It is official. The Otago Daily Times is a class act,
winning a major prize at the Pacific Area Newspaper
Publishers Association's Newspaper of the Year awards
presented in Sydney this week.
The Otago Daily Times' Class Act/Extra! entry claimed
the top young readers prize on Thursday in the 25,001-90,000
circulation category, capping a successful night for New
Zealand's oldest newspaper.
The ODT was also a finalist in the newspaper of the
year and the innovation in pre-production processes or
technology categories.
The awards attracted 369 entries from newspapers in
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Malaysia.
The ODT was one of only two New Zealand metropolitan
dailies named as a finalist - the other was Wellington's
Dominion Post.
The newspaper of the year winners were: The Sydney Morning
Herald (90,000+ circulation); The Geelong
Advertiser (25,001-90,000); The Daily Examiner (up
to 25,000).
The 10th annual Class Act awards were held in Dunedin last
Friday.
Prime Minister John Key and the newspaper recognised the
excellence of 55 secondary school pupils in the region.
Class Act has acknowledged the outstanding potential of 555
pupils in our region since its introduction in 2000.
This week's win was the third young reader award Class
Act/Extra! has won at Panpa.
It has also been highly commended twice.
Class Act is the jewel in our Newspapers in Education
programme.
Extra! is a 16-page tabloid published 11 times a year
and distributed, with the newspaper, to schools.
It covers current events, reading and writing.
It also attracts thousands of participants to take part in
maths and social studies quizzes throughout the region.
Coverage of the 2009 Class Act awards ceremony will be
screened tonight on Dunedin's Channel 9 from 7pm.
A DVD of the coverage is available from Channel 9 for
$29.95 (order from www.ch9.co.nz/shop).
