Pro-Palestinian protesters dressed in blue “press” vests tonight staged a vigil calling on New Zealand journalists to show solidarity with the media of Gaza who have suffered the highest death toll in any war.

They staged the vigil at the Viaduct venue of NZ’s annual Voyager Media Awards.

Organised by Palestinian Youth Aotearoa (PYA) and People for Palestine (P4P), supporters were making a stand for the journalists of Gaza, who were awarded the 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize earlier this month.

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• RNZ snags Voyager Media Awards wins for journalism, digital innovation

Fathi Hassneiah of PYA condemned the systematic killing, targeting and silencing of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) throughout the war on Gaza that is now in its eighth month.

Global media freedom watchdog groups have had differing figures for the death toll of Gazan journalists, but the Al Jazeera network says 142 have been killed.

Often the families of journalists have been martyred alongside them, Hassneiah said.

A media spokesperson, Leondra Roberts, said PYA and P4P were calling on “all journalists in Aotearoa to stand in solidarity with the courageous journalists of the Gaza Strip who continue to report on what the International Court of Justice has called a plausible genocide”.

Māori journalists commended
She commended Kawea Te Rongo (Māori Journalists Association) for their support for their Palestinian colleagues in November 2023 with co-chair Mani Dunlop saying: “Journalists and the media are integral to ensuring the world and its leaders are accurately informed during this conflict …

“Daily we are seeing stories of journalists who face extreme brutality . . .  including the unconscionable worry of their families’ safety while they themselves risk their lives.

“It is a deadly trade-off, every day they put on their press vest and helmet to do their job selflessly for their people and the rest of the world.”

PYA spokesperson and musician Rose Freeborn appealed to journalists reporting from Aotearoa to critically examine Israel’s treatment of their peers in Gaza and called on “storytellers of all mediums to engage with Palestinian voices”.

“We unequivocally condemn the mass murder of 105 journalists in Gaza by the IDF since October 7, as well as Israel’s longstanding history of targeting journalists across the region — from Shireen Abu Akleh to Issam Abdallah — in an attempt to smother the truth and dictate history,” she said.

She criticised the “substandard conduct” of some journalists in New Zealand.

Media industry ‘failed’

“At times, the media industry in this country has failed not only the Palestinian community but New Zealand society at large by reporting factual inaccuracies and displaying a clear bias for the Israeli narrative.

“This has led to people no longer trusting mainstream media outlets to give them the full story, so they have turned to each other and the journalists on the ground in Gaza via social media.

“The storytellers of Gaza, with their resilience and extraordinary courage, have provided a blueprint for journalists across the globe to stand in defence of truth, accuracy and objectivity.”

A Palestinian New Zealander and P4P spokesperson, Yasmine Serhan, said: “While it is my people being subjected to mass murder and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, it is the peers of New Zealand journalists who are being systematically targeted and murdered by Israel in an attempt to stop the truth being reported.”

RNZ News reports that RNZ won two major honours tonight at the annual Voyager Media Awards, which recognise New Zealand’s best journalism, with categories for reporting, photography, digital and video.

RNZ was awarded the Best Innovation in Digital Storytelling for their series The Interview and longform journalist te ao Māori Ella Stewart took out the prize for Best Up and Coming Journalist.

Le Mana Pacific award went to Indira Stewart of 1News, and Mihingarangi Forbes (Aotearoa Media Collective) and Moana Maniapoto (Whakaata Māori) were joint winners of the Te Tohu Kairangi Award.

• The Voyager Media Awards and shortlist

Television New Zealand’s journalists have come out on top at the annual Voyager Media Awards last night, scooping a number of awards in key categories, reports TVNZ 1 News.

1 News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver was recognised for both the Best TV/Video News Item and Best Coverage of a Major News Event for her leading coverage of the Samoan measles crisis last year.

Sunday’s Jehan Casinader was awarded Broadcast Reporter of the Year and Best TV/Video Current Affairs, Short, for his feature Black Friday.

READ MORE: Voyager Media Awards 2020

Grief in Samoa ‘next level’ as measles epidemic claims at least 68 lives – TVNZ 1 News

TVNZ’s online news and current affairs platform Re: rounded out the Best TV/Video Current Affairs Category, winning the Long section for the feature Rediscovering Aotearoa: aroha/love.

The runner-ups for those categories were TVNZ’s Seven Sharp for Harri Brown’s story and Sunday’s feature on The Numbers Game.

In other categories, Re: reporter Cass Marrett won Best Video Journalist – Junior, while Mava Enoka received the Peter M Acland Fellowship, which will see her undertake a placement at Al Jazeera international television network Southeast Asia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The 1 News design team won Best Artwork/Graphics, with their high-end augmented reality work featuring highly on 1 News’ news bulletins.

The major media awards were conducted remotely this year due to the covid-19 corovavirus pandemic gathering restrictions.

Other major categories include Newspaper of the Year and Website of the Year, both of which went to The New Zealand Herald.

All winners at the Voyager Media Awards 2020

Best headline, caption or hook  – Barnaby Sharp, Nelson Mail/Stuff

Best artwork / graphics – 1 NEWS Design Team, TVNZ

Best interview or profile – Michelle Langstone, NZ Herald/NZME

Cartoonist of the Year – Toby Morris, The Spinoff

Opinion Writer of the Year – Emma Espiner, Newsroom

Reviewer of the Year – Paul Little, North & South/Bauer Media

Travel Journalist of the Year – Mike White, North & South/Bauer Media

Editorial Executive of the Year – Annabelle Lee-Mather, The Hui GSTV for MediaWorks

Best feature or current affairs video – single video journalist – Luke McPake with “Death Bed: The Story of Kelly Savage”, RNZ

Best video journalist – junior – Cass Marrett, Re: / TVNZ

Video Journalist of the Year – Lawrence Smith, Stuff

Best TV/video documentary – Stuff Circuit/Stuff and Māori Television, “Infinite Evil”

Best TV/video news item – 1 NEWS/TVNZ with Barbara Dreaver, “Measles lockdown”

Best TV/video current affairs, short (up to 10 mins) – Sunday/TVNZ with Jehan Casinader, “Black Friday”

Best TV/video current affairs, long (between 10 mins and 20 mins) – Re:/TVNZ, “Rediscovering Aotearoa: aroha/love”

Reporting – crime and justice – Blair Ensor, The Press/Stuff

Reporting – social issues, including health and education – Emma Russell, NZ Herald/NZME

Reporting – general – Patrick Gower, Newshub/MediaWorks

Best reporting – Māori Affairs – Te Aniwa Hurihanganui, RNZ

Environmental/Sustainability Award – Kate Evans, New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Media

Science Journalism Award – Eloise Gibson, newsroom.co.nz

Best individual investigation – Patrick Gower for “Exposing white supremacy in New Zealand”, Newshub/MediaWorks

Best team investigation – Stuff, “Product of Australia”

Best (single) news story / scoop – Melanie Reid, newsroom.co.nz

Best coverage of a major news event – 1 News/TVNZ with Barbara Dreaver, “Samoan measles crisis”

Best editorial campaign or project – newsroom.co.nz, “Oranga Tamariki uplifts”

Best Reporter – junior – Logan Church, RNZ

Student Journalist of the Year – Ashley Stanley, newsroom.co.nz

Community Journalist of the Year – Virginia Fallon, Kāpiti Observer/Stuff

Regional Journalist of the Year – Hamish McNeilly, The Press/Stuff

Sports Journalist of the Year – Dana Johannsen, Stuff

Business Journalist of the Year – Tim Hunter, NBR

Political Journalist of the Year – Audrey Young, NZ Herald/NZME

Broadcast Reporter of the Year – Jehan Casinader, Sunday/TVNZ

Reporter of the Year – Guyon Espiner, RNZ

nib Health Journalism Scholarship – junior – Emma Russell, NZ Herald/NZME

nib Health Journalism Scholarship – senior – Nicholas Jones, NZ Herald/NZME

Regional Journalism Scholarship – Natalie Akoorie, NZ Herald/NZME; Aaron Leaman, Waikato Times/Stuff

Peter M Acland Foundation Fellowship – Mava Enoka, TVNZ; Charles Anderson, Vanishing Point Studio

Feature writing – crime and justice – Mike White, North & South/Bauer Media

Feature writing – social issues, including health and education – Florence Kerr, Stuff

Feature writing – general – Steve Braunias, NZ Herald/NZME and newsroom.co.nz; Duncan Greive, The Spinoff

Best first-person essay or feature (no word limit) – Tayi Tibble, newsroom.co.nz

Best feature writer – junior (no word limit) – Joel MacManus, Stuff

Feature Writer of the Year – short form (up to 3500 words) – Nicholas Jones, NZ Herald/NZME

Feature Writer of the Year – long form (3500+ words) – Aaron Smale, RNZ

Best magazine cover – HOME New Zealand/Bauer Media

Best magazine design – HOME New Zealand/Bauer Media

Best newspaper-inserted magazine – Sunday Magazine, Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Best trade/specialist publication, free magazine and/or website – Air Force News/Defence Public Affairs

Magazine of the Year – Metro magazine/Bauer Media; New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Media

Best photography – features (including portraits, fashion, food and architecture) – Braden Fastier, Nelson Mail/Stuff

Best photography – news – George Heard, The Press/Stuff

Judges’ prize for the single best news photo – Stacy Squires, The Press, Dominion Post, Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Best photography – sport – Mark Baker, Associated Press

Best photo-story/essay – Cameron McLaren, New Zealand Geographic/Kōwhai Publishing

Photographer of the Year – Alan Gibson, NZ Herald/NZME

Best newspaper front page – The Press/Stuff

Community Newspaper of the Year – The Beacon/Beacon Media Group

Newspaper of the Year (up to 30,000 circulation) – Waikato Times/Stuff

Newspaper of the Year (more than 30,000 circulation) – NZ Herald/NZME

Weekly Newspaper of the Year – Sunday Star-Times/Stuff

Voyager Newspaper of the Year – NZ Herald/NZME

Podcast – Best narrative/serial – “White Silence”, RNZ and Stuff

Podcast – Best episodic/recurrent – “He Kakano Ahau”, RNZ and Ursula Grace Films; “Out of My Mind”, Stuff

Best innovation in digital storytelling – “Fighting the Demon”, NZ Herald/NZME and Greenstone

Best news website or app – nzherald.co.nz/NZME

Website of the Year – nzherald.co.nz/NZME

I was fortunate enough to get a guest ticket to go along with Voyager to the NZ Media Awards last week. It’s a big moment for Voyager, they are stepping up to sponsor the awards because their leader and founder, Seeby Woodhouse, believes passionately in journalism.

I support his vision, and who am I to turn down an open bar?

It’s a rich, white, rich kinda room.

How rich and white?

There’s a gender reveal party sharing the Lobby Room bar pre-drinks.

I thought gender reveal parties were a wealthy white suburban fantasy like green SUVs. But there they were, a huge table of white volk bedazzled with designer clothing and gold celebrating the gender of a baby that hadn’t been born yet.

It kinda set the tone for the rest of the night. A celebration for a fourth estate we are still all waiting to birth.

Tax story
Matt Nippert shuffled up to me like a dishevelled hedgehog, muttered something about a tax story that would feature on the front page of the New Zealand Herald and scurried off before anyone saw him speaking to me.

I bumped into Clarke and we swapped conspiracy theories on who set him up. Waved hi to Jacinda.

Talked to Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran, told her the RNZ fiasco was a media beat-up. Told her she had to push through aggressively with public broadcasting values. If she gets the chance, she could reshape public broadcasting for the positive.

Chatted with Employment Minister Willie Jackson, told him he needed to be used more by Labour in a  leadership role. Congratulated him for tearing into National last Thursday.  He really should be the next Deputy Leader.

David Fisher, who is a comics geek, congratulated me on my Avengers review.

I sat behind Simon Bridges all night, he’s a a far more pragmatic bloke than he comes across in the media. If that Simon Bridges shows up in the media, he might beat Jacinda.

Rattlesnake tossing
Steve Braunias trundled past me, I shook his hand and told him I had considered starting up a give a little page for him so that our best contemporary writer wouldn’t have to review Dancing With The Stars any longer. He paused in his trundle and eyes narrowed as he hissed “who are you” like a rattlesnake tossing up where they were going to bite first.

“Me, Martyn, you got  me a job at Wintec once, remember”?

The snake dissipated and his eyes widened in glee as he took in my cravat.

“Oh Martyn, what are you doing here, this is all far too bourgeois for you isn’t it”?

He laughed, the table laughed and somewhere a little bit of me died that our best contemporary writer  forgot who I was.

Seeby spoke about the kind of journalism he believed was crucial for democracy to succeed, his optimism managed to eclipse the privilege bubble that is the NZ journalism environment.

Passion for NZ journalism
His passion for NZ journalism is essential if these media awards are to continue; he isn’t just about branding, he is about celebrating an industry crucial for a functioning democracy.

Tom Scott was awarded for being a living legend, you forget the pedigree of him as a journalist, that he was there when Robert Muldoon was finally over thrown and replaced by Lange. Keith Slater was posthumously respected, I remember how when I was working for TV3 on Stake Out, our first story on dodgy driver licences being bought was taken from our show and handed to Keith for the first episode of Campbell Live.

Campbell Live ended up winning the Qantas Media Award that year up against Stake Out for our story they took.

But I’m totally over it.

The winners all deserved their wins. There weren’t any appreciable wrongs this year, the judges all did a fine job. They flashed the names of the judges up, and while there were a lot of solid industry figures, there were still a dozen identifiable right wingers and no openly left wing judges.

Morgan Godfrey was robbed, but Tess McClure, Simon Wilson, Willie’s son Hikurangi Jackson, Newsroom, Kirsty Johnston, Matt Nippert, Donna Chisholm, Tony Wall, Steve Braunias, Oriini Kaipara, and Jared Savage were all well deserved wins.

No idea why Rachel Stewart wasn’t nominated. No idea why Emily Writes and Ruminator were.

Party alienation
The Spinoff managed to alienate everyone else at the party and their write up of it was, well, you can read it and decide how far up their own arse they’ve managed to disappear.

I left and wandered into the rain soaked night and as I skipped out, I paused and looked over my shoulder. There is a looming economic crisis, geopolitical wars and environmental meltdown in our foreseeable future, are these people the ones to protect our democracy and hold the powerful to account when the very fabric of our society starts to tear?

I hoped so. I really did.

For all our sakes.

Martyn Bradbury is editor of the independent and progressive website The Daily Blog. This commentary is republished with permission.

• Voyager Media Awards – “NZ journalism at its best”