Editorial: Our people, your paper, among best

Several Hawke's Bay Today staff members have been recognised for their hard work in producing and distributing your favourite newspaper.

On Tuesday night, APN - the company which owns Hawke's Bay Today - held its regional newspaper awards in Taupo. The awards recognised the achievements of regional and community newspapers, journalists, advertising staff and circulation managers.

The big award of the night - APN Regional Newspaper of the Year - went to our sister paper the Bay of Plenty Times for its brilliant coverage of the Rena disaster off the Tauranga coastline.

Our big winner was Hawke's Bay Today's circulation manager, Robert Cimino, who won the Newspaper Sales Annual Award for Excellence - Individual. The judges said: "Robert is another impressive executive who has had a very successful year in 2011. The judges commented that Robert continues to show strong direction and energy in his role and with a real ability to lead from the front has huge respect and is very highly regarded amongst his peers."

The award is well deserved. Robert continued his hard work this year by playing a vital role in Hawke's Bay Today's change from an afternoon paper to a morning edition.

Four of our editorial staff were also recognised. Assistant editor Mark Story was named runner-up in the Daily Columnist of the Year. Mark, who writes the Morning Story column on a Monday, has been producing quality editorials and columns for years. The judges said: "A leader writer and columnist who probes well below the surface of news reporting. Two of his editorials reveal the insights of a journalist who refuses to become desensitised by a day-by-day diet of reporting court, violence and death. His bleak assessment of men who beat women, based on years of court reporting, was powerfully written, an example of journalistic courage. In any other year, he probably would have won." The winner was Rotorua Daily Post columnist Merepeka Raukawa-Tait.

Our business editor, Patrick O'Sullivan, was runner-up in Junior Reporter of the Year. Patrick, who was a teacher for many years, has been a reporter for nearly two years.

Hawke's Bay Community Newspapers editor Rachel Wise, who does a fine job overseeing our community newspapers, was runner-up in the Community Newspapers Columnist of the Year.

Our Napier court reporter Doug Laing won the APNZ Daily Achiever Award. APNZ is the newswire service that supplies newspapers in the APN group, including the New Zealand Herald, with stories. The judges said Doug was quick at reporting on major court cases as they happened.

Our advertising department also received recognition, winning three advertising wards for adverts, supplements and advertising features. All round it was a good effort by all regional and community newspapers in the APN group.

Congratulations to the winners.