Small archdiocesan paper takes out the big award at Australasian Catholic Press Association 2023 conference

Archdiocese of Hobart’s publication The Catholic Standard has won the top award at the 2023 Australasian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) Awards, held at The Westin, in Perth, Western Australia.

The 12-page monthly newspaper, produced by a small team within the Archdiocese of Hobart received the trophy for the Bishop Kennedy Award for Overall Excellence in a Catholic Publication at the ACPA annual awards dinner on Thursday, 7 September.

The judges’ comments were glowing for the award-winning newspaper, stating, “The Catholic Standard eminently reflects the uniqueness and richness of the Catholic community of Australia’s only island state. It is an excellent balance of local, national and international news, commentary and feature stories.”

As the official publication of the Archdiocese of Hobart, The Catholic Standard is distributed to all 27 parishes and 38 Catholic schools around Tasmania, with a current circulation of 22,000. It is put together by the Archdiocesan Media and Communications team, and regularly features columns from leaders in the areas of youth, evangelisation, liturgy, life, marriage and family, as well as stories from Archdiocesan agencies such as CatholicCare, Catholic Education Tasmania, Centacare Evolve Housing, and Blueline Laundry.

“The Catholic Standard does an outstanding job of serving the Catholic community of Tasmania by providing them with well-written, informative, uplifting, relevant and diverse content. For this reason, it richly deserves to be considered the ‘Best Catholic Publication’ in Australia,” wrote the judges.

The awards recognise excellence in Catholic media across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. It was the final event of the annual ACPA Conference, which took place this week with more than 50 Catholic media and communications professionals in attendance. The conference Mass, which took place before the awards dinner, was held at St Mary’s Cathedral with ACBC President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB presiding.

This year’s conference theme focused on the words of Pope Francis from his 2023 World Communications Day message: ‘Speaking with the Heart: The Truth in Love (Ephesians 4:15). In that, Pope Francis encourages Catholic media professionals to communicate with “open heart and arms”. “We are all called to seek and to speak the truth and to do so with charity.”

The Catholic Standard won the major prize, the Bishop Kennedy Award, with the Archdiocese of Hobart also receiving the ‘runners up’ award for best use of digital media, for its video of the dedication of the altar at St Mary’s Cathedral.

Neil Helmore was awarded Best Use of Digital Media for CathNews with his Australian Plenary Council video highlights. Diocese of Parramatta’s Catholic Outlook Magazine won ‘Most Improved Publication’, Melbourne Catholic won Best Online Layout and Design, while Archdiocese of Wellington’s Welcom won Best Layout and Design (Print).

ACPA President Neil Helmore, from the Diocese of Townsville, congratulated the team at The Catholic Standard for their dedication and commitment, noting the tremendous work they achieve with limited resources.

“As Catholic media, our role is to ensure we announce the good news of our faith, and The Catholic Standard is a prime example of how this important task is fulfilled to the highest quality,” Mr Helmore said.

“I congratulate all the winners and runners-up and thank all ACPA members who came together for this special occasion, to learn and grow with each other in faith.”

The 2023 ACPA Conference and Awards were proudly sponsored by Gold Sponsors Caritas Australia, CathNews and Catholic Education Western Australia. Silver Sponsors were Catholic Development Fund (WA), Harvest Journeys, MercyCare, Australian Catholic University, St John of God Health Care, University of Notre Dame Australia and Passione Wine.

Full list of winners

Best News Content

Winner – Catholic Outlook, Diocese of Parramatta

Highly Commended – Fiona Basile for Melbourne Catholic

 

Best Feature Content

Winner – Diocese of Townsville

Highly Commended – The Record Magazine, Archdiocese of Perth

 

Best Editorial, Column or Blog

Winner – Australian Catholics

Highly Commended – NZ Catholic

 

Best Headline

Winner – Crossroads Magazine

Highly Commended – Eureka Street

 

Best Content – Climate and Environment

Winner – The Good Oil

Highly Commended – The Southern Cross, Archdiocese of Adelaide

 

Best Content – Social Justice

Winner – Eureka Street

Highly Commended – The Catholic Weekly

 

Best Content – Education

Winner – Aurora, Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

Highly Commended – Eureka Street

 

Best Content – Faith Formation

Winner – The Nathaniel Report

Highly Commended – The Southern Cross, Archdiocese of Adelaide

 

Best Content – Faith and Life

Winner – The eRecord, Archdiocese of Perth

Highly Commended – The Catholic Leader, Archdiocese of Brisbane

 

Best Content – Ecumenical & Interfaith

Winner – Melbourne Catholic

Highly Commended – The Record Magazine, Archdiocese of Perth

 

Best Content – Celebrating Cultural Expressions

Winner – Tui Motu Magazine

Highly Commended – The Catholic Leader, Archdiocese of Brisbane

 

Best Original Photograph

Winner – Aurora, Diocese of Maitland-Newcaslte

Highly Commended – The Southern Cross, Archdiocese of Adelaide

 

Best Original Artwork

Winner – Eureka Street

Highly Commended – The Record Magazine, Archdiocese of Perth

 

Best Front Page – Print

Winner – Tui Motu

Highly Commended – Madonna Magazine

 

Best Layout and Design – Online

Winner – Melbourne Catholic

Highly Commended – Majellan Media

 

Best Layout and Design – Print

Winner – Welcom, Archdiocese of Wellington

Highly Commended – NZ Catholic

 

Most Improved Publication

Winner – Catholic Outlook, Diocese of Parramatta

Highly Commended – ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans)

 

Best use of Electronic Media

Winner – Catholic News Townsville

Highly Commended – Catholic Standard, Archdiocese of Hobart

 

Best Advertising Feature / Supplement

Winner – The Catholic Weekly

Highly Commended – Horizons, Diocese of Toowoomba

 

Bishop Philip Kennedy Memorial Award for Overall Excellence in a Catholic Publication

Winner – Catholic Standard, Archdiocese of Hobart