There was a marked difference this year in the quality of the front pages submitted for judging. I congratulate all newspaper editors who entered as I found in the first step in the selection process - the downloading and printing out of the contenders for a placing -  that I had chosen the greater majority of the entries. The first and second placegetters were only a few points apart. A general comment would be that I suggest when there is a decision to use an inset in a well-executed photograph, care is taken not to distract the reader from the central theme. Overall, I believe I was privileged to be asked to judge a line-up of high quality entries.

Winner

Fleurieu Sun - Thursday, September 5, 2024 edition

(SILVER LINING headline)

A well-planned and executed use of a brilliant photograph. A solid, two line headline above ragged right, narrow columned text with the storyline eloquently justifying the use of the photograph filling the whole editorial space. A front page elegant in its simplicity, which is often the most difficult to achieve.

2nd place

Plains Producer, Wednesday, July 10, 2024 edition

(HOPE FOR HOLLY headline)

A high quality news photograph heading the lead story. The choice of a photograph of the girl smiling despite the trauma of her illness adds to the pathos of the story. The deep etching of the girl’s sleeve over a monochrome inset doesn’t detract from the main photograph, instead it adds depth. It would have been a perfect front page layout had the text lined up along the base of the columns and I am uncertain why the ‘Continued Page 4’ needed to be in bold caps in a larger font size than the story.

3rd place

Murray Pioneer, Wednesday, May 29, 2024 edition

(BONE DRY headline)

A good front page layout with good use of colour. It would have been a striking front page had the men and machinery in the photograph been a wider shot that illustrated the ‘bone dry’ of the countryside. The inset of the opening paragraphs of the story distracts from the impact of the photograph - the headline would have been enough to pique the interest of the reader. The caption could have been better used as the pointer to the story inside. The three news story pointers at the base could have been better balanced rather than three different widths.

— Wendy Creighton