Catholic Leader was named Newspaper of the Year at the recent Australasian Catholic Press Awards in Canberra.
Staff were rewarded for their dedication to serving the Church with five prizes.
At the ACPA awards, The Catholic Leader also won Best News Story and Best Front Cover.
Paul Dobbyn’s story Icon for Angus, detailing a Brisbane family’s donation of an icon to their parish in memory of their young son who was killed in an accident won Best News Story.
The citation for Best Newspaper said, “The Catholic Leader has achieved high-quality reporting, strength in design and a multi-platform approach that recognises changing news audiences.
“As well as covering local church and community events, it also connects its readers to national and international events.
“The resources and efforts put into serving the digital audience are particularly impressive.”
The paper also won two honours at the Australasian Religious Press Association awards with Mr Dobbyn again being honoured with Best News Story for his work on Fr Ladu Yanga being reunited with his mother before his ordination.
The Leader also received an award for excellence in website design.
Managing editor Matt Emerick said the awards recognised the efforts of the team at The Catholic Leader.
“We are a small team, yet we manage to produce a quality weekly publication,” he said.
“We’ve become a multi-platform news service since our relaunch in December 2013 and these awards honour the countless hours everyone at the paper has put in to ensure the success of The Catholic Leader.
“We continue to strive for excellence in religious journalism.”
