RNZ journalists have won seven Voyager Media Awards tonight, dominating the podcast categories and taking home the Best Team Investigation prize.
RNZ's Voyager Awards winners (clockwise from top left) - Junior reporter of the year Te Aniwa Hurihanganui; best narrative podcast Getting Better; student journalist of the year Louise Ternouth; best episodic podcast Black Sheep; best first-person essay winner Veronica Schmidt; and best innovation in digital storytelling winner Game Change. Photo: RNZ
The annual awards celebrate the best in print, digital and broadcast journalism on all media platforms across New Zealand and were handed out in Auckland this evening.
The media industry judges acknowledged that it had been an unprecedented year for Aotearoa/ New Zealand and journalists were at the forefront of it all, telling high calibre, engaging stories.
For the second consecutive year RNZ podcasts dominated in the Voyager digital categories, winning two awards. The RNZ / Bird of Paradise production, Getting Better - A Year in the Life of a Māori Medical Student, presented by Emma Espiner, has won Best Narrative Podcast and the Voyager award for Best Episodic Podcast went to William Ray's Black Sheep.
The award for Best Innovation in Digital Storytelling has been won by RNZ and Vanishing Point Studio for Game Change: NZ's burgeoning video game industry.
In the competitive Feature Writing and Reporting categories RNZ journalists have received four awards.
The RNZ News exploration of the NZ First donations story has won Best Team Investigation. Judges said it was a clear winner due to the depth of research, the public interest involved and the immediate and ongoing impact of the results of that research.
Veronica Schmidt's essay I was filmed in a Kmart changing cubicle, a powerful personal account of her fight for justice, has won the Best First-Person Essay or Feature award.
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tuhourangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) has won the Junior Reporter of the Year award. The inaugural recipient of the Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Internship, Hurihanganui last year won the Voyager Award for Best Māori Affairs Reporter.
RNZ's Louise Ternouth is the Voyager Student Journalist of the Year for a range of compelling stories, which judges said were structured well, told clearly and stood up well on RNZ's leading news shows.
Judging commendations as runners-up have been received by RNZ journalists Guyon Espiner in the Feature Writer of the Year category, Lisa Owen and the Checkpoint team in the Best Reporting - Social Issues category, and Charlotte Cook was runner up in the Junior Reporter of the Year.
RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson congratulated all RNZ winners and finalists.
"These awards showcase the very best in journalism in Aotearoa / New Zealand. In a year that has been challenging and often confronting for us all, it is great to see RNZ staff and content partners recognised by media colleagues for their very impressive, high calibre, independent journalism."
RNZ Voyager Media Award Winners for 2021
- Reporting and Feature Writing
- RNZ News - Best Team Investigation
- Veronica Schmidt - Best First-Person Essay or Feature
- Te Aniwa Hurihanganui - Best Junior Reporter
- Louise Ternouth - Student Journalist of the Year
Digital
- Emma Espiner / Bird of Paradise Productions - Getting Better - Best Narrative Podcast
- William Ray - Black Sheep - Best Episodic Podcast
- RNZ/Vanishing Point Studio - Game Change - Best Innovation in Digital Storytelling
RNZ Runners-up:
- Guyon Espiner - Feature Writer of the Year
- Lisa Owen / Checkpoint - Best Reporting (Social Issues)
- Charlotte Cook - Junior Reporter of the Year