2020 Magazine Awards – The Winners

AUCKLAND, Tuesday: IDG’s Dish magazine, er, cooked at the 2020 Webstar Magazine Awards winners last night, taking out Supreme Magazine of the Year plus five category titles (including People’s Choice).

NZ Geographic, EG, NZ Hunter, Here, Country-Wide, Sally Blundell (NZ Listener), NZ Life, Mei Leng Wong (NZ Gardener), Alistair Hall, (Wilderness), Rebecca Hayter (North & South), Shalee Fitzsimmons (Capital), and Good & TiOra all achieved Best gongs (scoll down for the details).

A new presence on the local publishing scene was Here magazine – started just after lockdown by former-Home editor Simon Farrell-Green – which won the hotly contested Best Covid Response category plus a Cover award for its first cover).

The judges said: “Here is an outstanding example of what magic can happen through adversity – the creation of a new title launched through smart thinking to raise funding, excellent insight, a PR plan and a can-do attitude.

“What has resulted from this Covid response is a magazine fit for the times. Here is a fresh, new brand that reflects the way its readers in New Zealand are living now – yet still gives hope and inspiration.

“The new distribution model affords Here the opportunity reach to new audiences too, not just in Aotearoa, but globally. A stand out. And a grand story for the industry as a whole.”

The Pillars
Magaine Publishers Association executive director Sally Duggan said: “Thank you to everyone who made the night possible – our entrants and ticket holders; our wonderful sponsors, especially Webstar; to Jo McCarroll for her excellent emceeing; to Citizen Park and to the talented Stuff events team.”

“Here is an outstanding example of what magic can happen through adversity.”

To summarise …

SUPREME MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Dish
Finalists: NZ Geographic, EG

SUPREME MAGAZINE ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Resene
HC: Fisher & Paykel
Finalists: APL, Ford

PEOPLE’S CHOICE MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Dish
Finalists: NZ Life &Leisure; Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations

WEBSTAR BEST MAGAZINE
Consumer, special interest, current affairs & business
Winner: NZ Geographic
HC: Wilderness
Finalists: 66 Magazine, NZBusiness + Management

Home, food & lifestyle (including mass market)
Winner:  Dish
HC: Homestyle
Finalists: NZ House & Garden, NZ Gardener

Trade
Winner:  EG
HC: NZ Dairy Exporter
Finalists: Build, CountryWide

BEST COVER
Consumer, special interest, current affairs, business & trade
Winner: NZ Hunter
HC: NZ Lifestyle Block
Finalists: NZ Geographic, NZ Horse & Pony

Home, food & lifestyle
Winner:  Here
HC: Kiwi Gardener
Finalist: Good

Non-newsstand
Winner: Country-Wide Beef
HC: SheEO

BEST JOURNALIST
Consumer, special interest, current affairs, business & trade
Winner:  Sally Blundell, NZ Listener
Finalists: Kate Evans, NZ Geographic; Rebecca Hayter, North & South and EG magazine; Zahra Shahtahmasebi, NZ Doctor

Home, food & lifestyle (including mass market)
Winner: Mei Leng Wong, NZ Gardener
HC: Emma Rawson, NZ Life & Leisure

NZ POST BEST EDITOR
Winner: Alistair Hall, Wilderness
HC: Emma Rawson, This NZ Life
Finalists: Kelli Brett, Cuisine; Claire Smith, Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations.

BEST COLUMNIST/BLOGGER
Winner: Rebecca Hayter, North & South
HC: Lucy Corry, This NZ Life
HC Melody Thomas, Capital

BEST COVID RESPONSE
Winner:  HERE magazine
HC: Life & Leisure
HC: Shepherdess

BEST DESIGNER/DESIGN TEAM
Winner: Shalee Fitzsimmons, Capital magazine
HC: Juliette Wanty, Homestyle
Finalist: Yolanta Woldendorp, Lifestyle Magazines; Sarah Jayne Shaw, Shepherdess

BEST DIGITAL BRAND
Winner: This NZ Life
HC: Capsule

BEST SALES/MARKETING SOLUTION
Winner: Good magazine/TiOra
HC: Motorhomes, Caravans and Destinations and the Covi SuperShow collaboration
Finalist: Good magazine and Best of Naturals

MOST VALUABLE TEAM MEMBER
Winner: Justine Jamieson, Good magazine
Finalists: Monique Bulman. ICG media; Cathy Kettell, Eye Magazine and Chinese Eye Magazine

• www.mpa.org.nz