The Valley Profile has scooped up five accolades at the annual New Zealand Community Newspaper Association Awards, which celebrate the very best in local journalism.
Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Auckland on May 19, The Profile’s managing editor, Teresa Ramsey, advertising manager Nikki Sanders, senior reporter Kelley Tantau and junior reporter Gordon Preece all expressed their surprise and delightment upon receiving recognition for their work in 2022.
“I was absolutely stunned,” Nikki said.
“It’s a team effort. Without our great journalism, we wouldn’t have readers who see and act on the ads of our businesses – who also get great results.”
Nikki was named Best Sales Professional for the second year in a row, with the judges commending her for continuing the huge growth of The Profile.
As the paper launched its digital platform, the Coromandel App, and expanded its distribution into Waihī during 2022, Nikki was congratulated for “working hard and successfully winning new businesses, competing against not one, but two existing papers in the area”.
Meanwhile, senior reporter Kelley Tantau received the accolade of Best Senior News Journalist for her “versatile” portfolio of stories in 2022.
The judges said her strong news writing was paired with the ability to become “lyrical” if a human interest story presented itself. She was a “deserving winner”, they said.
“The Community Newspaper Association’s awards evening is such a fun event, and it allows us to connect and celebrate with other like-minded people in our industry,” Kelley said. “I have always strived to prove that community is at the heart of all news stories, big or small, so to be named Best Senior News Journalist… I am just so grateful.”
Junior reporter Gordon Preece, who started with The Profile in November, 2021, was named runner-up for two awards: Best Junior News Journalist and Best Headline Writer.
He said his “jaw hit the floor” when his name was read aloud not once, but twice.
“To receive any award seemed completely unattainable, but it was a very nice surprise to discover my work was award material,” he said.
“I owe the awards to my amazing colleagues, the extraordinary work they do for the community, and their support in the past 18 months.”
The Profile was also named runner-up in the Best Community Involvement category for its work on the increasing spate of crime in the Thames Valley, including ongoing ram raids.
Judges said the series was covered “professionally” and “passionately” and provided a clear story on the impact the crime wave was having on local business owners.
Teresa said the success at the national awards reflected the huge talent and hard work of the Valley Profile team, whose main focus had always been journalism.
“I’m so happy for Kelley, Gordon and Nikki, who are exceptional at what they do – they deserve the national recognition from their peers.
“It’s a lot of work to produce a quality newspaper each week with such a small team, and in such difficult times for media, so I’m thankful to all our loyal advertisers who make this possible.
“It’s an important job to continue to keep our communities informed and represented with top quality local journalism, especially after office closures and ongoing redundancies among our competitors, which impacted community journalism in our region.
“We are the only paper with staff who live and work here, and that clearly makes a difference.”
Kelley has also been named a finalist for Community Journalist of the Year at the prestigious Voyager Media Awards, which will be announced at an awards dinner in Auckland this weekend.
