Byron Coast Times wins top newspaper award

THE Byron Coast Times has been named the state’s best free newspaper, winning the Overall Newspaper Excellence Award at the 2025 Country Press NSW Awards of Excellence.

Times News Group managing director Warick Brown said the honour recognised a commitment to clarity, connection and the communities that trust the paper to tell their stories.

“It’s a victory for the community and the people who believe in the power of local news,” Brown said.

“Independent journalism matters. When you hire local people, tell local stories and reflect the community honestly, readers respond.”

While part of the company’s senior leadership has long been based in the Northern Rivers, its first papers were launched on the Surf Coast of Victoria.

“In many ways, bringing the Byron Coast Times to life felt like coming home rather than expanding into new territory,” he said.

Brown said the paper was founded on a belief that good journalism should bring light, not noise.

“Our focus has always been on clean, accessible storytelling that gives readers space to think and connect,” he said. “We believe communities deserve media that listens first, writes clearly and reflects who they are.”

He said that approach flowed through every part of the paper.

“From Kayla in advertising, a fifth-generation local whose family ties to Byron go back to 1888 when there were fewer than a dozen houses, to Angela, who walks the Byron beat each week chasing untold stories, to world-class photographers like David Cope and other local contributors, this is what community and local news look like,” Brown said.

He said the Byron Coast Times had been embraced by a community that values clarity and storytelling.

“It has been such a positive experience coming into a market that understands more perspectives, not fewer, make for a stronger media landscape — whether that be in Byron, in Australia or around the world,” he said.

Judging for the awards was weighted 50 per cent to editorial and photography, with advertising and production making up 25 per cent each.

A record 227 entries were received across 19 categories, with winners announced at the combined Country Press NSW and Victorian Country Press Association conference.

Now in its 125th year, Country Press NSW marked the milestone with presentations from journalist Nick McKenzie and other industry heavyweights.

The Byron Coast Times was also a finalist for Emerging Publication of the Year at the national Mumbrella Publish Awards in September.

The Times News Group also publishes the Tweed Coast Times, Ballina Times and the Lismore Times.

BY TIMES NEWS GROUP