Friday, December 08, 2023

Rural Media & Communicators SA/NT 2023 Award Winners Announced

Two stars of rural journalism and photography have made their debut on the Rural Media & Communicators (RMC) South Australia and Northern Territory major awards honour board.

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Two stars of rural journalism and photography have made their debut on the Rural Media & Communicators (RMC) South Australia and Northern Territory major awards honour board.

Catherine Miller from Stock Journal and Che Chorley from ABC News Adelaide have been crowned RMC SA/NT’s 2023 Rural Journalist of the Year and Rural Photographer of the Year respectively.

Sponsored by Rural Business Support and presented by Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development and Minister for Forest Industries, Clare Scriven MLC, the Rural Journalist of the Year Award recognised Catherine’s outstanding versatility as both a hard news writer and feature story author.

Catherine’s broad skillset was widely acknowledged and celebrated in this year’s awards – she also was named Best Rural Journalist – Print, Best Rural/Regional Photojournalist and was a joint winner in the Best Royal Show Story category.

RMC SA/NT President Leigh Radford OAM said Catherine’s commitment to delving deep into an issue and exploring the context delivered to her readership “news with impact”.

“Her footrot story sparked change from the government, and Catherine’s dogged following of the sheep and goat electronic identification (eID) issue paid off in spades with a fantastic front page exclusive on government rebates,” he said. “Pulled together in minimal time, it also highlighted the perspectives of those calling for an exemption of vendor-bred lambs in the eID rollout.”

Just like Catherine, Che Chorley’s name now appears for the first time on the major award winners’ list.

Prior to being named Rural Photographer of the Year (sponsored by Rural Business Support), Che won two rural photography awards – for Nature/Landscape/Scenes and Production. He was also highly commended in the People category.

RMC SA/NT Vice President Prue Adams said Che’s portfolio of diverse subject matter was a “standout”.

“Technically, Che’s photographs were very hard to beat; they showcase rural and regional South Australia very, very well,” she said.

The high standard of entries in this year’s journalism and photography awards was noted by the judging panels who were not only impressed by the quality of submissions but were also encouraged by the range of entrants’ experience, their backgrounds and the media and communications platforms they represented.

The winners of the main categories are eligible to progress to the national Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists Star Awards, and if successful, to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Awards at the next IFAJ Conference, where the RMC winners have regularly excelled in the past.

For the first time ever, the award for Best Royal Adelaide Show Story – sponsored by the Show Society Foundation – was jointly won by Catherine Miller from Stock Journal and Ethan Rix from the ABC.

The judges could not split Catherine’s article about the Show’s voluntary stalwarts and Ethan’s colourful television report which celebrated the Show’s young competitors – both entries encapsulating the spirit of SA’s iconic event.

Best Royal Adelaide Show Photo, also sponsored by the Show Society Foundation, was awarded to Jacqui Bateman (Stock Journal) for her lively, stand-out image captured in the sheep pavilion at the Showgrounds.

Reflecting the ever-evolving media and communications landscape, awards were also presented for Rural Social Media Influencer of the Year and Rural Communicator of the Year, sponsored by AgCommunicators and PodTalk respectively.

Penny Reidy from the SA Produce Market was named Rural Social Media Influencer of the Year for her innovative approaches to encouraging consumers to buy local, seasonal produce. Emma Gilbert from The Farm Clarendon was commended in this category.

AgCommunicators, in conjunction with Primary Producers SA, took out the Best Rural Communicator award for its cleverly designed and executed Farm Safety for Kids Project, while Grace Moloney from the Ag Institute was highly commended in this category for her Student Compendium initiative.

The major sponsor of the 2023 RMC SA/NT Awards was Rural Business Support. Other sponsors included AgCommunicators, Pod Talk, the Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society, the Show Society Foundation, SA Horticultural Services, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, Doyle Media Services, Calperum Station, Stock Journal and Fuller.

2023 Rural Media & Communicators SA/NT Awards Results

JOURNALISM

2023 Rural Journalist of the Year

Sponsored by AgCommunicators

Winner: Charlotte Varcoe, The Border Watch

Highly commended: Joseph Moore, The Courier

2023 Best Rural Broadcast Journalist – Audio / Radio

Sponsored by AgCommunicators

Winner: Kerry Staight, ABC Landline

Highly commended: Luke Radford, ABC

2023 Best Rural Broadcast Journalist – Digital / Online

Sponsored by AgCommunicators

Winner: Eliza Berlage, ABC Riverland

2023 Best Royal Show Story

Sponsored by AgCommunicators

Winner: Penny Reidy, SA Produce Market

Commended: Emma Gilbert, The Farm Clarendon

2023 Rural Communicator Award