The Canungra Times is amongst the top three free newspapers in Queensland, according to the judges of the Queensland Country Press Association Awards in Brisbane last month.
The Canungra Times took third place in the Best Free Newspaper category at the prestigious awards, with Queensland Farmer Today taking first place and The Express Newspaper-Mareeba in second place.
Judge Rohan Gosstray said all free newspapers balanced the commercial reality of making space for good pictures and stories while still maintaining a good mix of supportive and relevant local advertising.
“These were high-quality entries, that matched both their geographic markets and communities of interest,” he said.
Gosstray described the Canungra Times as an innovative publication.
“The Canungra Times is a glossy printed A4 format, with a layout that is pleasing to the eyes and supports high quality local pictures.”
“The passionate coverage of the region is obvious throughout the publication.”
“The editions that we looked at contained bright local features on weddings and dining and the editorial content covered stories from the local council and significant individuals in the community.”
Journalist Susie Cunningham’s coverage of the campaign to reopen Duck Creek Road in sister publication, Beaudesert Bulletin, was awarded second place for Best Editorial Campaign.
Judges said the planning that was undertaken to launch this campaign made this entry stand out.
The Beaudesert Bulletin was also awarded third place in the Best One Off or Regular Print Commercial Feature for its Father’s Day feature.
