The
contributions of Australian religious press were celebrated last week, with a
Masterchef as a special guest and awards for a range of Catholic publications.
Members
of the Australian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) gathered in Sydney early in
the week for their annual conference and awards evening.
Masterchef
Julie Goodwin was a guest speaker at the awards evening, speaking about her
journey to TV stardom and how her family and faith supported her on the way.
The
ACPA awards celebrated the best in Catholic writing in publications around
Australia and New Zealand.
Eureka Street won the award for Best
Website. Judge Mike van Niekerk, Fairfax Media's Online Editor-In-Chief, said
the website contains ‘some of the most thoughtful and nuanced opinion on
national, cultural and social affairs in Australia'.
‘The
site itself works exceptionally well; the architecture and navigation keep the
user experience transparently uncomplicated while the design creates the warm
and welcoming feel of a quality magazine in an online environment', he said in
his comments.
Madonna writer Edmund Campion won the award
for Best Column, with his obituary for Liz O'Neill, titled ‘An Easter Person',
after she died in a plane crash in Indonesia last year.
Meanwhile,
Australian Catholics was highly
commended in the Best Editorial Feature category for its series of profiles on
women leaders in the Catholic Church, titled ‘The Female Perspective'.
‘It
was great to see our publications recognised for their efforts in promoting the
faith and challenging broader society in the way it lives out its values', said
Jesuit Communications CEO Paul McEvey.
The
ACPA meeting was followed by a gathering of the Australian Religious Press Association
(ARPA).
In
the ARPA awards, Eureka Street
received a Silver Medal in the category of Best Social Justice Coverage for
John Honner's ‘Poultry
parable for homeless youth', and also received a Bronze Medal in the
category of Best Original Artwork for Chris Johnson's illustration
following the financial crash.
Pictured: Jesuit Communications CEO Paul McEvey receiving one of the ACPA awards from Cardinal George Pell in Sydney. Photo courtesy Alphonsus Fok and Catholic Outlook.