Times News Group wins three state media awards

TIMES News Group, the publisher of this newspaper, has walked away with three wins from the combined Victorian Country Press Association (VCPA)/Country Press NSW (CPSNW) conference and awards night.

More than 170 people packed Yarrawonga’s Sebel Resort on Friday last week for only the second joint event between the two state associations.

This year’s VCPA awards attracted a record 670 entries from publishers for the 19 categories on offer, surpassing last year’s previous high of 546 submissions.

The VCPA judged the Surf Coast Times winner of the Overall Newspaper Excellence (free), one of the night’s major awards, as well as Best Digital Presence.

Similarly, the Byron Coast Times won Overall Newspaper Excellence (free) from the CPNSW.

“In a year where we have seen such a transition in the media landscape from the way we report local news, integrate media sales and ensure our publications are modern and even more sophisticated looking to the eye than ever, winning these three awards are a huge reward for a team rusted onto their local communities,” Times News Group managing director Warick Brown said.

“Our digital team and their transformation into breaking news, video content creation and SEO, our flagship the Surf Coast Times being a trusted leader in the industry and the faith received by readers and commercial partners in Northern NSW with the Byron Coast Times and its stablemates in Ballina, Tweed and Lismore, we create content that can be engaged with when it suits individuals’ needs.

“In print, online and across social media, we are pushing the envelope in news media creation, and winning these three marquee awards is a real credit to the team and their passion to make every edition count.”

Newly-elected VCPA board chair Andrea Graham said she was honoured to be appointed to the role and thanked outgoing chair Jared Loughnan for his leadership and support.

“I also thank our sponsors for their generous support, our judges for their expertise and time, and everyone who travelled to Yarrawonga for such a magnificent occasion, and we look forward to catching up again in 2026.”